HR Business Partner at Axiom | People Strategy Role in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This Talent Partner / HR Business Partner role at Axiom is a strong mid-career opportunity for HR professionals with 5+ years of experience who want to operate as a true strategic partner rather than an administrative generalist. The scope is broad — spanning ER, performance management, comp, D&I, and organizational design — which accelerates skill diversification.
Compensation analysis: The $78,000–$83,500 base sits slightly below the Chicago-market median for HRBP roles at this level (typically $85,000–$105,000 for 5-8 years of experience), though the 20% target bonus brings total cash to approximately $93,600–$100,200, which is more competitive. For a legal-tech/professional services firm with Fortune 500 clients, this is reasonable but not premium.
Career development signals:
- Reporting to a Global Talent Partner Lead with cross-functional exposure to Comp & Benefits, HRIS, and Recruitment teams — great for building a holistic HR skillset.
- Experience with Workday (desirable) is a high-demand, transferable HR tech skill.
- Global team exposure is a meaningful differentiator for future HRBP or HR Director roles.
- The "hire to retire" ownership model builds end-to-end HR generalist depth.
Green flags: Values-driven culture language, transparent salary disclosure, and a structured bonus plan suggest a mature HR function. Watch for: The fast-paced environment and multi-tasking emphasis could signal a lean team with high workload. Clarify team size and manager-to-HR ratio before accepting.
About Axiom:
Axiom is where legal teams go to find the right talent for everything from routine in-house tasks to complex outside counsel work. Too many legal departments are stuck having to choose between paying the high fees of their law firm, hiring full-time employees they don't need, or turning to a low-cost agency that can't meet their quality standards. At the same time, top lawyers want to work on challenging legal matters, but they want more control over how, when, and where they practice. Both are forced compromises that no one should have to make. Axiom shares and meets the higher standards of its clients and lawyers, with our "work smarter, adapt faster, go further" approach – connecting growing mid-market and Fortune 500 companies with the world's deepest bench of experienced, specialized legal talent.
The Role:
Axiom is seeking a Talent Partner to join our global People team. At Axiom, Talent Partners are responsible for bringing out the best in our talent and helping the business deliver results and growth in a values-driven way. Based in Chicago, this role will work alongside the business to develop policy implementation, support best practices, coach managers and team members alike, and you'll be a key player in people development across the company.
Reporting to the Global Talent Partner Lead, you'll partner with other Talent Partners and work directly with members of our US HQ Teams with the opportunity to solve complex problems and impact our people strategy — all while creating meaningful and lasting relationships. You will also build key relationships within the Axiom People Team, working with colleagues in our Compensation & Benefits, Recruitment, People Development, and HRIS teams, being part of a collaborative and people-centric function.
Responsibilities:
- Partner directly with managers and leaders, advising and proactively anticipating their people needs — including rolling out organizational structures, providing counsel on performance management, advising on complex people issues, providing compensation and recognition recommendations, and overall, operating as the key thought partner on all things talent.
- Be accountable for the team member experience from hire to retire, including scoping job roles with management, ongoing career development and coaching, running our bi-annual feedback and development processes for your functions (including promotion process), partnering on improvement implementation following engagement surveys, analysing exit and attrition trends to create proactive solutions, and owning people compliance within your business area.
- Own the successful resolution of employee relations issues by providing counsel and direction for cyclical and ad hoc performance management, and operating as an advisor to team members on their development and career goals at Axiom.
- Empower and upskill managers, acting as a point of contact for HR issues and using judgment regarding escalating issues and asking for assistance.
- Help develop and implement strong diversity and inclusion practices across the business.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams and oversee insights-based, output-oriented project work to ensure cohesive delivery of HR programs and services to the wider business.
Qualifications:
You are adaptable, authentic, accountable, and values-driven. You're a team player who always gives their best and inspires others to do the same. This role requires curiosity, resourcefulness, analytical thinking, proactivity, and collaboration.
Essential Criteria:
- 5+ years of experience working in an HR role with experience across some of the following HR disciplines: employee relations, recruitment, performance management, employment law, compensation practices, or organizational design.
- Excellent communication skills and demonstrated ability to build credibility with all levels within the organization.
- Able to use and interpret data and apply a data-driven approach to decision making.
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment, which includes multi-tasking and the ability to quickly turn around and deliver outcomes.
- Meticulous organizational and planning skills, and a comfort with change to ensure we deliver results on time and as expected.
- Proven influencing and negotiating skills in situations with both internal and external groups.
- A great listener with exceptional EQ.
- Bachelor's degree required or equivalent.
Desirable Criteria:
- Experience using HR / Talent Management Systems (e.g., Workday).
- Experience working with global teams.
Compensation & Benefits:
Axiom's total rewards philosophy is to be transparent and equitable with all job candidates. The annual base salary range for this role is $78,000–$83,500, and you will be eligible to participate in our cash bonus plan which on target would be 20% of your base salary for a Manager level role in our People team. You can also participate in our benefits programs that include healthcare, life and disability coverage, 401K with company match, paid sick and personal time off, paid parental leave, and more. Please note that the final compensation is determined by several considerations, including the quality of your experience and expertise, your ability to immediately contribute to Axiom, your potential to move up to the next level, the market you are located in, and other business considerations.
Accommodation for Individuals with Disabilities: Upon request and consistent with applicable laws, Axiom will attempt to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in the application process. To request an accommodation to complete the application form, please contact us at [email protected] and include "Applicant Accommodation" in the subject line.