Temporary People Business Partner

UMT - Internal•New York, NY

About The Position

Translation is seeking a temporary, senior, embedded People Business Partner to provide day-to-day people advice to agency leadership while the current PBP is on leave. The role partners with agency leaders on talent, performance, organizational decisions, employee relations, workforce planning, and people priorities. The temporary PBP will own a live performance review cycle from calibration through delivery and maintain a weekly update log to support a seamless transition back to the returning PBP. The person will start in early January with three weeks of full-time onboarding alongside the current PBP, then assume full ownership before the leave begins in February. The role also works closely with the VP of Agency Operations, VP of People Operations, Finance, Operations, Talent Acquisition, and the UnitedMasters PBP. UnitedMasters, Inc. represents Translation, a creative solutions company, and UnitedMasters, a software and services platform for independent creators. Translation helps brands use contemporary culture to achieve growth. The company is backed by Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, and Apple.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience as an HR or People Business Partner supporting senior leaders.
Experience working across multiple business functions with first-line and senior leadership.
Proven ability to handle employee relations matters across the spectrum, including performance plans and exits.
Confidence leading difficult conversations with managers, employees, and executives.
Ability to ramp quickly, work from existing plans, and make sound decisions with limited history.
Strong judgment, discretion, and written communication.
Strong coaching and consulting capabilities.
Demonstrated business acumen, organizational savvy, judgment, and decision-making.
Collaborative style, positive can-do attitude, and a strong drive to create a positive work environment.
Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to engage, influence, and keep stakeholders informed.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including analyzing data, understanding trends, and developing recommendations.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to frame a message.
Demonstrated change management capability.

Nice To Haves

Advertising agency experience, strongly preferred, ideally partnering with agency leadership.
Experience supporting creative talent and creative leadership.
Prior interim, leave-coverage, or consulting engagements.
Familiarity with compensation planning, career ladders, and talent differentiation tools such as a 9-box.
Experience supporting executive onboarding or leadership transitions.
Experience executing strategic initiatives and operational plans.

Responsibilities

Serve as the day-to-day people advisor to the agency leadership team and their departments.
Contribute to the Senior Leadership Team agenda, which meets twice a week, in partnership with the VP of Agency Operations.
Drive progress on agency leadership OKRs, owning people priorities and partnering with Finance and Operations where people, headcount, and financial goals intersect.
Manage and resolve employee relations matters, including coaching conversations, performance plans, and exits.
Guide managers through difficult conversations and deliver difficult messages directly when needed.
Ensure compliance with company policies and escalate matters to leadership and counsel as appropriate.
Identify talent and skills gaps and plan full-time, temporary, and freelance staffing needs with Operations and Finance.
Advise on organizational design, workforce planning, and headcount; surface internal mobility and succession opportunities in critical roles.
Partner with Talent Acquisition and external search partners to maintain a hiring pipeline and fill priority roles.
Keep leaders informed about pipeline and hiring progress.
Lead onboarding for incoming agency leadership hires.
Help lead the Q1 agency-wide performance review cycle, advising leaders on ratings, talent decisions, and feedback delivery.
Facilitate calibration sessions with leaders, partnering with the VP of People Operations to challenge ratings and maintain standards.
Support compensation decisions connected to the review cycle, ensuring internal equity and clear rationale.
Support planning for the annual engagement survey, including question review and rollout timing.
Maintain a weekly update log of decisions, open issues, and next steps.
Partner with People Operations on processing people changes and with the UnitedMasters PBP on cross-company matters.