Head of People Business Partnering

Organizational Context

The People and Culture Group (PCG) at UNOPS drives HR policies, talent frameworks, and inclusive practices to foster a people-centered, high-performing organization. PCG supports the Integrated People Strategy, aiming to empower personnel and create an engaging work culture. This role is critical within UNOPS's transition to a service line-driven operating model, repositioning HR as a core driver of performance and effectiveness.

Job Purpose

The Head of People Business Partnering leads the global People Business Partnering function, ensuring it acts as a high-performing, business-aligned capability that directly enables service line delivery, operational excellence, and strategic human capital management. This role integrates people strategies across the service lifecycle, from planning to execution, using feedback loops to inform service design and pricing. It also serves as a high-level architect for people partnering and talent management, advising senior leadership to drive organizational performance. The incumbent develops strategies to enhance leadership accountability and translates global people policies into practical, value-adding outcomes tailored to diverse operating contexts, optimizing the global talent landscape for long-term impact.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership: Define and drive the global People Business Partnering strategy, establishing a clear operating model for scalability and impact. Lead and hold Regional People Partners accountable for delivering high-impact, business-aligned partnering, building their capability to co-own organizational performance and establishing relevant metrics. Service Line Performance: Collaborate with service line owners on service viability analysis, advising on optimal organizational structures, talent acquisition, and resourcing timelines. Lead onboarding processes and identify/mitigate systemic workforce risks to protect delivery timelines and quality. Tailor HR service line offerings to regional demands. People Partnering and Talent Management: Advise senior leadership on talent management strategies, including leadership development, acquisition, workforce planning, and performance management. Support organizational change initiatives and synthesize feedback on talent management policies. Ensure consistent application of HR standards and develop dashboards for productivity tracking. Policy Application and Operational Excellence: Ensure compliant and pragmatic application of HR policies, serving as a senior escalation point for complex workforce issues. Contribute to continuous improvement of policies and practices. Culture, Leadership, and Organizational Effectiveness: Champion a culture of performance, accountability, and inclusion. Support culture and engagement surveys, facilitating action planning and using insights to drive improvements. Champion a values-driven, ethical culture. Knowledge Management and Innovation: Establish systems for capturing cross-regional insights and contribute to the development of innovative HR approaches. Promote knowledge sharing and capacity building.

Work Experience

Required experience includes leading strategic HR Business Partnering functions in delivery-driven environments, providing strategic HR advice to senior leaders, and implementing initiatives in talent management, workforce planning, and organizational design. Experience aligning workforce strategies with business performance and using analytics for decision-making is essential. Experience in multicultural or developing country contexts is desired.

Skills

Coaching, Leadership Development, Organizational Development, Stakeholder Management, Talent Management, Workforce Planning, Human Resources Operations, Strategic Thinking

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