Human Resources Business Partner – Hospitality & Food and Beverage

Onni Group • Seattle, WA

20d • Onsite

About The Position

ONNI Group is hiring a Human Resources Business Partner to provide strategic, hands-on HR leadership for its hospitality, hotel, restaurant, and food and beverage operations. Located in Seattle, the role supports General Managers, Executive Chefs, Food & Beverage Directors, department heads, and team members across the employee lifecycle in a fast-paced, guest-focused, 24/7 environment. The position requires occasional travel across the United States and flexibility to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and varying shifts, including presence on property during peak operating periods.

The HR Business Partner supports front-of-house, back-of-house, and support teams through recruitment, onboarding, engagement, performance, development, retention, and offboarding. The role also supports labor relations, compliance, employee advocacy, workplace safety, workforce analytics, and the consistent application of HR policies and collective bargaining agreements. The successful candidate is expected to use scalable HR practices, data-informed strategies, and service-minded leadership to support property and departmental success.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience resolving complex employee and labor relations issues.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Hospitality Management, Business, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of professional human resources administration experience.
• Current, in-depth knowledge of HR and employee-management legal requirements in hospitality, including wage and hour and tipped employee rules, workers’ compensation, union relations, and federal and state employment laws.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with employees and leaders at all levels.
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and varying shifts, and to be present on property during peak operating periods.

Nice To Haves

• Experience resolving employee and labor relations issues in hospitality, restaurant, food and beverage, or other shift-based service environments.
• Experience in labor relations.
• Experience supporting hourly, tipped, and unionized workforces, including multi-outlet or multi-property operations.
• SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification.
• Working knowledge of food safety, health department, and alcohol service compliance as they relate to employee training and certification.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted partnerships with General Managers, Executive Chefs, Food & Beverage Directors, and other operational leaders, providing HR insight and solutions aligned with guest experience, service standards, and business objectives.
• Manage the employee lifecycle in a high-volume, high-turnover environment, including sourcing, onboarding, engagement, retention, and offboarding; support seasonal ramp-ups, banquet and event staffing, new outlet openings, and pre-opening hiring.
• Support a culture of hospitality, accountability, performance, and trust across front-of-house, back-of-house, and support departments.
• Serve as a primary contact for employee concerns, performance issues, and workplace conflicts, including guest-related complaints, harassment, and conflicts arising in shift-based and high-pressure service environments.
• Lead inquiries objectively and with a people-first approach, ensuring timely and well-documented resolution.
• Partner with operations on labor cost management, including scheduling, overtime, meal and rest break compliance, tip pooling and tip credit practices, service charge distribution, and productivity metrics.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws and union regulations, including wage and hour requirements, minimum and tipped wage requirements, minor labor rules, responsible beverage service certifications, and food handler card requirements.
• Maintain accurate records for legal, compliance, and internal audit requirements, including EEO, FMLA, I-9, E-Verify, workers’ compensation, OSHA logs, and training and certification tracking.
• Assist with contract preparation, audits, and documentation for union negotiations, collective bargaining agreement administration, HR policies, grievance handling, and seniority, bidding, and scheduling provisions.
• Partner with Safety and Operations to promote workplace safety and injury prevention in kitchens, banquets, housekeeping, and other high-risk areas; support return-to-work and accommodation processes.
• Input, monitor, and analyze HR metrics and trends, including departmental turnover, time-to-fill, labor cost percentage, absenteeism, and engagement, to identify risks and opportunities for intervention.
• Provide HR reporting and insights to guide property- and regional-level leadership decisions.

Benefits

• Competitive pay and comprehensive benefits package.
• Health care, including a $0 premium health care plan.
• Dental care.
• Vision care.
• Health savings account.
• Flexible spending account.
• Life insurance.
• Short-term disability.
• Long-term disability.
• Accident insurance.
• Hospital indemnity insurance.
• Critical illness insurance.
• Pet insurance.
• 401(k) plan with employer match.
• Annual education allowance.
• Generous referral program.
• Free access to a fully equipped gym.
• Friends and Family rates for hospitality brands.
• Three days per month of work-from-home flexibility.
• Employee events, including quarterly team-building events, sports day, an annual holiday party, seasonal celebrations, food trucks, and other office events.
• Fun and collaborative company culture.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level