People Partner - Japan

Blue Bottle is writing a new chapter to the story and traditions of coffee, food, and hospitality, and the People team is helping us build the company and culture to do it. Blue Bottlers love our company, products, and mission - a great foundation from which to make Blue Bottle the place to start and pursue a career in world-class hospitality and delicious food & beverage. Our People Partners work with Blue Bottle leaders as true business partners,and help employees in our facilities (Cafes and Production) across Japan, do their best work by supporting a variety of processes and programs related to every aspect of the employee experience. We are building the next great company that everyone wants to work for, and this role is critical to pursuing that mission as we grow.

You will:

• Act as the first contact for the People Team, supporting both business leaders and employees.
• Provide appropriate advice and consultation to leaders in decision making  and solving thorny employee issues and situations.
• Find and establish ways to make every aspect of the employee lifecycle a  great employee experience, from onboarding to offboarding and everything in between
• Partner with functional leadership to set and implement talent acquisition strategies and talent-sourcing programs to meet the business and operational needs of a complex organization
• Lead full life cycle TA process from requisition posting through sourcing and offer acceptance
• Conduct to the development of People programs and processes such as succession planning, learning and development, recognition programs, etc.
• Deliver appropriate coaching and developmental feedback to our leaders and team members
• Ensure employee health and safety in the workplace (e.g., conduct stress check test, health and safety committee meetings) and support mental health care in collaboration with industrial doctors.
• Partner, investigate, and resolve employee relations matters and investigations including workplace conflicts or allegations of policy and/or legal violations; work to ensure issues are properly identified, reported, investigated, and resolved
• Advise and support employee on specific company policy and procedure questions
• Maintain regulatory and compliance practices in areas of support
• Collaborate with HQ counterparts and lead implementation as owner of several global HR projects.
• Draft, review, and update Employee Relations and People (HR) related communications

You are:

• Able to combine great people intuition, business judgment, and discretion in your decision-making
• A deeply empathetic listener who people naturally trust and seek out for help or another perspective
• Collaborative and build trust-based relationships with executives, leaders, and employees
• Adept at recommendations to effectively resolve problems or issues; using judgment that is consistent with Blue Bottle culture as well as standards, practices, and/or employment law
• Comfortable with ambiguity, rapidly changing environments, and building from scratch

You have:

• 5+ years experience as an HR generalist or Business Partner, ideally in consumer retail,  food/beverage and/or production facilities
• Strong knowledge of labor/employment laws and practices, Japan-specific risk and HSE.
• Broad familiarity with general HR disciplines and best practices (i.e., TA, TD, C&B, OD) and ability to apply practices with judgment to specific situations
• Ability to communicate (reading, writing, and speaking) clearly and effectively in English and Japanese
• Specific experience with employee relations and navigating difficult situations and conversations
• Superb judgment and integrity, including excellent decision-making skills and a bias to action
• Last but not least, a deep love for great coffee, food, and exceptional customer experience