Principal HR Business Partner, M&A

F5 Networks•Seattle, WA

About The Position

The Principal HR Business Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions serves as a senior strategic partner to leaders in F5’s Product Organization, turning business priorities into people and organization strategies that enable performance, growth, and change. The role leads the People strategy for mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions while also supporting an assigned client organization within the Product Organization. The balance between these responsibilities may evolve with business and transaction activity. As an HR business partner, this individual advises senior leaders on organizational effectiveness, talent, workforce strategy, leadership, culture, and change. During M&A activity, the role leads the People component of the transaction from due diligence and pre-close planning through Day 1 and post-close integration. It assesses talent, culture, leadership, and organization design and applies those insights to shape and adjust the integration to support intended transaction outcomes. Success requires modeling F5’s BeF5 and LeadF5 behaviors: acting with integrity and an owner’s mindset, navigating change with agility, seeking diverse perspectives, and centering people and customers in decisions. The role creates clarity amid ambiguity, builds alignment, develops talent, constructively challenges the status quo, and helps people and organizations thrive through change.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
At least 8 years of progressive, hands-on HR experience, including at least 5 years in a strategic HR Business Partner role.
Demonstrated expertise in organizational design and effectiveness, complex employee relations, talent management, workforce planning, and organizational transformation.
Experience supporting M&A, integrations, or other significant organizational transformations.
Ability to advise and influence senior leaders, constructively challenge thinking, and navigate complex, sensitive, and confidential business and people decisions.
Strong business acumen and analytical skills, including the ability to turn workforce and talent insights into meaningful business decisions and actions.
Ability to lead through influence and bring together HR and cross-functional partners across geographies and organizational boundaries.
Excellent communication, relationship-building, change leadership, and executive consulting skills.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.
Experience in a complex, global, technology-driven organization is ideal.
HR certification such as SPHR, PHR, or SHRM-SCP is strongly preferred.
Strong interest in building deeper M&A expertise.
Experience working with HR technology platforms such as Workday and service management systems such as ServiceNow.

Responsibilities

Serve as F5’s People lead for acquisitions and other strategic transactions, collaborating with business leaders, Corporate Development, Legal, Finance, HRBPs, and People & Culture specialist teams.
Translate transaction goals into a People strategy covering organization, leadership, talent, workforce, culture, employee experience, and change.
Lead the People component of due diligence, assessing talent, leadership, culture, organization design, and workforce considerations and helping leaders understand related opportunities and risks.
Develop and lead People integration strategies and plans, including decisions, milestones, dependencies, governance, and measures of success.
Advise leaders on organization design, leadership structure, critical talent, retention, workforce transitions, and other people decisions needed to achieve transaction outcomes.
Lead the People and organizational change aspects of integration, creating clarity for leaders and employees while supporting engagement and business continuity.
Coordinate HRBPs and specialist teams across Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, HR Operations, Benefits, Mobility, People Systems, Communications, and other areas.
Build and continuously improve F5’s M&A People playbook, tools, governance, and practices, applying lessons learned to future transactions.
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior Product Organization leaders, developing an understanding of their business, organization, talent, and priorities and translating it into effective people strategies.
Partner with leaders on organization design and effectiveness, workforce planning, talent and succession, performance, leadership effectiveness, employee engagement, and organizational change.
Identify the capabilities, skills, talent, and organizational structures needed to meet business priorities and develop strategies to address gaps.
Coach and advise senior leaders to strengthen individual, team, and organizational effectiveness; constructively challenge thinking and bring a broader F5 perspective to complex decisions.
Use business, workforce, talent, and employee feedback and data to identify trends, understand root causes, anticipate organizational needs, and inform decisions and people strategies.
Guide leaders on complex employee relations and organizational matters, partnering with Employee Relations, Legal, and other experts as appropriate to manage employee and business risk.
Partner across HR to bring appropriate expertise and solutions to business needs and create a consistent experience for leaders and employees.
Model F5’s BeF5 and LeadF5 behaviors, including integrity, agility, seeking diverse perspectives, creating clarity, building alignment, recognizing and developing talent, and constructively challenging the status quo.