P&O Business Partner

People & Organisation Business Partner
Oslo
12-month maternity cover
Hybrid
Preferred start: 1 January 2027

Would you like to work close to the business, helping leaders turn priorities into action? In this hands-on P&O Business Partner role, you will partner with one of COWI Norway’s executing units, while also playing a key role in supporting and developing the Head of Discipline community across COWI Norway.

A business partner close to leaders and the organisation
As a P&O Business Partner, you will bring a people and organisational perspective to business decisions and help leaders turn priorities into practical action. The role has two distinct but connected areas of responsibility.

You will work closely with the Senior Vice President and leadership teams in one of COWI Norway’s executing units, translating business priorities into effective leadership, organisational development and people practices.
Alongside your unit responsibility, you will coach and challenge Heads of Discipline, strengthen leadership practices and help create greater consistency in people leadership across COWI Norway.

Across both areas, you will contribute to leadership development, organisational effectiveness and the implementation of key people processes, working closely with leaders, P&O colleagues and specialist functions.
You will report to the Head of P&O Norway and collaborate closely with Senior P&O Business Partners, P&O specialists and colleagues across COWI's global P&O organisation.

Your key responsibilities:

• Act as a trusted P&O partner to the Senior Vice President and leadership teams, bringing people, leadership and organisational perspectives into business priorities and decisions.
• Coach and advise Heads of Discipline in day-to-day and complex leadership, team and organisational matters, while strengthening collaboration, leadership development and the sharing of good practices across COWI Norway.
• Translate business and people priorities into practical action and ensure effective implementation and follow-through.
• Support engagement, performance, talent and succession activities, helping leaders turn insight into action.
• Guide leaders through organisational change and translate change into clear leadership actions.
• Use people data and business insight to identify trends, challenge assumptions and recommend action.
• Bring in relevant specialists when deeper expertise is needed.

Help leaders succeed
We are looking for someone who enjoys working closely with leaders and can quickly understand the context in which they operate. You build trust quickly, ask incisive questions and are prepared to challenge when needed. You combine sound judgement with a pragmatic approach and do not need to have every answer yourself. You know when to coach, when to advise and when to bring in specialist expertise.

What you need to succeed:

• A degree in HR, organisational psychology, business, leadership or a related field. Relevant experience may compensate for formal education.
• Experience from an HR/P&O Business Partner role or another position involving close partnership with leaders and organisations.
• Experience coaching and developing leaders at operational and strategic levels.
• A strong understanding of how business priorities translate into leadership, organisational and people implications.
• Experience supporting organisational change, performance, engagement and talent processes.
• Confidence using data and insight to identify challenges and support better decisions.
• The ability to thrive in a complex, matrix-based and knowledge-intensive organisation where collaboration and influence matter.
• Strong communication skills in both Norwegian and English.

What you can expect
This role offers the opportunity to work closely with leaders at different levels across the organisation and the opportunity to make a visible contribution in a complex, global knowledge organisation. You will join an experienced P&O community that values collaboration, sound judgement and practical impact.

What we also offer:

• The opportunity to expand your experience with exciting projects
• Good opportunities for self-development through personal development plans, COWI Academy and the COWI Connect mentoring program
• National and international collaboration across organizations and disciplines. We have approximately 70 different professional networks in COWI
• An active company culture with social and athletic activities, «lønningstreff», and company cabins
• Flexible working hours with a home office arrangement, five weeks of vacation and time off between Christmas and New Year
• Last but not least, a good working environment. It is important for us to be generous and stand up for each other, which is also reflected in satisfaction and employee surveys

Got more questions?
If you have any unanswered questions about the role or what we have to offer, please reach out to Senior Global Talent Acquisition Specialist, Sophia Haugen, at sowh@cowi.com, or Head of P&O Norway, Ingrid Husan, at inhu@cowi.com. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so we encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Get to know us even better at our website, www.cowi.com, where you can learn more about our projects, our strategy, what we want to achieve and what life is like at COWI.

A place to work and so much more
At COWI, we work together with our customers to shape a sustainable and liveable world. We do it by applying our knowledge and curiosity – and sometimes even our courage – to create the solutions the world needs today to enable a better tomorrow. We support our customers’ transition towards increased sustainability. We strive to lead by example by embedding environmental management, social responsibility and good governance into our business practices and the options we provide to our customers.

We value differences and development and cultivate an environment of belonging and having fun. Because that is what brings out the best in you, at work and at home. With offices primarily located in the Nordic region, the UK, North America and India, we are currently more than 7,500 people who bring their expertise in engineering, architecture, energy and environment into play.

Equal opportunity employer
COWI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, COWI complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

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