Human Resources Manager

Human Resources Manager

Milender White, a Graham Group Company, is seeking a Human Resources Manager to serve as the embedded, front-line people partner to the Milender White businesses, based in Orange County, California. The role supports Milender White operations across three markets — Denver, Southern California (Newport Beach), and San Diego — and exists to put HR where the work happens: alongside the leaders, managers, and project teams who need practical support in real time. This is a hands-on delivery role. The HR Manager brings the people strategy set by the VP, People, into the business unit and makes it work — coaching managers, resolving employee relations matters, keeping the organization compliant across two states, and feeding what is actually happening in the field back into the people agenda. The HR Manager will lead one direct report, an HR Generalist.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the first point of contact for leaders, managers, and employees in the assigned business units on day-to-day people matters.
• Coach and support managers on performance management, difficult conversations, team dynamics, and employee development — building their confidence to handle issues themselves.
• Spend meaningful time on site and in the markets served; understand the project portfolio, crews, and the operating pressures leaders are working under.
• Bring practical HR judgment to real situations rather than policy recitation, escalating to the VP, People when a matter warrants it.
• Act as a two-way conduit: carry business realities back to the VP, People and the HR function, and carry HR direction into the business in language the field will use.

Employee Relations and Compliance

• Manage and resolve employee relations matters with sound judgment, timeliness, and clean documentation; escalate complex, high-risk, or precedent-setting matters appropriately.
• Conduct thorough, objective, and well-documented workplace investigations.
• Apply working knowledge of federal, California, and Colorado employment law — including wage and hour, leave administration, pay transparency, and prevailing wage considerations relevant to construction — to keep the business compliant and reduce risk.
• Administer leaves, accommodations, and related processes in partnership with the appropriate internal and external resources.
• Interpret and apply HR policy consistently across the three markets, flagging where policy does not fit the reality of the work.

Delivering the People Programs

• Implement enterprise and division people programs — performance cycles, engagement, onboarding, compensation planning, and development — within the business units, adapting delivery to a field-based workforce.
• Support workforce planning and staffing conversations with operations leadership, including project ramp-up and demobilization cycles.
• Partner closely with Talent Acquisition on hiring needs, interview and selection support, offers, and onboarding for the region.
• Maintain accurate people data and provide straightforward reporting to business leaders and to the VP, People.
• Support organizational changes and transitions within the business units as directed, ensuring they are executed cleanly and communicated well.

HR Leadership

• Directly supervise, coach, and develop one HR Generalist supporting employee life cycle activity across the markets served.
• Set clear priorities, delegate appropriately, and provide regular feedback that builds the Generalist's capability and independence.
• Ensure day-to-day HR delivery and service standards are consistent across Denver, Southern California, and San Diego.

Health, Safety, and Culture

• Reinforce the organization's health, safety, and quality expectations, embedding safety culture into onboarding, manager coaching, and employee relations practice.
• Work closely with managers and employees to improve working relationships, build morale, and support retention.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Human Resources, or a related field; equivalent experience will be considered.
• 8-10 years of progressive HR generalist or HR business partner experience, including direct employee relations ownership.
• Experience supervising or formally mentoring at least one HR team member preferred.
• Professional HR certification (SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR) is an asset.
• Experience supporting a distributed, field-based workforce; construction, engineering, or another project-based industry strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of California and Colorado employment law, and comfort operating in a multi-state environment.
• Proficiency with an enterprise HRIS and the Microsoft Office Suite.

Capabilities and Attributes:

• Credibility with the field. Earns trust quickly with superintendents, project teams, and operations managers — not just with corporate leaders.
• Responsiveness. Follows through, closes loops, and is reliably available when the business needs support.
• Judgment. Handles sensitive and ambiguous situations with discretion and composure, and knows when to escalate rather than solve alone.
• Coaching orientation. Builds manager capability instead of absorbing every issue personally.
• Practicality. Understands how people decisions affect project delivery, schedule, and cost, and gives advice the business can actually use.
• Communication. Clear and direct verbally and in writing; adapts style for a jobsite trailer and a leadership meeting alike.
• Ownership. Works independently after taking direction, and delivers without needing close oversight.
• Calm in difficult conversations, and comfortable being the first call when something goes sideways.

This role is primarily office-based in Newport Beach, California, and supports Milender White businesses in Denver and San Diego. Regular travel between markets and to active construction project sites is expected, estimated at 25–30%. Occasional travel beyond these markets may be required. Site visits require adherence to all applicable jobsite safety requirements and personal protective equipment standards.

Compensation Range: $135,000 – $165,000/year : In accordance with various state laws, this posting includes a specified salary range. The final offer will depend on qualifications as well as relevant skills, experience, and licensure and may be adjusted based on internal equity, budget, candidate experience, and market conditions.