Senior Manager, People and Culture

Senior Manager, People and Culture

Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) is looking for a Senior Manager, People and Culture to oversee all aspects of Human Resource (HR) administration for SLT's staff of approximately 48 full-time employees including: recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, benefits administration, compliance, and learning and professional development.

SLT serves a diverse audience with broad cultural heritages, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and orientations. We encourage applications from candidates who reflect and value the audiences and populations we serve.

The Senior Manager, People and Culture plays a mission-critical role in this work by collaborating with SLT Leadership to nurture the people and culture of Sonoma Land Trust (SLT). Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer this role is responsible for the full employee lifecycle: recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, benefits administration, compliance, and learning and professional development. The Senior Manager, People and Culture partners closely with the leadership team to foster a healthy, equitable, and high-performing workplace culture, and serves as a trusted resource for staff at all levels.

Primary Responsibilities

• Champion an organizational culture grounded in the mission, equity, transparency, and staff wellbeing.
• Design and run engagement initiatives, including staff surveys, all-staff gatherings, and recognition programs.
• Serve as a first point of contact for employee questions, concerns, and conflicts; conduct workplace investigations as needed with discretion and care.
• Advise managers on performance management, coaching, and corrective action.
• Facilitate SLT's full recruitment process including job description development, recruiter sourcing (where needed), screening, interview coordination, background checks, and compensation negotiation.
• Partner with hiring managers to build inclusive and structured interview processes.
• Lead onboarding to ensure new hires are well oriented to SLT's mission, role expectations, policies, and culture.
• Manage the individual objective setting, professional development, and performance review processes.
• Build and maintain a learning and staff development program that includes offerings for both supervisors and staff.
• Coach managers on giving feedback, setting goals, and developing their teams.
• Administer the employee benefits program (medical, dental, vision, retirement, EAP, ancillary benefits), including open enrollment, employee education, and vendor management.
• Process leaves of absence and accommodations (FMLA/CFRA, PDL, ADA accommodations) with managers and external administrators.
• Collaborate in updating the compensation framework in partnership with the Chief Financial Officer: job leveling, job grades, salary bands, and periodic market benchmarking with third-party consultants.
• Maintain compliance with California and federal employment law, including FEHA, CFRA, PFL, paid sick leave, meal and rest break requirements, wage and hour rules, exempt classification testing, workplace violence prevention, and harassment prevention training mandates.
• Support Leadership and Board in HR policy development, maintain the employee handbook, and ensure timely updates as laws evolve.
• Oversee personnel recordkeeping, I-9 administration, EEO reporting, workers' compensation claims, and required postings.
• Coordinate with external counsel on complex employment matters.

Essential Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of progressive HR experience, including at least 2 years at the manager or senior generalist level.
• Demonstrated experience leading recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, and benefits administration.
• Working knowledge of California employment law and federal regulations (FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, ERISA basics).
• Sound judgement, discretion, and ability to hold confidential information with care.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills with the ability to translate policy into plain language for staff.
• Possess cultural competence by effectively interacting and developing positive working relationships with people of various cultural backgrounds.
• Proficiency with HRIS platforms, Microsoft Office suite of applications, and cloud-based

Preferred Skills and Experience

SLT is open to candidates with diverse backgrounds, experience, and transferrable skills. We are looking for candidates with the following experience OR the ability to develop skills in each of these categories:

• Prior experience in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization.
• SHRM-CP/SCP or PHR/SPHR certification, or PHRca.
• Experience supporting a workforce of similar size (50 employees) as a sole or near-sole HR leader.
• A passion for conservation and environmental issues.

Schedule, Salary & Benefits

This position is full-time, 40 hours per week (exempt status). Annual salary starting at $120,000, commensurate with experience. This position is located at the Sonoma Land Trust office in Santa Rosa, California. Staff are working in a hybrid model.

Sonoma Land Trust's benefits include:

• Paid time off including paid vacation based on tenure, 15 paid holidays, and paid sick and family leave
• 100% of employee premiums for medical, dental, and vision, and 75% of dependent premiums
• 5% employer contribution to retirement plan after one year of employment
• Employee life and disability insurance
• Pre-tax dependent care coverage plans for dependent or elder care
• An employee assistance program for mental health, coaching, and financial or legal consultation services
• A lifestyle account annual stipend for wellness or gear purchases

About Sonoma Land Trust

Sonoma Land Trust works in alliance with nature to conserve and restore the integrity of the land, with a focus on climate resiliency. The organization is also committed to ensuring more equitable access to the outdoors. Since 1976, the non-profit Land Trust has protected over 60,000 acres of scenic, natural, agricultural and open land for future generations. Sonoma Land Trust is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and was the recipient of the 2019 Land Trust Alliance Award of Excellence. For more information, please visit the Sonoma Land Trust website.

We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment that is representative of the communities we serve. We know that having varied perspectives leads to better outcomes to solve the complex problems of conservation, climate change and environmental justice in Sonoma County.

And to best serve the people of our community, we are taking the actions outlined in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Plan.

To Apply

Please submit your application through the BambooHR platform. Your application should include:

• Resume
• Cover letter

If you have any issues or questions about the application or to request an accommodation, please email: View email address on click.appcast.io.

Sonoma Land Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We strive to create a diverse and inclusive organization and encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, national or regional origins, sexes, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, gender identities, military or veteran status or other status protected by law.