HR Business Partner

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hawthorne Recruitment is proud to partner with Ready Refrigeration on the search for an HR Business Partner to support a growing group of operational businesses across Atlantic Canada.

Ready Refrigeration has built a strong reputation across Atlantic Canada for its HVAC, refrigeration, heating, cooling, and related mechanical services. In addition to Ready Refrigeration, the successful candidate will also support several businesses under the same ownership group, including Party Ice, Spring Water, and Clearview. Together, these businesses create a diverse and fast-moving environment spanning seasonal operations, distribution, and specialty construction services.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity for an experienced and confident HR professional to step into a broad, hands-on role supporting multiple independently operated businesses under one ownership group. Reporting to leadership, the HR Business Partner will oversee the day-to-day HR function across the companies while helping create consistency, strengthen processes, support leaders, and foster a positive and accountable workplace culture.

The environment is highly operational, practical, and relationship-driven. The successful candidate will be someone who is comfortable building credibility with both leadership and frontline teams, navigating difficult conversations when needed, and providing clear, confident guidance across a variety of workplace situations. They will enjoy being close to the business, partnering directly with managers and employees, and balancing both strategic thinking and day-to-day HR support.

The HR Business Partner will play a key role across the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, employee relations, performance management, compliance, health and safety coordination, and HR administration. Given the nature of the organization, the role requires someone who is adaptable, organized, and comfortable managing multiple priorities across several businesses at once.

While Ready Refrigeration represents the primary employee base and day-to-day focus, the successful candidate will also support smaller teams and seasonal operations where flexibility, responsiveness, and a practical approach are essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the full employee lifecycle across multiple businesses, including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, and offboarding
• Partner closely with leadership and operational managers to provide practical HR guidance, support workplace issues, and help navigate employee matters confidently and consistently
• Maintain and improve HR policies, employee documentation, compliance practices, and overall HR processes across the businesses 
• Oversee HR administration including employee files, leave tracking, reporting, and confidential documentation management
• Support health and safety coordination, training tracking, and workplace compliance initiatives
• Help strengthen communication, accountability, and overall employee experience across the organizations

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is confident, approachable, and operationally minded. They are someone who communicates clearly, builds trust easily, and is comfortable taking ownership of workplace conversations and employee matters in a practical and professional way.

You bring:

• 5+ years of progressive HR experience, ideally within trades, construction, manufacturing, distribution, or other operational environments
• Strong knowledge of employment standards, employee relations, HR administration, and workplace compliance
• The confidence and judgement to navigate difficult conversations, provide guidance to leaders, and support employee relations matters effectively
• Experience supporting multiple teams, departments, or business units simultaneously
• Strong communication, relationship-building, organizational, and conflict resolution skills
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on day-to-day execution
• A proactive and adaptable mindset with strong attention to detail
• CHRP/CPHR designation considered an asset, though not required

Why This Role Matters

This role will serve as a key partner to leadership across a growing group of businesses where people, communication, and operational support are critical to long-term success. The HR Business Partner will help bring consistency and structure across the organizations while also supporting the day-to-day realities of fast-paced operational environments.

This is an opportunity to join a practical, hardworking, and collaborative group of companies where HR is viewed as an important business function and trusted partner to operations and leadership alike.

If you are energized by relationship-driven HR, enjoy supporting operational businesses, and want to contribute in a meaningful and hands-on way, we welcome your application. Please submit your application to Hawthorne Recruitment, where we remain dedicated to making matches made meaningful.

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