People & Culture Business Partner (Advisory or Assurance)

Cohen & Co • Chicago, IL

9d • $130,000 - $140,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Cohen & Co, People & Culture Business Partners connect service lines with the broader People & Culture organization. They align people strategies with firm priorities so that talent, organizational structure, and leadership decisions support firm growth and client excellence. This role is dedicated to either the Advisory or Assurance service line and partners closely with its leaders on business, talent, workforce, and growth priorities.

Embedded in the business, the Business Partner anticipates needs, uses data and disciplined processes to guide workforce decisions, and helps leaders operate with clarity, consistency, and speed. The role collaborates with Talent Acquisition, Talent Operations, Talent Development, Talent Deployment, Total Rewards, People Operations, and firm leadership. It focuses on talent management, engagement and culture, change and integration, deployment and workforce planning, performance management and manager coaching, compensation and recognition, employee relations, Partner/MD integration, and M&A integration.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive HR Business Partner or comparable strategic HR experience.
• Demonstrated success advising senior leaders on talent strategy, organizational design, and employee relations.
• Strong understanding of performance management, compensation cycles, and workforce planning.
• Proven ability to use data and insights to drive decisions.
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work in the office four days per week.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting a public accounting firm and/or professional services organization.
• Experience partnering directly with client-facing business or service-line leadership, ideally within Advisory, Assurance, Audit, or a comparable professional services function.
• Experience supporting multi-office or international operations.
• Familiarity with Workday.
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or equivalent certification.
• Experience in M&A integration or Partner/Managing Director onboarding.

Responsibilities

• Build talent strategies to identify emerging leaders, address skill gaps, and maintain succession readiness.
• Guide performance and development conversations to elevate standards, strengthen accountability, and advance growth.
• Partner with Talent Development to align learning priorities with business capability needs.
• Equip future leaders through targeted coaching, exposure, and career planning.
• Translate engagement and stay-interview insights into actions that strengthen connection, performance, and retention.
• Lead integration of new hires, lateral partners, and M&A teams to align expectations and reinforce culture.
• Oversee onboarding and integration across U.S. and global operations to create a connected employee experience.
• Help teams navigate organizational shifts, process redesigns, and technology adoption, including Workday.
• Partner with Deployment Specialists to clarify roles, rebalance work, and minimize disruption.
• Align workforce capacity, client demand, and staffing priorities with Advisory or Assurance leadership and Deployment leaders.
• Anticipate workforce needs and support equitable allocation of work and effective deployment of talent.
• Provide leaders with workforce insights to improve planning and decision quality.
• Ensure clarity around performance goals, expectations, and success measures.
• Develop managerial capability to provide timely, actionable feedback and coach for performance.
• Drive consistency and follow-through in review and development cycles.
• Use performance data to identify strengths, risks, and targeted interventions.
• Steward annual compensation, promotion, and bonus cycles to support fairness, transparency, and alignment with performance.
• Deliver data-driven insights to support pay decisions, recognition, and retention.
• Address performance or conduct issues through coaching, development, or formal action, and guide leaders on complex employee matters.
• Help leaders balance empathy with accountability; identify systemic issues and recommend solutions that strengthen trust and communication.
• Analyze employee concern data to inform broader P&C initiatives.
• Accelerate new partner integration by clarifying expectations, increasing visibility with key leaders, and supporting early business contribution.
• Bridge P&C, service lines, and leadership to ensure partner integration follows a structured, consistent plan.
• Provide coaching and feedback throughout a partner’s first year and capture insights to refine the onboarding model.
• Support M&A due diligence by assessing team structures, key roles, and retention risks.
• Guide onboarding, communication, and change planning for new teams.
• Identify and address talent gaps early to protect client continuity and team stability.
• Monitor post-close integration progress and ensure leaders have tools and support to sustain performance and engagement.

Benefits

• Comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package with options employees can tailor to their needs.
• Time off outside of standard PTO to give back to the community.
• Annual discretionary merit increases and bonuses.
• Talent development resources and growth opportunities.

What This Job Offers

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