People & Culture Business Partner (Advisory or Assurance)

Cohen & Co • Chicago, IL

8d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Cohen & Co, People & Culture (P&C) Business Partners connect service lines with the broader P&C organization. They align people strategies with firm priorities so that decisions about talent, structure, and leadership support firm growth and client excellence. This role supports either the Advisory or Assurance service line and partners with its leaders on business needs, talent priorities, workforce planning, and growth strategy. Embedded within the business, the Business Partner anticipates needs, uses data to inform workforce decisions, and works with teams across Talent Acquisition, Talent Operations, Talent Development, Talent Deployment, Total Rewards, and People Operations, as well as firm leadership.

The role covers talent management, engagement and culture, organizational change and integration, deployment and workforce planning, performance management, manager coaching, compensation and recognition, employee relations, partner and managing director integration, and mergers and acquisitions integration. The position requires working in the office four days per week.

Cohen & Co describes its culture as inclusive and growth-oriented, grounded in its principle of “great people first.” The firm offers a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package, with benefits and options intended to suit employees’ needs. Estimated base compensation is $130,000–$140,000, with offers determined by factors including relevant skills, experience, licensure, certifications, responsibilities, geography, market considerations, and organizational needs.

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 in 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 a succession bench.
• Guide performance and development conversations to elevate standards, strengthen accountability, and support growth.
• Partner with Talent Development to align learning priorities with business capability needs.
• Prepare future leaders through coaching, exposure, and career planning.
• Turn 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.
• 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 capacity, client demand, and staffing priorities with service-line and Deployment leaders.
• Anticipate workforce needs and support equitable allocation of work and effective talent deployment.
• Provide workforce insights to improve planning and decision quality.
• Clarify goals, expectations, and success measures; build managers’ capability to give timely, actionable feedback and coach for performance.
• Drive consistency and follow-through in review and development cycles, using performance data to identify strengths, risks, and interventions.
• Steward annual compensation, promotion, and bonus cycles for fairness, transparency, and alignment with performance.
• Provide data-driven insights to support pay decisions, recognition, and retention.
• Address performance or conduct issues through coaching, development, or formal action; advise on complex employee matters.
• Help leaders balance empathy with accountability and recommend solutions to systemic issues affecting trust and communication.
• Analyze employee concern data to inform broader P&C initiatives.
• Support new partner integration by clarifying expectations, building 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 first-year coaching and feedback and use integration insights to refine onboarding.
• Support M&A due diligence by assessing team structures, key roles, and retention risks.
• Guide onboarding, communication, and change planning for new teams; identify talent gaps early and monitor post-close integration progress.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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