Senior HR Business Partner

King's Hawaiian Bakery•Torrance, CA

About The Position

The Senior HR Business Partner is a trusted advisor, coach, and strategic thought partner to leaders within King’s Hawaiian’s California Manufacturing Operation. The role supports a multi-shift, hourly and salaried workforce across Production, Maintenance, Quality, Sanitation, Warehouse, and Distribution. It helps operations leaders succeed and remain accountable, mitigates employment risk, and connects leaders with the People Team to deliver talent solutions that support safety, quality, and productivity. The Senior HRBP maintains a visible presence on the plant floor across all shifts to build trust with frontline employees and supervisors. The role provides resources to leaders without substituting for their leadership responsibilities. Routine decisions within its scope are made independently, while non-routine matters require manager guidance and approval. The position requires regular time on the manufacturing floor, including walking and standing, and following GMP, food safety, and safety requirements, including wearing required PPE. The role also involves prolonged sitting and computer work, and the ability to lift up to 15 pounds. The manufacturing environment includes exposure to noise, varying temperatures, and moving equipment.

Requirements

At least 5 years of HRBP experience, including building trusted partnerships with leaders, advising on organizational design, and de-escalating employee relations issues.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
Manufacturing experience supporting a multi-shift, hourly workforce.
Expert understanding of organizational structure, jobs, qualifications, and compensation practices.
Expert ability to advise leadership, support plant personnel, and partner with other People functions to influence outcomes.
Expert knowledge of California employment law, compliance, and employee relations, including the ability to interpret and apply laws, regulations, and policies.
Working knowledge of Cal/OSHA, workers’ compensation, and leave administration, including FMLA/CFRA.
Data-minded approach and experience using quantitative and qualitative analytics to drive decisions.
Strong change leadership, time management, critical thinking, and ecosystem thinking skills.
High emotional intelligence and curiosity, with the ability to collaborate with employees at all levels.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
Ability to activate and amplify the company’s Aloha Values (Excellence, Dignity, and Telling it like it is in a way that can be heard) and Aloha Behaviors (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Curiosity).
Ability to lift up to 15 pounds and comply with GMP, food safety, safety, and PPE requirements.

Nice To Haves

Food or CPG manufacturing experience.
Experience with Workday, ADP Workforce Now, and ADP Workforce Management.
Bilingual English/Spanish.
Experience with Workday HCM, including employee transactions, reporting, and dashboards.
Familiarity with lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational KPIs such as safety, quality, and productivity.

Responsibilities

Advise plant and operations leaders on organizational design, role definition, recruiting, compensation, development, retention, and engagement; facilitate talent calibration and succession planning.
Coach leaders, including frontline supervisors and shift leads, on setting expectations, providing feedback, developing teams, and de-escalating employee issues.
Use People data, such as turnover, absenteeism, and overtime, to help leaders address root causes of recruiting, retention, performance, and process issues.
Maintain a visible presence on the plant floor across all shifts to engage hourly employees and proactively address concerns.
Partner with Operations and Talent Acquisition on hourly workforce planning, shift staffing, and staffing agency partnerships.
Identify employment risk, advise leaders on mitigation, and escalate high-risk employee relations issues to the Legal Team.
Partner with EHS on safety culture, incident investigations, workers’ compensation, leave of absence, and return-to-work and accommodations.
Ensure consistent application of attendance, timekeeping, and overtime policies, and compliance with California wage and hour requirements, Cal/OSHA, and food safety training requirements.
Connect leaders with People Team partners in Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, Internal Communications, Learning, and People Solutions to improve people processes and outcomes.
Support implementation of People strategy initiatives and plant-level change management for new lines, equipment, schedules, and continuous improvement.
Perform other duties as assigned.