HR Manager

Join Innophos as our HR Manager and play a key role in shaping the employee experience across two manufacturing facilities in the Chicago area. As a strategic business partner, you'll collaborate closely with plant leadership to drive employee engagement, lead labor relations initiatives, develop talent, and help build a high-performing culture. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced HR professional who enjoys balancing strategic partnership with hands-on operational support in a unionized manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities: Labor & Employee Relations

• Lead and participate in collective bargaining preparation and negotiations for labor agreements across the Chicago Heights and Waterway facilities, including development of contract proposals and analysis of economic proposals from both labor and management perspectives.
• Serve as the primary company point of contact for labor union relationships, including grievance administration, arbitration preparation, union meetings, contract administration, and collective bargaining preparation.
• Build and maintain collaborative labor relations with union leadership and committees while ensuring alignment with collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and business objectives.
• Manage the grievance and arbitration process, including fact finding, documentation, and resolution of employee and labor relations matters.
• Provide guidance and counsel to site leadership regarding labor/employee relations issues, performance management processes, disciplinary actions, and workplace concerns.
• Conduct thorough, objective fact-finding related to employee relations matters.
• HR Business Partnership
• Partner with site leadership to support organizational design, workforce planning, and succession planning strategies for critical roles.
• Provide coaching and guidance to managers on performance management, employee development, career planning, and disciplinary processes.
• Provide compensation guidance related to promotions, merit increases, adjustments, and incentive programs.
• Interpret and communicate HR policies, procedures, and employment practices to ensure consistent application.
• Analyze HR metrics and workforce trends in partnership with HR leadership and site management to proactively identify opportunities and develop solutions.
• Talent Acquisition & Development
• Partner with Talent Acquisition Team and hiring managers to identify, attract, and hire qualified talent for key positions.
• Develop talent acquisition strategies designed to attract a diverse and qualified candidate pool.
• Support workforce planning efforts, including hourly staffing forecasts, resource planning, and labor management in partnership with Plant Management.
• Identify training and development needs and collaborate with leadership to address skill gaps and improve workforce capability.
• Support organizational effectiveness initiatives, including succession planning and development strategies for key roles.
• Compliance & HR Operations
• Oversee human resources operations for assigned manufacturing sites, partnering with local administrative support, Corporate HR, Payroll, and other business functions to ensure effective and efficient HR service delivery.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws, regulations, company policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
• Support and participate in SMETA audits and other compliance-related initiatives.
• Manage site leave of absence and return-to-work processes while ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.
• Maintain accurate HR records and ensure timely completion of required documentation and reporting.
• Required Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Business Administration, or related field required; advanced degree in Labor Relations or Human Resources preferred.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressive HR experience in a unionized manufacturing environment preferred.
• Demonstrated labor relations experience, including managing union grievances, contract administration, arbitration preparation, and collective bargaining activities.
• First-chair or primary negotiating experience with union contract negotiations, including negotiation strategy development, proposal preparation, and bargaining table participation.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. labor and employment laws, regulations, and compliance requirements.
• Experience managing high-volume, full-cycle talent acquisition processes.
• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification preferred.
• Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Comprehensive knowledge of human resources practices, including labor relations, employee relations, compensation, organizational development, performance management, and employment law.
• Ability to interpret and apply applicable laws, regulations, policies, and collective bargaining agreement provisions.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and credibility with employees, union representatives, managers, and leadership at all levels.
• Strong understanding of labor contract interpretation, grievance handling, and development of bargaining proposals and agreements.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality while managing sensitive employee, labor, and business information.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a customer-focused approach to HR partnership.
• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to analyze workforce data and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS).
• Ability to travel and work from/between two Chicago sites as needed.
• Environmental and/or Physical Requirements: This role is based primarily in a climate-controlled office but includes regular time on the plant floor — walking, standing, climbing stairs, and moving between office and manufacturing/warehouse areas. Expect occasional exposure to industrial conditions such as noise, moving machinery, and varying temperatures, with required PPE (safety glasses, hearing protection, hard hat, steel-toe shoes) in production areas. Some work outside normal business hours may be needed to support employee relations issues, investigations, or emergency response.
• Benefits: Medical, Dental and Vision benefits which start the 1st of the month after hire
• Annual incentive bonus eligibility based on individual and company performance
• Tax advantaged health savings and spending accounts
• 401k eligibility with company match and annual discretionary contribution
• Time off: vacation, holidays/floating holidays, personal and sick days
• Company provided Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Fitness Membership Reimbursement Program
• Educational assistance program
• The benefits set forth in this posting reflect Innophos’ current benefits for similarly situated employees, are subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the applicable program policies and may be modified or discontinued by Innophos in the future (subject to applicable law).

About Innophos

Innophos is a leading international producer of specialty ingredient solutions that deliver far-reaching, versatile benefits for the food, health, nutrition and industrial markets. We leverage our expertise in the science and technology of blending and formulating phosphate, mineral and botanical based ingredients for our customers. Our people are the heart of our organization and the foundation of our success. We are driven by our core values of safety, diversity, integrity and collaboration.

Headquartered in Cranbury, New Jersey, Innophos has manufacturing operations across the United States, in Canada, Mexico and China and sells into over 70 countries.

We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law.

Innophos is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates in our recruiting process, as required by applicable federal, state and local laws.