Cerence is seeking a Senior HR Business Partner for North America, based in Montreal. This role involves partnering with business leaders to align HR strategies with organizational goals, providing expert guidance on employee relations, performance management, and leadership development. The successful candidate will ensure compliance with Quebec and Canadian labor laws, manage HR programs, and use data-driven insights to improve retention and productivity. Requires 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including 3+ years in an HRBP role, and fluency in French and English.

Must Have

• Collaborate with business leaders to translate organizational goals into HR strategies and actionable plans.
• Provide expert guidance on employee relations, performance management, and leadership development.
• Act as a coach for managers to enhance leadership capabilities and resolve complex HR issues.
• Ensure adherence to Quebec and Canadian labor laws, employment standards, and company policies.
• Maintain and implement local HR policies and compliance programs.
• Support onboarding, offboarding, and lifecycle processes for employees in Montreal and across North America.
• Analyze HR metrics to identify trends and recommend solutions that improve retention and productivity.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
• Minimum 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 3 years in an HRBP role.
• Proven ability to operate as an individual contributor in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Deep knowledge of Quebec and Canadian labor laws and employment practices.
• Fluency in French and English (written and spoken).
• Strong business acumen, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels.

Good to Have

• HR certification
• Familiarity with HR systems and data analytics tools
• Ability to manage ambiguity and drive change in a fast-paced environment

A Moving Experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership Partnership:
• Collaborate with business leaders to translate organizational goals into HR strategies and actionable plans.
• Employee & Manager Support:
• Provide expert guidance on employee relations, performance management, and leadership development.
• Act as a coach for managers to enhance leadership capabilities and resolve complex HR issues.
• Compliance & Policy Management:
• Ensure adherence to Quebec and Canadian labor laws, employment standards, and company policies.
• Maintain and implement local HR policies and compliance programs.
• HR Program Execution:
• Support onboarding, offboarding, and lifecycle processes for employees in Montreal and across North America.
• Data-Driven Insights:
• Analyze HR metrics to identify trends and recommend solutions that improve retention and productivity.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field; HR certification preferred.
• Experience:
• Minimum 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 3 years in an HRBP role.
• Proven ability to operate as an individual contributor in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Skills:
• Deep knowledge of Quebec and Canadian labor laws and employment practices.
• Fluency in French and English (written and spoken).
• Strong business acumen, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels.

Preferred Attributes

• Familiarity with HR systems and data analytics tools.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and drive change in a fast-paced environment.

Cerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC and www.cerence.com) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. Spun out from Nuance in October 2019, Cerence is a new, independent company that has quickly gained traction as a leader in the automotive voice assistant space, working with all of the world’s leading automakers – from Ford and Fiat Chrysler to Daimler, Audi and BMW to Geely and SAIC – to transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of industry experience and leadership and more than 500 million cars on the road today across more than 70 languages.

As Cerence looks to the future and continues an ambitious growth agenda, we need someone to join the team and help build the future of voice and AI in cars. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cerence’s passionate, dedicated, global team and be a part of meaningful innovation in a rapidly growing industry.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Cerence is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, genetic information and other protected classifications. Cerence Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

All prospective and current Employees need to remain vigilant when it comes to executing security policies in the workplace. This includes:

• Following workplace security protocols and training programs to familiarize with the ways to maintain a safe workplace.
• Following security procedures to report any suspicious activity.
• Having respect for corporate security procedures to allow those procedures to be effective.
• Adhering to company's compliance and regulations.
• Encouraging to follow a zero tolerance for workplace violence.
• Basic knowledge of information security and data privacy requirements (e.g., how to protect data & how to be handling this data).
• Demonstrative knowledge of information security through internal training programs.

About Us

At Cerence AI, we help the world's leading automotive and technology brands leverage AI to create safer, more productive and more joy-filled brand and user experiences. We're looking for motivated, collaborative individuals who come alive with big challenges and are excited about AI's potential to shape the future of how people experience the world.

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