HR Team Lead

HR Team Lead

• We’re committed to Finding Better Ways™ and that starts with creating a safe, inclusive, and empowering environment for everyone

• This is a fixed term 12-month position based in Kennecott

• No relocation assistance is provided for this position

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

About the role

We are looking for an HR Team Lead, who will drive operational excellence and team performance. You are responsible for fostering a culture of accountability, managing complex labor relations, and ensuring seamless cross-departmental collaboration.

This is a great opportunity for an organized, collaborative HR team lead to provide support to the business across a range of HR processes and policies.

Reporting to the Hiring Manager and working in a collaborative community, you will be:

• Leading, coaching, and mentoring the HR team, fostering a high-performance culture where constructive discomfort drives growth, continuous improvement, and excellence.

• Setting clear expectations, performance metrics, and development goals; regularly assess progress and hold team members accountable for outcomes, behaviors, and professional growth.

• Serving as a strategic partner to company and union leadership, cultivating a productive, transparent, and solution-oriented labor relationship.

• Ensuring consistent, fair, and compliant application of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) across all departments and operational areas.

• Collaborating closely with Payroll and Benefits partners to ensure data accuracy, process integrity, timely execution, and adherence to the CBA, company policy, and applicable labor and employment laws.

• Partnering with department and operational leaders to align HR strategies and initiatives with broader business objectives and workforce needs.

• Overseeing day-to-day HR operations, ensuring seamless coordination with Operations, Learning & Development, and Talent Acquisition (as example, not limited to).

• Analyzing HR metrics and workforce data to identify trends, anticipate challenges, and implement proactive, data-driven solutions that support business performance and employee engagement.

About you

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team

• Proven experience leading and developing HR teams in a fast‑paced, high‑performance environment

• A strong background working with unionized workforces, including interpreting and applying CBAs consistently and fairly

• Advanced, hands-on experience using Workday, SAP, and ServiceNow for HRIS management and case tracking

• Confidence navigating grievance processes, investigations, and labor‑management discussions with professionalism and sound judgment

• A data‑driven approach to identifying trends, anticipating workforce needs, and improving HR operations

• A collaborative mindset with the ability to build strong relationships across Operations, L&D, Talent Acquisition, Payroll, and Benefits

• A proactive approach to identifying process gaps, mitigating risks, and driving continuous improvement across HR operations

What we offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority.

• Competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with an annual incentive bonus.

• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.

• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program.

• Attractive share ownership plan.

• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all the moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.

• A generous parental leave policy, which ensures you’re able to spend quality time with your new family.

• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing.

• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides confidential counselling or expert guidance for you and your family to help get through life’s challenges.

Where you’ll be working

Our Kennecott mine is a world-class, fully integrated copper mining operation, including a concentrator, smelter, and refinery, located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. We produce copper, precious metals including gold and silver, molybdenum, and sulfuric acid. Kennecott has been mining and processing minerals from the rich ore body of the Bingham Canyon Mine since 1903 and is one of the top producing mines in the world, comprising approximately 11 percent of U.S. annual copper production.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

Rio Tinto is committed to equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel safe, respected and valued. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome but are essential to our success. We treat all our people fairly and with dignity.

Rio Tinto participates in E- Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http://www.ucis.gov/ for more information.

R55028