People Partner

At Astellas, we strive to become a cutting-edge, value-driven life science innovator. This means working at the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients.

Making a positive impact on patients’ lives is the purpose behind everything we do. At Astellas, we are relentless in our pursuit of scientific progress and in tackling unmet medical needs, demonstrated by our legacy in oncology, overactive bladder and transplant and our impressive pipeline in women's health, blindness and regeneration, genetic regulation, immuno-oncology, mitochondria and targeted protein degradation.

We are a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, with a team of more than 14,000 managing operations in approximately 70 countries around the world. We are in the Top 30 global biopharma company based on global revenues and are predicted to be one of the Top 10 Cancer Drug Makers of 2024 by Fierce Pharma.

We are looking for candidates who will thrive in our entrepreneurial and empowering environment where talent and leadership flourish. Do your values align with our Astellas Way - patient focus, ownership, results, openness and integrity? Then we would love to hear from you.

From the first day in role, everyone at Astellas has a responsibility for creating a brighter future for patients around the world. We nurture exceptional relationships with our employees to allow them to thrive, foster innovation, and deliver exceptional business results. We work to create a culture where our people feel empowered to pursue brave ideas and ambitious outcomes, to have the confidence to be accountable for a higher standard of performance and embody a competitive and solutions-oriented mindset.

Astellas Pharma Canada (APCA) is currently searching for a People Partner reporting to People Partner Cluster Lead.

The People Partner:

• Will provide multi-country policy expertise and HR generalist knowledge to support and educate leaders, managers, and associates on all People topics. People Partners support all customer groups by enabling the delivery of lifecycle events.
• Is responsible for resolving employee relations issues, providing support and advising leaders on HR-related matters & policies.
• Is responsible for the delivery of multi-country Case Management (i.e., underperformance, disciplinary, grievance and sickness absence), business changes, in-country projects, and cyclical HR processes on behalf of Global HR Business Partners and Centre’s of Excellence, in addition to providing support for employee relations queries.
• Is responsible for delivering a legally compliant HR service in line with identified needs.
• Is responsible for providing data and insights on the volume of activity, trends, issues, concerns, and success stories.
• Will act as a change agent and champion for the Global HR Operations Model
• Will work closely with other HR Operations teams, across the broader HR function and directly with the business

• Responsible for the provision of sound advice and guidance provided to managers and employees on a variety of employee relations issues (multi-country)
• Responsible for managing a portfolio of business change and multi-country projects in collaboration with HRBPs  
• Responsible for providing support to HR Business Partners and Centres of Excellence to execute the delivery of cyclical HR processes

• Responsible for all employee relations Case Management (i.e., underperformance, disciplinary, grievance and sickness absence)
• Responsible for delivering a multi-country legally compliant HR service in line with identified needs.
• Responsible for team management

• Provide solutions to resolve case management queries escalated.
• Provide advice, guidance and support to managers and employees on employee relations issues and policy interpretation
• Support management of Union / Works Council – provide support to ER CoE with management of Unions / Works Council through bringing knowledge of HR landscape in country
• Monitors and tracks trends in employee relations queries to proactively identify issues and identify opportunities to overcome these trends
• Escalate complex case management queries to People Partner Cluster Lead, HRBP, Employee Relations as appropriate

• Collaborate with SMEs and HRBPs to deliver end-to-end business change projects (e.g. business restructure)
• Work closely with broader HR Project teams to deliver in-country project work
• Manage multiple projects; identifying risks, dependencies, overlaps and conflicts (both within and outside of HR) and ensuring deadlines and deliverables are met
• Maintain a mind-set of continuous improvement to identify opportunities to improve the services provided by HR
• Manage Exit Interviews - when required - and take appropriate actions, share trends, issues, concerns, and success stories.
• Proof-read translations of HR policy documentation and provide country specific technical HR guidance where needed

• Collaborate with HRBPs and other HR Sub-Divisions to execute and deliver cyclical HR processes (e.g. talent, performance and reward cycles)
• Act as a thought partner to HRBPs and other HR Sub-Divisions to ensure that global solutions work locally and that local HR requirements are met
• Execute activity on behalf of CoE teams for processes that are outside of the scope of services provided by the Global HR Service Delivery

• Provide mentorship and counselling on local policies and processes
• Deliver trainings and workshops for local leadership teams and various employee populations on different HR topics.
• Draw people insights from available real-time reports to identify and address opportunities for improvement.
• Act as interface to other Organization HR Sub-Divisions – e.g., HR Ops, HR Business Partners, Rewards, Talent Acquisition

• Educated to degree level or equivalent or professional HR qualification.
• Solid experience as an HR generalist and deep understanding of HR fundamentals, including recruitment, people performance management, employee engagement, compensation, development, employee relations.
• Experience in managing high risk employment-related cases from intake to investigation to resolution.
• Proven experience function as a natural collaborator who is authentic, transparent and aligns with the Astellas values and code of conduct.
• Proven success partnering and collaborating with stakeholders cross-functionally and at all levels.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to exercise sound judgement based on policies, procedures, practices and risk factors
• Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to inspire trust and confidence and effectively influence the decision-making process
• Self-starter and ability to manage a workload of varying complexity to a high standard
• Experience across core HR functions (e.g. Compensation, Benefits, Performance Management, etc.) with specific experience in HR process design, transaction support and employee administration
• Fluent in English and at least one other European language
• Demonstrated knowledge of Project Management Tools and Techniques
• Continuous Improvement knowledge
• Personal computer skills, including MS Office and Outlook
• A broad understanding of the HR employee lifecycle

• At Astellas we recognize the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimize the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines..

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Astellas may use artificial intelligence-enabled tools at various stages of the recruitment and selection process.

Additional Information

Astellas Pharma Canada welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the hiring process.

No telephone inquiries, in-person applications, or agencies please. While we appreciate all applications, only candidates under consideration will be contacted.