Temporary People Business Partner

Who we are

We are an award-winning independent creative solutions company that aspires to be the most culturally-influential company in the world. We help ambitious brands harness the power of culture to solve their biggest challenges. As a unique mix of experts in culture, technology, and storytelling, we are united by a passion to grow brands in ways that advertising alone can never do.

We are an entrepreneurial business – not a traditional “ad agency.” That means we value resourcefulness and tenacity just as much as we value creativity and intelligence. We’re unapologetically ambitious!

We are looking for a Temporary People Business Partner to join Translation!

About the role

You will step into a senior, embedded PBP seat as the day-to-day people advisor to our agency leadership team while our PBP is on leave. This is not a placeholder role: you will be in the room for leadership decisions, bring a clear point of view on talent, performance and organizational questions, and handle difficult conversations with confidence. You will also own a live performance review cycle from calibration through delivery.

You will start in early January with three weeks of full-time onboarding alongside the current PBP, then take full ownership before the leave begins in February. You will keep a weekly update log so the transition back is seamless.

What you'll do

• Senior leader partnership
• Serve as the day-to-day people advisor to the agency leadership team and their departments
• Contribute to the Senior Leadership Team agenda, which meets twice a week, in partnership with our VP of Agency Operations
• Drive progress on the agency leadership OKRs (our “big rocks”) as part of an agency-wide push, owning the people priorities and partnering closely with Finance and Operations where people, headcount and financial goals are tightly linked
• Employee relations
• Proactively manage and resolve employee relations issues, from coaching conversations through performance plans and exits
• Guide managers through hard conversations and deliver difficult messages directly when needed
• Ensure compliance with company policies, and escalate to leadership and counsel appropriately
• Talent and planning
• Stay close to the business to spot talent and skills gaps early, and plan full-time, temp and freelance needs hand in hand with Operations and Finance
• Advise on org design, workforce planning and headcount, and surface internal mobility and succession opportunities in critical roles
• Partner with Talent Acquisition, and external search partners for priority roles, to keep a steady pipeline and fill roles fast with the right talent
• Keep leaders informed on pipeline and hiring progress, so teams know when help is on the way
• Lead onboarding for incoming agency leadership hires, setting them up to build relationships and get up to speed quickly
• Core people programs
• Help lead the Q1 performance review cycle across the agency, advising leaders on ratings, talent decisions and how to deliver feedback
• Facilitate calibration sessions with leaders, partnering with our VP of People Operations to challenge ratings and hold the bar
• Support compensation decisions tied to the review cycle, ensuring internal equity and clear rationale
• Support planning for the annual engagement survey, including question review and rollout timing
• Continuity
• Keep a weekly update log covering decisions, open issues and next steps
• Partner closely with People Operations on processing people changes and with our UnitedMasters PBP on cross-company matters
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Strong coaching/ consulting capabilities.
• Demonstrated business acumen, organization savvy, judgment and decision making
• Collaborative style; positive can-do attitude. A team player with a strong drive to create a positive work environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills including ability to engage, influence and keep informed.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to analyze data, understand trends and develop recommendations for action based on the analysis.
• Excellent communication skills – a strong verbal communicator and writer; ability to frame a message.
• Demonstrated change management capability.
• Required
• 5+ years as an HR or People Business Partner supporting senior leaders
• Experience working across multiple business functions with first line and senior leadership
• Proven ability to handle employee relations matters across the spectrum, including performance plans and exits
• Confidence leading hard conversations with managers, employees and executives
• Ability to ramp quickly, work from existing plans, and make sound calls with limited history
• Strong judgment, discretion and written communication
• Preferred
• Advertising agency experience, strongly preferred, ideally partnering with agency leadership
• Experience supporting creative talent and creative leadership
• Prior interim, leave coverage or consulting engagements
• Familiarity with compensation planning, career ladders and talent differentiation tools such as a 9-box
• Experience supporting executive onboarding or leadership transitions
• Experience executing strategic initiatives and operational plans
• About UnitedMasters, Inc.
• UnitedMasters Inc. represents the creative solutions company, Translation, and the leading software and services platform for independent creators, UnitedMasters. UnitedMasters enables ownership, exposure, and new paths for financial return for independent creators, while Translation helps brands leverage the power of contemporary culture to achieve transformational growth. Combined, UnitedMasters, Inc. is the world’s leading marketplace for cultural capital, connecting independent artists and brands to realize a future in which all creators own their future. Backed by Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, and Apple, UnitedMasters, Inc. is reimagining how brands and artists come together to tell their stories, build profitable growth, and push culture forward.