Human Resources Business Partner

Lower Mainland British Coumbia and Greater Toronto Area (2 Positions)

About Soul Foods Group

Soul Foods Group of Companies is a family-owned business operating a growing portfolio of franchise restaurants including KFC, Taco Bell, Starbucks and Burger King. Established in the UK and expanded into Canada, Soul Foods Group Canada operates over 380 restaurants and a growing team of over 7,500 employees. Our culture is grounded in four pillars: People, Customers, Growth and Community. Our mission is to make a difference to people’s lives, their opportunities and their communities through great tasting food and coffee.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a commercially minded Field HR Business Partner to help build strong, stable restaurant teams and improve people performance across an assigned market. You will own the market people-health agenda in partnership with the Director of Operations (DOO), translating business priorities into measurable plans focused on staffing, retention, leadership stability, succession and capability.

You will use workforce insights and structured operating routines to assess market performance, identify root causes and drive focused strategy against the people agenda. Working closely with Directors, Area Managers and restaurant leaders, you will coach leaders, strengthen accountability, and manage complex people matters. Regular field travel is essential to understand restaurant realities and build effective relationships.

Key Responsibilities

• Market people-health ownership: Partner with the Director of Operations (DOO) to drive overall market people performance, sharing accountability for achieving staffing optimums, strengthening leadership stability, building talent readiness and reducing team member and restaurant leadership turnover. Translate market priorities into focused, measurable action plans that drive continuous improvement.

• Business partnership and operational influence: Partner with the DOO and Area Managers to understand business priorities, restaurant-level challenges and performance risks. Coach leaders to take ownership of people outcomes and make practical, commercially sound decisions.

• Workforce insights and performance intervention: Analyze people metrics at Market, Area Manager and restaurant level; assess performance against company targets, prior periods and DOO-market averages. Identify outliers, investigate root causes and target interventions where improvement is most needed.

• HRBP operating routines and follow-through: Lead structured weekly touchpoints and period-end people-health reviews with Operations. Present scorecards, highlight exceptions and trends, agree action owners and timelines, and evaluate whether prior-period actions improved results.

• Staffing and talent planning: Own the accuracy and ongoing maintenance of the Management Tracker, ensuring it is current and serves as the reliable source for tracking staffing optimums and management vacancies across the assigned market. Drive market staffing health, vacancy risks, interim coverage and workforce forecasts. Partner with Operations on staffing decisions and with Talent Acquisition on external hiring, selection and onboarding execution.

• Succession, development and stability: Lead talent reviews, succession planning and bench-strength assessments; identify future RGMs and Area Managers, establish actionable development plans and monitor progress. Support sustained restaurant leadership placement and continuity.

• Leadership coaching and performance: Coach Area Managers and Restaurant leaders on leadership effectiveness, feedback, performance expectations and accountability. Help leaders address underperformance and improve team capability.

• Employee relations: Advise on complaints, investigations, discipline, accommodations, leaves and terminations, ensuring fair, consistent and legally compliant approaches; escalate complex risks appropriately.

• Culture, engagement and retention: Use turnover trends, employee feedback and field observations to identify culture and engagement issues. Partner with leaders on targeted retention, recognition and employee-experience actions.

• Compliance and work authorization: Monitor and help address people-related compliance risks, including work authorization, policy acknowledgements, required training and applicable provincial employment requirements.

• Business transitions: Coordinate people-related requirements for openings, renovations, closures, transfers and leadership changes with Operations, Payroll and other support functions.

• HR programs, process and communication: Collaborate with the broader HR team to deliver consistent programs, improve processes and prepare accurate employee correspondence, internal communications and formal notices.

Qualifications and Experience

• Post-secondary education in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related field, or equivalent education and experience. CHRP designation is an asset.
• At least five years of progressive HR experience, including two years in an HR Business Partner or comparable advisory role supporting operational leaders.
• Valid driver’s licence and access to a reliable vehicle for regular travel between restaurant locations.
• Experience in multi-site restaurants, retail or other fast-paced customer-facing operations is preferred.
• Strong commercial judgment and demonstrated ability to interpret workforce data, diagnose people-performance gaps and translate insights into measurable improvements.
• Ability to independently assess people health across a multi-location market, prioritize interventions and influence operational leaders to deliver results.
• Experience leading workforce planning, recruitment partnerships, succession planning, leadership development and retention initiatives.
• Demonstrated skill coaching leaders, driving accountability and managing complex employee relations matters, including investigations, accommodations and performance management.
• Strong working knowledge of applicable provincial employment legislation and sound judgment in confidential, sensitive situations.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and presentation skills; able to explain data and recommendations clearly to operational leaders.
• Highly organized and disciplined in tracking commitments, deadlines, employee documentation and follow-through across multiple locations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint, and experience with HR information systems.
• Ability to travel regularly across the assigned geography, including occasional overnight travel; valid driver’s licence and access to a reliable vehicle.
• Flexibility to occasionally work early mornings, evenings or weekends to support operations and urgent employee matters.

What We Offer

• Annual base salary range with starting salary based on relevant experience and qualifications.
• Annual bonus opportunity.
• Car allowance, fuel card and reimbursement for eligible business travel expenses.
• Comprehensive health and dental benefits, wellness and employee assistance resources.
• Retirement savings program (RRSP) with employer contributions.
• Employee discounts across participating restaurant brands.
• Opportunity to make a meaningful impact across a diverse portfolio of restaurant brands.