About the Role
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is seeking a strategic, business-minded Senior HR Business Partner to partner closely with our Retail Operations leadership team during our next stage of growth. This role serves as the primary People partner for a portfolio of retail markets, helping leaders build high-performing teams while balancing employee experience with operational excellence.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the trusted People partner to Regional Directors, GMs, and cross-functional leaders.
- Influence business decisions through a people lens, balancing employee experience, operational performance, legal compliance, and financial outcomes.
- Coach leaders on organizational design, change management, succession planning, workforce planning, and leadership effectiveness.
- Use workforce data and business insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, recommending proactive solutions.
- Coach leaders through performance management, difficult conversations, talent decisions, and organizational challenges.
- Develop leadership capability by providing guidance on feedback, accountability, communication, and team effectiveness.
- Partner with Learning & Development to identify capability gaps and leadership development opportunities.
- Support succession planning and talent reviews across assigned business groups.
- Lead complex employee relations matters, investigations, conflict resolution, and sensitive workplace issues.
- Ensure consistent application of company policies while exercising sound business judgment.
- Monitor emerging employment law changes and ensure operational compliance across multiple states.
- Advise leaders on Workers' Compensation cases, medical accommodations, leaves of absence, disciplinary actions, and separations.
- Partner with leaders to drive the annual performance management process, calibration discussions, and development planning.
- Support talent planning initiatives including promotions, internal mobility, retention strategies, and high-potential development.
- Identify turnover trends and partner with operations to improve retention and engagement.
- Champion Van Leeuwen's culture and values while helping leaders create inclusive, high-performing teams.
- Partner with business leaders to improve engagement through thoughtful communication, recognition, and development initiatives.
- Act as a visible and trusted resource for employees across assigned markets.
- Partner with Recruiting, Payroll, Benefits, and HR Operations to ensure an exceptional employee experience.
- Support organizational changes including restructures, reductions in force, new market openings, and operational transitions.
- Maintain compliance across documentation, investigations, corrective actions, unemployment claims, workers' compensation, and labor audits.
- Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, and improve People processes.
- Lead cross-functional People initiatives that improve business performance and employee experience.
- Participate in company-wide projects including policy development, compensation initiatives, leadership programs, engagement surveys, and technology implementations.
- Drive change management efforts for organizational initiatives.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field preferred.
- 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including HR Business Partner experience supporting multi-site operations.
- Experience partnering with senior operational leaders in retail, hospitality, restaurant, or other multi-unit environments strongly preferred.
- Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws across multiple states.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex employee relations investigations and coaching leaders through sensitive issues.
- Strong business acumen with the ability to understand operational drivers and influence business outcomes.
- Experience with organizational design, workforce planning, change management, and talent management.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to analyze workforce metrics and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with changing priorities.
- Willingness to travel to assigned markets (approximately 15–20%).
- Must be comfortable working in-store scoop shifts once a quarter, while adhering to DOH guidelines.
- Build trusted relationships with operational leaders.
- Influence decisions through data, judgment, and credibility rather than authority.
- Anticipate people risks before they become business problems.
- Balance employee advocacy with business needs.
- Drive consistency while remaining pragmatic and solutions-oriented.
- Help develop stronger leaders and healthier teams.
- Contribute meaningfully to the evolution of Van Leeuwen's People function as the company continues to grow.
- Ability to balance multiple projects.
Skills
- Employee Relations
- Organizational Effectiveness
- Talent Management
- Employment Law
- Business Acumen
- Coaching
- Workforce Planning
- Change Management
- Succession Planning
- Leadership Development
- Performance Management
- Conflict Resolution
- Communication
- Facilitation
- Relationship-Building
- Data Analysis
- Problem-Solving
Location
- Williamsburg, Brooklyn
- Remote
- Hybrid
Work Type
- Hybrid
Experience Level
- Senior
- 7+ years
Education Level
- Bachelor's degree preferred
Salary/Compensations
- $100,000 - $125,000
- Eligible for discretionary annual 10% bonus
Benefits
- Employee Scoop Card
- Medical, Dental + Vision Insurance with 70% Employer Contribution
- 401k with up to 4% Employer Match
- Cell Phone Reimbursement Plan
- Wellness Reimbursement Plan
- Flexible Time Off
- Paid Sick Time
- Paid one month sabbatical (eligible after 4 years of continued employment)
- Yearly Performance Reviews
About the Company
- Van Leeuwen Ice Cream started in a yellow truck on the streets of NYC in 2008 with a mission to make good ice cream that makes you feel good.
- Happiness is healthiness.
- We strive to ensure every scoop, store and employee feels and creates one community to contribute to the overall brand.
Equal Opportunity
- Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is committed to pay transparency and equity among all employees and provides employees an environment where pay transparency and dialogue on compensation are allowed.
- Van Leeuwen Ice Cream complies with Equal Employment Opportunity laws as well as federal, state, and local laws on compensation, pay transparency, and pay equity.
- Here at Van Leeuwen, Good Ice Cream Is For Everyone! As an equal opportunity employer, we strive to foster a welcoming, diverse environment for every employee and customer.
- We pride ourselves on the creativity that goes into our ice cream and is built in our stores (by YOU) that help us meet our missions and values.
