HR Business Partner

Salute is a global leader in delivering Data Center services, firmly established in the US with a rapidly expanding client base across Europe and beyond. This is an exciting time to join the organisation as we scale operations across new geographies and deliver complex, high-impact projects.

As part of this growth, we are seeking an experienced HR Business Partner to partner with one of our largest and most strategically important teams based in France. This role will operate a hybrid work pattern supporting our client based in Nozay.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The HR Business Partner (HRBP) will act as a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders within our French operations, supporting business performance through effective people strategy, workforce planning, and operational excellence.

This role will balance strategic HRBP responsibilities with hands-on delivery across the employee lifecycle, ensuring full compliance with French labour law and employment regulations, while aligning local practices to Salute's global people strategy.

The role will also deputise for the HR Manager EMEA when required and provide coaching and guidance to HR team members and people leaders across EMEA.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic HR Business Partnering

• Act as the primary HR partner for a large, complex and fast-growing French workforce, building strong, credible relationships with senior leaders and managers.
• Translate business strategy into a people agenda, aligning workforce capability, organisational design and talent planning to operational needs.
• Coach and challenge leaders on people-related decisions, employee engagement, performance, and organisational effectiveness.
• Partner with the HR Manager EMEA and Director of People & Culture to shape and deliver EMEA HR priorities, ensuring alignment with global strategy and local requirements.

Workforce Planning & Organisational Design

• Lead workforce planning activities for the French business, identifying current and future capability needs, skills gaps and succession risks.
• Partner with leaders to develop solutions including succession planning, internal mobility, secondments, promotions and targeted recruitment.
• Support organisational change initiatives, including restructures, role redesign and growth-driven change, ensuring changes are legally compliant, well-communicated and effectively embedded.

Employee Relations & Employment Law (France Focus)

• Provide expert advice on French employment law, employee relations and local employment practices.
• Lead and manage complex employee relations cases (disciplinary, grievance, absence management, performance, wellbeing and exits), ensuring consistency, fairness and legal compliance.
• Maintain and develop France-specific policies, procedures and employee handbook content, aligned with Salute's global framework.
• Manage relationships with external legal advisors where required.

Talent, Performance & Development

• Partner with leaders and Talent Acquisition to support recruitment for critical roles, advising on appropriate contract types, terms and conditions under French law.
• Ensure effective onboarding processes that support engagement, compliance and early productivity.
• Drive the performance management process, ensuring objectives are meaningful, performance is actively managed and development needs are identified.
• Support learning and development initiatives for managers, particularly new and first-time leaders.

HR Governance & Operational Excellence

• Ensure robust HR data management and compliance with GDPR and local data protection requirements.
• Oversee the accuracy of contractual documentation and payroll inputs relating to the French workforce.
• Support the ongoing implementation and optimisation of the HRIS.
• Act as a mentor and coach to HR Advisors and people managers across EMEA.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential

• Fluent French and English (written and spoken).
• Proven experience operating as an HR Business Partner or in a senior generalist role with strong strategic partnering responsibilities.
• Strong, up-to-date working knowledge of French labour law and employment regulations.
• Experience supporting managers across the full employee lifecycle, including complex employee relations.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, growth-oriented and operational environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing and coaching skills.

Desirable

• Experience supporting international or matrix organisations across EMEA.
• Exposure to remote or multi-site workforces.
• Experience in engineering, construction, mission-critical or data centre environments.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• High credibility, confidence and emotional intelligence.
• Pragmatic, solutions-focused and commercially aware.
• Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on delivery.
• Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to thrive in a changing environment.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to prioritise effectively.