Job Description

National Veterinary Associates (NVA™) is the largest private owner of freestanding veterinary hospitals, pet resorts and specialty pet hospitals with over 1,000 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The company is backed by JAB holding, a leading private equity firm, and led by a proven management team that includes MBAs from Harvard, Columbia, and Wharton and former management consultants from BCG, Bain, McKinsey and Accenture. Competing in a $25B industry that has grown faster than GDP over 20+ years, the company has grown rapidly over the past 20 years, and continues to do so, via acquisition, de novo, and same-store initiatives.

A cornerstone of the NVA culture is a servant leadership approach to our business, our hospitals, our pet resorts and our teams. We find people who exemplify the same servant leadership approach are best suited for NVA. We are a community dedicated to the love of animals and the people who love animals.

Job Summary:

The HR Business Partner proactively supports division and site leaders on all aspects of strategic and tactical HR support. This includes providing strategic and operational HR advice, coaching, development and support to our hospitals and resorts as well as acting as the subject matter expert on HR best practices, employment law and employee relations.

As a strategic partner, the HR Business Partner aligns business objectives with our goal to provide an environment where employees can thrive. A successful HR Business Partner will act as an advisor, coaches’ coach and change agent. The HR Business Partner formulates partnerships across our divisions to deliver value-added service to division and site management that reflect our core values and business initiatives. Our Talent and People Services team is composed of incredible people with different abilities, diverse thinking, and varied backgrounds who find personal and professional fulfillment in understanding what drives our leaders and employees and supports them through coaching and development.

A successful HR Business Partner is able to distill information quickly, provide sound advice and form strong relationships with divisional and site leaders. The ideal candidate has both excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as strategic thinking and organizational skills. The essence of the role is to understand the business beyond the HR function to ensure we have fulfilled employees, superior operations and remain a community where we grow together.

Responsibilities:
• Act as a strategic business partner to divisional and site leaders by understanding their unique client and business objectives and providing proactive counsel, recommendations and support to meet their needs.
• Provide day-to-day human resource guidance and advice related to employee relations, performance management, employee development and employment laws.
• Manages and resolves complex employee relations issues. Includes guidance as to fair and legal resolutions, preparation/review of corrective action documents, performance improvement plans and terminations.
• Build strong relationships with all management teams, understand client expectations and site-specific challenges and provide advice and solutions to meet business needs while ensuring legal compliance and consistent application of company policies.
• Create, implement and monitor the application of site-specific employee policies and procedures to ensure compliance with labor laws, state and federal regulations, and sound business practices.
• Conduct training sessions with managers and supervisors; identify and communicate the need for new/revised policies based on changing business needs and/or legal requirements.
• Responsible for advising site management on proper techniques, forms/documentation, and actions to ensure compliance, lawful conduct, and consistent application of practices, while meeting business/client objectives.
• Conduct (or lead the activities of) all investigations into discrimination, harassment, wage/hour, or other labor law complaints, ensuring proper documentation, interviewing procedures, and follow up activities are taken.
• Responsible for various human resource projects, either as assigned by the Sr. HR Business Partner or Director of People Services or as self-initiated; including ongoing opportunities for automation, efficiency, accuracy, cost-reduction, and/or improved legal compliance. Actively participate in continual strategic planning process to identify such projects, then create and execute plans to ensure on-time completion of deliverables.
• Identify training and development needs for site managers to develop the technical skills to ensure proper HR best practices are followed as they relate to applicable employment laws, regulations, file maintenance, employee relations administration, termination procedures, and accident reporting/investigations/workers compensation procedures.

Qualifications Required:
• Minimum of 8 years of human resource experience required, including direct responsibility for employee relations, policy and procedure development and administration, workers compensation and safety program management.
• Experience with multi-state operations highly preferred, as well as related experience in the veterinary industry, human health care or retail industry preferred; high-growth, progressive environments is desirable.
• Bachelor’s degree in HR, business or related field
• HR certification (i.e., PHR, SPHR, GPHR) preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of California and Federal labor law as well as extensive knowledge of relevant employment laws/regulations including FLSA, FMLA and similar state leave laws, ADA, workers compensation/OSHA procedures and regulations, and discrimination/harassment investigation and defense procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to be customer-service oriented, with the ability to professionally interact with all levels of individuals in a courteous and professional manner at all times, and to de-escalate situations before they become hostile or unpleasant.
• Energetic and focused personality with a demonstrated ability to take initiative, successfully handle and prioritize multiple competing assignments and effectively manage deadlines.
• Professional, articulate and able to use good independent judgment and discretion.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills required. Ability to successfully interact at all levels of the organization, including with clients, while functioning as a team player required.
• Must demonstrate excellent writing skills and ability to articulate policies and procedures in a clear, concise manner.

Critical Competencies for Success in the Role:
• Think “how” instead of, “no.” Always look for creative solutions that achieve NVA’s goals and mitigates risk.
• Dig, dig and then dig some more: find the root cause of the issue and help the leader resolve it. This may involve some radical candor, transparency and difficult conversations – all for the betterment of the business and our employees.
• Collaborate and leverage all of the capabilities we have on our team to create new learning opportunities, creative initiatives and sustainable programs that empower leaders and employees to make the most of their careers.
• Always focus on the heart of our success – our people. Help leaders create policies that are realistic yet compassionate and encourage desirable outcomes.
• Embrace new ideas and always assume positive intent – we are here to support each other to be the very best we can be.
• Be purpose driven – fully embrace our sites’ missions and seek to truly understand what drives their employees to come to work every day.
• The power to influence – you must think systematically and holistically, considering historical perspectives, relationships capabilities and culture to help formulate your best guidance.

NVA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Hiring is contingent on candidate verifying their eligibility to work in the United States and passing a complete background check and drug screen.

*This role is not open to receiving agency candidates and any contingent submissions will not be honored.