Senior HR Business Partner

Role Summary

Joining Russell Investments’ Human Resources team means playing a pivotal role in driving business performance and organisational effectiveness across a dynamic, global environment. As Senior HR Business Partner, EMEA, you will act as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to senior leaders, shaping and delivering people strategies that directly support commercial objectives and long-term growth.

In this role, you will partner closely with leaders across EMEA and, where appropriate, global business units to align workforce strategy with business priorities and deliver impactful HR solutions. You will provide expert counsel and hands-on support across the full employee lifecycle, including talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, talent development, and compensation, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities while enabling high-performing teams and a strong organisational culture. This role requires a balance of strategic insight and pragmatic execution, with a focus on driving measurable impact through talent, leadership, and organisational effectiveness.

Success in this position requires strong business acumen, a proactive and collaborative mindset, and the ability to navigate a fast-paced environment while managing competing priorities.

The responsibilities of the individual in this position include:

Strategic Business Partnering

• Act as a trusted strategic advisor to senior leaders, developing deep business relationships and providing expert counsel and constructive challenge on all people-related matters.

• Align people strategy with business objectives to drive performance, productivity, and sustainable growth.

• Build deep understanding of the business to proactively identify risks, opportunities, and workforce implications.

• Serve as a key advisor to EMEA regional leadership teams, contributing to business planning and decision-making from a people perspective.

Organisational Design & Change

• Lead organisational design and workforce planning initiatives to ensure the business is structured for current and future success.

• Partner with leaders to deliver change and transformation initiatives, including restructuring, team effectiveness, and cultural evolution.

• Embed change management practices to support adoption and long-term impact.

Talent & Leadership

• Drive talent strategies including succession planning, leadership development, and capability building.

• Lead annual talent and performance cycles, ensuring a high-performance culture and robust leadership pipeline.

• Coach and develop senior leaders to enhance leadership effectiveness and team performance.

Culture, Engagement & Inclusion

• Champion a high-performance, inclusive culture aligned to Russell Investments’ values.

• Partner with leaders to enhance employee engagement, retention, and overall employee experience.

• Use insights and data to identify trends and implement targeted interventions.

Reward, Employee Relations & Risk

• Partner with Compensation to ensure competitive and equitable reward strategies aligned to business goals and budgets.

• Ensure compliance with relevant employment legislation and HR policies across jurisdictions.

• Lead and manage complex employee relations cases end-to-end, providing practical guidance to leaders while balancing risk and commercial considerations.

Data & Insight

• Leverage people data, analytics, and insights to inform decision-making and shape HR strategy.

• Monitor key metrics to assess organisational health and drive continuous improvement.

• Play a significant role in leading and assisting with ad-hoc projects, including global projects.

EMEA HR Operations Leadership

• Oversee key operational activities including onboarding, offboarding, employee lifecycle changes, and HR case management, stepping in directly where required to resolve issues.

• Act as an escalation point for complex or sensitive operational matters, ensuring timely and pragmatic resolution.

• Partner closely with Centres of Excellence (e.g. Talent Acquisition, Reward, Payroll) and global HR teams to ensure seamless delivery of HR services.

• Identify opportunities to streamline and improve HR processes, driving operational efficiency and consistency across the region.

• Manage and develop the EMEA HR team, providing clear direction, prioritisation, and coaching to ensure strong performance and capability building.

The successful candidate will have extensive demonstrable skills and experiences including the following:

• Significant HR experience with a strong track record in a Business Partnering role, ideally within financial services or a similarly complex, regulated environment.

• Demonstrated ability to operate as a strategic partner to senior stakeholders, influencing decision-making and driving business outcomes.

• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to link people strategies to business performance.

• Experience leading organisational design, workforce planning, and change initiatives.

• Strong working knowledge of employee relations, employment law, and HR best practices across EMEA.

• Proven ability to manage complexity, balance competing priorities, and operate effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed organisation.

• Strong coaching, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.

• Experience using data and insights to inform decisions and measure impact.

• CIPD qualification (preferred) or equivalent experience.

• Familiarity with HR systems such as Workday (desirable).