Manager, HR Business Partner

Ford Ford · Auto · Dearborn, MI +1 · HR Business Partner

Manager, HR Business Partner for Manufacturing HR Strategy at Ford, focusing on developing and executing people strategies for hourly and salaried employees in manufacturing environments. This role involves collaborating with labor strategy teams, designing initiatives for employee life cycles, providing strategic guidance, and driving employee engagement and talent development programs.

What you'd actually do

  1. Global Alignment: Shape the future of Manufacturing by designing enterprise-wide people strategies for both hourly and salaried employees—leveraging best practices from regions including Mexico, Canada, South America, and Europe.
  2. Hourly Employee Experience: Partner with Labor Strategy and senior leaders to create innovative programs that elevate and transform the hourly employee experience across our manufacturing network.
  3. Salaried Employee Experience: Collaborate with cross-functional HRBO leaders to deliver impactful, forward-thinking initiatives that enhance the salaried employee journey end-to-end.
  4. Hourly and Salaried Employee Initiatives: Drive high-impact people strategies that align with business goals, fuel continuous improvement, and shape exceptional employee life cycles across Manufacturing.
  5. Strategic Plant/Site Support: Act as a trusted advisor to plants—diagnosing challenges, unlocking opportunities, and deploying expert HR resources to boost performance and efficiency.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in human resources, organizational development, or any other related discipline or commensurate work experience
  • 8 years of progressive or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
  • Demonstrated experience partnering with cross-functional business leaders and HR Centers of Excellence (COEs) to execute and scale HR programs
  • Strong foundational knowledge across core HR disciplines, including employee relations, performance management, talent development, and compliance

Nice to have

  • Master’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, or any other related discipline or commensurate work experience
  • SPHR or SHRM-SCP certification
  • Experience working in a dual capacity, having navigated both corporate HR environments and directly supported manufacturing facilities, engineering teams, or plant operations
  • Familiarity with continuous improvement methodologies (such as Kaizen or Lean) and experience developing and tracking HR or operational key performance indicators (KPIs) in a plant setting
  • Proven track record of influencing senior leadership, with strong capabilities in executive-level storytelling, data presentation, and managing complex change management communications

What the JD emphasized

  • 8 years of progressive or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
  • Demonstrated experience partnering with cross-functional business leaders and HR Centers of Excellence (COEs) to execute and scale HR programs
  • Strong foundational knowledge across core HR disciplines, including employee relations, performance management, talent development, and compliance