HR Business Partner

You are at the forefront of your HR field when it comes to the development of organisations and people. You will set out a vision and approach for L&D that aligns with our growth ambitions and goes beyond a training calendar. Our business is “human resources-intensive”, which means we want to go further in establishing a robust organisation. You are the first HRBP and, in this new role, you will personally develop a suitable HR roadmap for the coming years.  You’ll act as a sparring partner for managers both at home and abroad and foster effective collaboration across the entire organisation.

Due to the rapid international growth of our organisation, organisational, leadership and personal development for staff and managers is essential. You will have the exciting task of setting this up and implementing it as the first HR Business Partner within our organisation. You will help build this role from the ground up and report to the HR Director. The HR team also comprises two ambitious HR support staff and a senior corporate recruiter.

WHO WE ARE

Working at MTD means working for and helping to build a growing, internationally operating family business specialising in temporary water infrastructure – for both drinking water and wastewater – for large-scale temporary projects. Together with our 140 colleagues worldwide – 70 of whom are based at our head office in Tilburg – you will work on and help build major, high-profile projects in the industrial, exhibition and events sectors. These include Tomorrowland, Lowlands, the Olympic Games, World Cup matches, Formula 1, trade fairs at venues such as the RAI and Jaarbeurs, refugee camps and field hospitals.

THE ROLE

As an HR business partner, you will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of robust, well-functioning HR processes, systems and collaboration between teams across the organisation. You will act as a business partner to department managers at our head office in Tilburg, as well as at our branches in 10 different countries worldwide. Together with the HR Director, you will support our ambitious HR colleagues in developing their HR and advisory skills. Your responsibilities will also include:

• Ensure that all international HR issues are addressed. You understand (or will quickly come to understand) the operational and legal differences between countries (employment law, terms and conditions of employment, employee participation) and ensure that local implementation is correct, without each country having to reinvent the wheel. As the organisation grows, you will also manage HR suppliers in other countries in the future.
• An optimal HR environment with appropriate terms and conditions of employment that work well in practice;
• You alert the HR Director when an issue goes beyond the scope of an HR solution;
• You will carry out HR projects independently and in collaboration with stakeholders, with collaboration and the ability to solve problems together being key skills;
• You will ensure that HR processes and systems run smoothly and that teams operate effectively;
• Leadership development, using programmes as a catalyst for a growing organisation;
• Retention policy. You investigate and address the reasons why people leave. Not with a satisfaction survey as the end goal, but by looking into the underlying causes relating to the nature of the work, organisational structure and leadership;
• You will mentor, coach and advise managers in Tilburg and at our overseas branches.

You will work closely with the HR Director on the organisational structure itself and the broader design issues. We challenge you to think outside the box and come up with new initiatives in an environment without an extensive HR structure, where you are able to organise effective collaboration and find it natural to quickly get to grips with new tasks and gain knowledge of international labour relations.  You’ll actively contribute ideas on how the HR function and the organisation can grow alongside new subsidiaries, and ensure that this growth does not lead to ad-hoc solutions on a country-by-country basis.

YOU TAKE THIS LUGGAGE WITH YOU

• You have experience as an HR adviser or HR business partner in an international organisation
• You have seen how to scale up HR across multiple countries and entities
• You are a point of contact for Executive Team members and have strong coaching skills
• You’ll fit right in with a hands-on, pragmatic environment that has a no-nonsense, family-oriented culture
• You are self-confident and used to reflecting on yourself
• You have a vision for organisational and leadership development
• You are proficient in communicating in Dutch and English
• You are willing to work at our office in Tilburg

We are looking for someone who understands the organisation as a system: someone who can recognise when a problem actually relates to how work is allocated, how a team is structured or how decision-making works, and who can distinguish that from a problem that can be resolved through a constructive discussion, training or a revised process.

INTERESTED, OR WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFORMATION FIRST?

Would you like to find out more about this career move, about MTD, the role, or apply straight away? If so, please get in touch with recruitment business partner Renate van Neerven, who can be reached on 06 3169 2886 for further information. Please send your application to [email protected] . You can also get hold of me before and after office hours, and if you send me a connection request on LinkedIn, I’ll accept it.