Director, HR Business Partner

Covetrus is a global animal-health technology and services leader dedicated to empowering veterinary practice partners to drive improved health and financial outcomes. We bring together products, services, and technology into a single platform that connects our customers to the solutions and insights they need to work best. Our passion for the well-being of animals and those who care for them drives us to advance the world of veterinary medicine.

SUMMARY

We are seeking a seasoned HR Business Partner with deep experience supporting Sales and Commercial organizations to join our team of dedicated and passionate Covetrians making a difference for veterinarians and our pets.

The Director, HRBP is an integral member of their aligned North America business unit(s) and a critical member of the Covetrus HR team. This role will be responsible to lead and drive the people agenda for their aligned organization(s). This senior-level HR position entails tackling the most pressing talent opportunities and challenges at a strategic level, and successfully partnering with the business leaders to create value for the business.

The role reports to the VP, HR North America, and is matrixed to the aligned SVP and VP-level leaders from the North America Leadership Team. The Human Resources Business Partner will also support and lead various Talent initiatives for Covetrus on a cross-functional basis.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Be a trusted advisor to your aligned North America Leadership Team leaders.
• Build relationships with business leaders to offer thought leadership on organizational and people-related strategy and execution.
• Understand the business strategy and identify opportunities to increase alignment with the strategy by helping business leaders identify, prioritize and build organizational capabilities, behaviors, structures and processes.
• Champion automation and AI-enabled ways of working across HR and the business by identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve decision-making, and increase organizational effectiveness through responsible use of technology.
• Act as the advocate for leading the talent management and development plans for the business unit with a focus on enhancing the quality of leaders and managers, building skills and capabilities of the workforce, and ensuring succession bench strength.
• Diagnose gaps between current and desired organization performance and deploy actions to resolve gaps, including organization redesign, process change, coaching and training.
• Review key business performance targets and their related talent implications with business leaders.
• Review and benchmark the internal and external environment to identify new opportunities for HR and to improve HR policies and initiatives.
• Identify and drive the sharing of best practices across functions to facilitate continuous improvement.
• Act as a liaison between the organizations you support, HR operations and COEs to ensure HR services are aligned with internal client needs.
• Coach senior leaders to improve leadership abilities, relationships among teams/individuals and interpersonal communications, as well as deliver effective performance feedback.
• Drive organizational design, workforce planning, succession planning, talent management, performance management, and skills assessment and development within supported organizations.
• Review and analyze business metrics including data on retention and employee experience to recommend systemic improvements.
• Partner with the business to lead routine talent reviews focused on succession planning, employee growth and development, and organizational health priorities.
• Provide compensation support to leaders for all salary actions including the annual salary review, promotions job re-leveling situations, and retention efforts.
• Partner with the talent acquisition team to build systemic and scalable recruiting programs to create a sustainable pipeline of talent.
• Be a change champion; facilitate change and support the implementation and successful adoption of talent initiatives within the business.
• Partner with business leaders to identify opportunities to automate repetitive work, improve operational efficiency, and enable teams to focus on higher-value strategic activities through modern technologies and AI-enabled solutions.
• Develop, improve, and execute on global strategic talent initiatives across Covetrus.
• Work within a highly matrixed environment supporting multiple leaders and their teams.
• Maintain a professional level of confidentiality in all matters pertaining to employees and managers.
• Lead, coach and develop more junior HR Business Partners and HR team members, directly or indirectly.
• Act as liaison and partner to HR Centers of Excellence to drive continuous process improvement and business partnership.
• Understand the overall business strategy and business case for aligned Talent initiatives and drive alignment between business objectives and HR capabilities.
• Act as a focal point for developing talent/performance strategies, project roadmaps, and team priorities.
• Establish effective, agile working teams to solve for cross-functional and cross-regional complexities.
• Define the strategic implications of projects and determine the requirements to achieve a successful implementation or process flow, as well as provide direct work on those projects.
• Apply lateral thinking and analysis to solve complex problems and escalate as needed.
• Provides integration across HR teams to ensure tools and frameworks best meet the needs of the business.

QUALIFICATIONS:

COMPETENCIES (Skills and Abilities):

• Clear, comprehensive understanding of the link between talent, HR initiatives and business strategy as well as deep knowledge of HR policies, processes and talent management practices
• Ability to identify new ways for HR to support the business strategy and develop clear, actionable steps in support of the overall business strategy
• Demonstrated curiosity and comfort with emerging AI technologies and productivity tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or similar), with the ability to apply them responsibly to improve individual and team effectiveness.
• Proven track record of championing automation, digital transformation, or process improvement initiatives that improve scalability, efficiency, and the employee experience
• Ability to synthesize large quantities of quantitative and qualitative data, recognize trends, tie back to business priorities and develop recommendations based on data analysis
• Strong partnership skills and the ability to influence leaders across the organization
• Demonstrated flexibility, grace under pressure, and respect for the highly confidential nature of the work
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously and effectively to meet frequently changing business-driven timelines
• Ability to quickly establish and maintain rapport with people of diverse backgrounds and professional levels, in virtual and in-person environments
• Ability to work autonomously while ensuring a strong partnership with the HR team
• Computer proficiency, including HRIS/Payroll experience (Workday preferred) and Microsoft applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Zoom/Teams)
• Comfortable operating in a highly matrixed environment, ability to partner internally and foresee up- and down-stream impacts of decisions.
• Collaborative, effective team player and influencer
• Facilitation skills especially with leadership teams, including negotiating and conflict resolution
• Strong interpersonal, communication and customer service skills
• High accountability, self-driven and proactive approach
• Bias for action and commitment to continuous improvement
• Strong analytic capability and skills, using data and metrics to evaluate needs, identify trends, drive change and measure impact
• Passionate about both business and people
• High level of personal resilience, emotional maturity, adaptability and resourcefulness; comfortable with fast pace of change and able to see through complexity.
• Ability to quickly establish credibility and build trust
• Project management, particularly ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Ability to conduct in-depth data analyses, recognize trends, tie back to business priorities, and develop recommendations for cross-functional groups of stakeholders
• Effective time management skills, including the ability to influence others to a desired outcome
• Ability to work across and lead cross-functional team to drive results with external and internal constituents
• Continuous improvement mindset to recommend and implement changes

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• MBA or advanced degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including HR people leadership experience
• Experience working in complex, matrixed and global environment.
• Experience working in a private equity environment preferred.
• Strong organizational development background.
• Broad and deep experience as an HR Business leader with knowledge of change management, organizational development, talent management, performance management, compensation, and workforce management.
• Experience with Workday HRIS.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

• SHRM-SCP or SPHR preferred

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/ WORK ENVIRONMENT: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Normal pet-friendly office environment with extensive computer use.
• This is a hybrid role with 3 days a week in our Chicago office.
• Travel required (up to 30%).

Covetrus is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. It does not discriminate against applicants or employees on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, disability that can be reasonably accommodated with undue hardship, sex, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

We offer the following benefits for you to take advantage of while you are here provided you meet the eligibility requirements under each governing program:

• 401k savings & company match

• Paid time off

• Paid holidays

• Maternity leave

• Parental leave

• Military leave

• Other leaves of absence

• Health, dental, and vision benefits

• Health savings accounts

• Flexible spending accounts

• Life & disability benefits

• Identity theft protection

• Pet insurance

• Certain positions may include eligibility for a short-term incentive plan

Covetrus is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.