Overview:
The Senior Human Resources Business Partner (Senior HRBP) serves as the strategic HR advisor to a multi-store dealership group, enabling revenue growth and customer experience through talent, culture, and workforce effectiveness across retail sales, service lanes (fixed operations), and parts operations. The role embeds deeply with General Managers, Regional Directors, and Fixed Ops leadership to translate store performance drivers into people strategies aligned to sales volume, CSI/SSI, technician productivity, parts availability, and F&I outcomes.
Responsibilities:
Position Details:- Job Title: Senior Human Resources Business Partner – People Advisory Group
- Reports To: People Ops Manager/Director, with strong dotted line to Regional Ops Leadership
- Location: Hybrid within assigned region; frequent onsite presence at stores and service centers
- Coverage: Multi-store dealership group (new/used sales, service, parts, F&I)
- Employment Type: Full-time, Exempt
- Experience Required: 5-7 years of progressive HRBP experience with multi-site retail or dealership operations
- Travel: 50–70% including periodic evenings/weekends aligned to retail peaks
Key Responsibilities:Field Operations Partnership & Leadership- Serve as primary HR advisor to General Managers, Regional Directors, and Fixed Ops leaders; co-create store-level people plans tied to sales targets, absorption, and guest experience goals.
- Drive organizational design for showroom, BDC (internet/phones), service lanes, parts counters/warehouse, and centralized functions (title, accounting, HR shared services).
- Align staffing models and labor budgets to seasonal demand, month-end closings, manufacturer campaigns, and service capacity (bays/technicians).
- Partner with Sales and F&I leadership on recruiting, onboarding, and ramp plans for sales consultants, desk managers, finance managers, and BDC teams.
- Design incentive-aligned role profiles and career paths (e.g., Internet Floor F&I Sales Management) with competency models and coaching cadence.
- Strengthen compliance behaviors across sales and F&I (fair lending, privacy, menu disclosures) through training, observation feedback, and consequence management in partnership with Compliance/Legal.
- Develop workforce plans for advisors, dispatchers, technicians (A/B/C, Master, EV), and parts support based on hours-per-RO, effective labor rate, and bay utilization.
- Improve advisor capability (walkaround, MPI presentation, upsell ethics) and technician productivity/efficiency via coaching, recognition, and skills-based pay structures where applicable.
- Partner with EHS/Facilities to reinforce safety culture in shops (PPE, lift safety, lockout/tagout, hazardous materials handling) and incident response.
- Develop career pathways for parts roles (counter lead manager) and cross-training with service to enhance throughput.
Employee Relations, Culture & Engagement- Set direction on field culture and engagement strategies that drive operational results, impact retention and customer experience.
- Resolve escalated ER matters; coach leaders on consistent, documentation-backed decisions that align to policy and local law (wage & hour, scheduling, anti-harassment).
- Shape an inclusive, performance-driven culture with recognition programs tailored to sales and fixed ops (e.g., Sales Elite, Tech of the Month, Advisor CSI awards).
Talent Acquisition & Development- Collaborate with regional TAPs to build talent pipelines for hard-to-fill roles (experienced technicians, EV/hybrid techs, master diagnostics, F&I) via schools, OEM programs, and military pathways.
- Implement structured onboarding and 30/60/90 plans with early productivity gates (time-to-first-sale, billed hours ramp, RO close rate).
- Deliver leadership development for GSMs, Fixed Ops Managers, and Parts Managers (people leadership, labor planning, coaching to metrics, ER basics).
Rewards, Scheduling & Labor Cost Management- Optimize schedules for sales floors, BDC, advisors, and techs to cover peak hours (nights/weekends, month-end) while controlling overtime and ensuring rest requirements.
- Advise on market-competitive pay structures: commission plans, spiffs, flat-rate technician models, skill-based differentials, and shift premiums.
- Monitor labor cost as a % of gross by department; recommend labor mix adjustments (apprentice/journeyman/master) to improve throughput and margin.
People Analytics & Retail Metrics- Build dashboards linking HR and store KPIs: CSI, sales volume, F&I penetration, etc.
- Use predictive analytics for turnover risk in critical roles (advisors, techs), correlating engagement, schedule stability, and manager behaviors to retention and performance.
- Run monthly talent reviews per rooftop, track bench strength, internal movement, and diversity outcomes across departments and shifts.
Change Leadership & Operations Enablement- Lead organization transformation initiatives such as restructuring, process improvements, and system rollouts.
- Create change plans with training, comms, adoption KPIs, and reinforcement to achieve sustained behavior change across stores.
Compliance & Risk- Partner with Compliance/Legal on employment law, safety, and retail selling practices; ensure policy training completion and audit readiness across rooftops.
- Support investigations and corrective actions; maintain documentation standards and confidentiality
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business, or related field (MBA or HR certification preferred).
- 5-7 years HR experience supporting multi-site retail, dealership, or service operations with direct partnership to store leadership.
- Demonstrated success driving outcomes in sales and fixed ops through talent strategy, ER, and analytics.
- Fluency with HRIS and DMS/CRM ecosystems; strong Excel/BI skills for operational dashboards.
- Exceptional influence, coaching, and communication skills across frontline to executive audiences.
- Preferred – Work experience within automotive retail multi-store groups and/or OEMs.
- Preferred - Coaching certification or formal leadership development program facilitation.
Success Metrics- Improved CSI/SSI and customer retention correlated with engagement and coaching metrics.
- Reduced regrettable turnover in advisors, technicians, and sales roles, stronger bench and internal promotion rates.
- Labor cost efficiency as % of department gross and improved absorption.
Working Conditions- Frequent time on sales floors, service lanes, and parts areas; adherence to PPE and safety requirements in shop environments.
- Evening/weekend presence during retail peaks (promotions, month/quarter-end) and support for emergent operational needs.
- Regular travel across assigned rooftops; hybrid/remote work for planning, analysis, and follow-up.
Group 1 Automotive, a Fortune 250 company, is a leading operator of automotive dealerships and collision centers across the United States and United Kingdom. If you are aligned with our values of integrity, transparency, professionalism, teamwork and respect - now might be the time for you to accelerate your career as part of the best company in automotive retail.
To learn more about our company, visit www.group1auto.com. Apply today or reference a qualified friend.
*All applicants must pass pre-employment testing to include background checks, MVR, and drug testing to qualify for employment*
Group 1 Automotive is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and participates in E-Verify