Principal HR Business Partner

Overview: The Principal Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) is a strategic partner who works across the organization to support a wide range of employee relations (ER) matters, including investigating and resolving issues, identifying organizational drivers of ER concerns, and driving improvements around employee performance. This experienced HR professional partners closely with senior and executive leaders as well as front-line managers and supervisors, leveraging deep expertise in ER to address complex workplace challenges. The Principal HRBP also supports the Progressive Discipline process, including corrective actions, performance improvement plans (PIPs), and terminations—to assist the HRBP team in optimizing associate performance. In addition, this role is responsible for ensuring communication to associates aligns with the organization’s self-service model and workplace decisions, facilitating clear and consistent messaging across the workforce. Highly organized and adept at thriving in a fast-paced, multi-matrix environment, the Principal HRBP manages the full spectrum of HR and ER tasks with minimal direction.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Functions as the HRBP lead and subject matter expert for employee relations matters.
• Investigates employee allegations of violations of Company policy or applicable law. Activities will include interviewing witnesses, gathering, and reviewing relevant documents, analyzing, and synthesizing the information gathered to determine the facts, assessing witness credibility, preparing a concise investigation report, making recommendations to management for remedial action, updating the case tracking system and assisting with reporting and analytics.
• Partners with the Human Resources and Legal teams, managers, and leaders to address and resolve employee behavioral and performance issues consistent with Company policy.
• Partners with other HRBPs, managers, and leaders to assist with the creation, delivery and resolutions of coaching and performance and improvement plans.
• Collects data on workplace issues and incidents and prepares analysis to assist the Human Resources Leadership team’s understanding of trends and systemic issues.
• Partners with HRBPs and business leaders to design and develop training content/materials and plan and conduct training sessions as needed.
• Leads the process to collect information from exiting employees in order to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.

• Leverages multiple sources of workforce data and analytics to provide business unit leadership with intelligent insights about their workforce, emerging trends, and best practices.
• Provides support and advice to department leaders on methods and approaches to resolve employee performance issues and supports employee development efforts, and engages legal advisors as needed.
• Administers corporate Human Resources policies, programs, and procedures and provides HR guidance and occasional training across the organization in support of corporate policies.
• Participates in the development and updating of Human Resources programs and procedures to communicate and effectively implement to the organization.
• Supports the Progressive Discipline process—such as assisting in the prep and review of corrective actions, performance improvement plans (PIPs), and terminations—to assist the HRBP team in optimizing associate performance.
• Support the Reduction in Force (RIF) process by assisting with preparation activities, ensuring HRBPs are fully equipped to manage workforce changes, and coordinating consistent, clear associate messaging in alignment with organizational guidelines.
• Analyze trends and metrics to develop in partnership with the HRBP team solutions, programs, and policies; evaluate workforce data to identify patterns and recommend or design workplace models that support organizational goals, drive behavioral change, and strengthen enterprise-wide effectiveness.
• Partner with HR Compliance to review and update policies based on analysis and workplace trends, ensuring all policies reflect necessary changes, support the desired organizational culture, and maintain full legal and regulatory compliance.
• Support in partnership with the HRBP team the communication and rollout of updated policies to associates, ensuring messaging is clear, consistent, and aligned with organizational culture, while providing guidance and resources to support understanding and adoption across the workforce.
• Maintain compliance with Inovalon's policies, procedures, and mission statement.
• Adhere to all confidentiality and HIPAA requirements as outlined within Inovalon's Operating Policies and Procedures in all ways and at all times concerning any aspect of the data handled or services rendered in the undertaking of the position; and
• Fulfill those responsibilities and duties that Inovalon may provide to achieve the operational and financial success of the Company.

Job Requirements:

• Minimum of ten (10) years' of progressively responsible and complex HR experience.
• Expert level understanding of common Human Resources concepts, systems, procedures, and regulations/laws (ADA, FMLA, EEOC, FLSA, etc.).

• Minimum five (5) years of relevant employee relations experience.
• Well versed working knowledge of federal and state and local employment laws.
• Advanced workplace investigations skills.
• Experience conducting investigations with staff at all levels across an organization.
• Experience advising, counseling, and making recommendations to management on a broad range of HR related matters.
• Ability to gather, analyze and synthesize information and data from multiple sources, and summarize investigative findings clearly and concisely in writing.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
• Highly organized, detail orientated and results-driven follow-up and follow-through abilities.

• Exceptional and effective verbal and written and communication skills; must be comfortable handling difficult conversations and able to adapt communications to all levels of the organization.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Demonstrate a moderate-to-elevated level of confidence and competence in sourcing, analyzing, and interpreting workforce and HR-related data.
• Must enjoy a fast-paced and continuously changing environment and be able to handle multiple priorities simultaneously without continuous direction effectively.
• Must effectively and consistently maintain and operate with the highest levels of confidentiality and discretion.

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in relevant field required.
• Formal HR certifications are strongly preferred, specifically PHR/SPHR or SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP.
• Formal training aligned to Employee Relations, Employment Law, and Investigations required.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

• Sedentary work (i.e., sitting for extended periods).
• Frequently or constantly move objects and repetitive motions.
• Subject to inside environmental conditions.
• Travel for this position will include up to 15%, usually for training purposes or in-person meetings in corporate offices.