HR Manager, Human Resources Operations & Employee Experience

The Manager of HR Operations and Employee Experience provides day-to-day leadership for HR operations and employee lifecycle processes, including recruitment workflow, onboarding, offboarding, HRIS operations, performance management coordination, search committee support, supervisor guidance, and Employee Experience initiatives. Reporting to the Associate Director of Human Resources, this position supervises the HR Specialist, Employee Experience, and serves as a primary operational resource for supervisors and employees regarding HR processes, documentation, and employment practices. The Manager helps ensure HR services are timely, consistent, accurate, and aligned with University policy, employment law, and institutional priorities. This position partners closely with the Associate Director of Human Resources and the Benefits & Training Specialist to support coordination across benefits, leave, accommodations, workers’ compensation, payroll, compliance training, compensation-related processes, and employee lifecycle activities. While the Manager supports communication, documentation, HRIS updates, and operational handoffs related to these areas, primary responsibility for benefits administration, compensation analysis, protected leave administration, ADA accommodation review, and workers’ compensation coordination remains with the Associate Director of Human Resources or another designated HR leader. The Manager of HR Operations and Employee Experience supports a culture of accountability, service, consistency, and continuous improvement by strengthening HR workflows, developing clear procedures, coaching supervisors on routine HR practices, and helping create a positive and organized employee experience from recruitment through separation. The Manager is expected to maintain awareness of cross-functional HR processes, support accurate communication and documentation, and elevate questions or concerns appropriately. Salary: $70,000-$75,000 Annually Leadership and Supervision Supervise, coach, train, and direct the work of the HR Specialist, Employee Experience. Provide day-to-day leadership for HR operations, ensuring work is completed accurately, consistently, and timely. Support the onboarding and training of new HR staff members by developing clear workflows, checklists, and process guidance. Provide guidance to supervisors and staff regarding routine employment practices, HR procedures, performance documentation, recruitment processes, onboarding, and offboarding. Foster a service-oriented, accountable, and collaborative HR team culture. Participate in HR leadership discussions and provide updates on HR operations, employee experience, recruitment activity, and process improvement needs. Escalate complex employee relations, legal compliance, protected leave, ADA, workers’ compensation, compensation, or disciplinary matters to the Associate Director of Human Resources. Recruitment and Onboarding Oversee job requisition intake, approval routing, posting, recruitment workflow, and hiring process coordination. Partner with hiring managers and search committees to support consistent, equitable, and timely recruitment practices. Support hiring managers with recruitment planning, interview process expectations, candidate communication, and documentation standards. Monitor recruitment metrics, including time-to-fill, workflow status, candidate experience feedback, and search process compliance. Coordinate offer letter workflow and ensure required hiring documentation is completed before employment begins. Oversee onboarding and offboarding processes, including new hire orientation coordination, employee lifecycle communications, and handoffs to Benefits, Payroll, IT, and other campus partners. Partner with the Benefits & Training Specialist to ensure benefit enrollment information and required compliance training are incorporated into onboarding. Identify opportunities to improve the employee experience during recruitment, onboarding, transition, and separation processes. HR Information Systems (HRIS) Administration and Data Integrity Serve as the operational lead for HRIS workflows, employee data accuracy, and routine HR reporting. Coordinate personnel changes, onboarding, separations, position updates, and employee record changes to support accurate HR, Payroll, and Benefits data. Support process consistency for personnel transactions, including PAFs, requisition requests, EPAFs, position updates, and related HR documentation. Develop and maintain HRIS process standards, audit practices, workflow guides, and staff training materials. Partner with the Associate Director of Human Resources on HRIS governance, access controls, workflow design, audit compliance, and system improvement priorities. Support system upgrades, testing, workflow reviews, and process improvements. Generate routine and ad hoc reports to support recruitment, onboarding, performance management, compliance audits, and workforce planning. Train HR staff and appropriate campus partners on HRIS processes, data standards, and workflow expectations. Employee Experience and Engagement Lead day-to-day employee experience initiatives in partnership with the HR Specialist, Employee Experience. Support employee recognition, feedback, retention, engagement, and communication efforts across the employee lifecycle. Collaborate with campus partners to strengthen employee experience programs, including onboarding, recognition, employee feedback, and service improvements. Identify trends in employee questions, onboarding feedback, supervisor needs, and HR service issues, and recommend process improvements. Provide first-level guidance on routine employee relations questions, policy interpretation, and documentation practices. Support early resolution of routine workplace questions or concerns in collaboration with the Associate Director of Human Resources. Escalate complex employee relations concerns, complaints, protected activity, discrimination or harassment concerns, or disciplinary matters to the Associate Director of Human Resources. Compliance and Cross-Functional Coordination Partner with the Associate Director of Human Resources and the Benefits & Training Specialist to ensure HR operations are coordinated with benefits, leave, accommodation, workers’ compensation, payroll, and compliance processes. Support operational handoffs related to benefits, protected leave, ADA accommodations, workers’ compensation, and compensation processes, including HRIS updates, employee status changes, onboarding/offboarding coordination, and supervisor communication as directed. Maintain awareness of employee status changes that may affect onboarding, offboarding, payroll, benefits, performance management, or supervisor communication. Assist with documentation, tracking, and communication related to these processes as assigned. Support compliance with employment laws and University policies by ensuring HR operational documentation is complete, accurate, and consistently maintained. Escalate questions involving benefits administration, compensation analysis, protected leave administration, ADA accommodation review, or workers’ compensation coordination to the Associate Director of Human Resources or another designated HR leader. Identify recurring compliance or workflow gaps and recommend process improvements to the Associate Director of Human Resources. Search Committee and Compliance Training Coordinate search committee training and support, including process guidance, implicit bias training logistics, interview support, and documentation expectations. Track completion of required search committee training and related recruitment compliance steps. Provide guidance to search chairs and hiring managers regarding interview practices, candidate documentation, selection process expectations, and hiring workflow. Partner with the Benefits & Training Specialist on annual compliance training assignment, completion tracking, and integration into onboarding workflows. Assist with the implementation of required annual compliance training by supporting communication, tracking, reporting, and follow-up. Assist the Associate Director of Human Resources with data collection and documentation needed for the annual Affirmative Action Plan and related compliance reviews. Performance Management and Supervisor Support Coordinate the annual performance management and position summary statement processes. Track completion, follow up with supervisors, and ensure required documentation is maintained. Provide guidance to supervisors on position summaries, developmental goals, performance documentation, and routine corrective feedback. Support supervisors in understanding HR processes, documentation expectations, and appropriate escalation pathways. Partner with the Associate Director of Human Resources on supervisor training, performance documentation standards, and escalation of complex concerns. Develop and maintain HR metrics related to recruitment, onboarding, performance management, employee engagement, and HR operations. Identify patterns in performance management questions, documentation gaps, or supervisor support needs and recommend training or process improvements. HR Operations and Process Improvement Ensure accuracy, confidentiality, and organization of HR records, job descriptions, personnel files, and employee lifecycle documentation. Develop, update, and maintain HR workflows, standard operating procedures, templates, checklists, and tracking tools. Support process consistency across recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, personnel transactions, performance management, HRIS workflows, and employee communications. Review recurring HR questions, workflow delays, documentation gaps, and service issues to identify opportunities for process improvement. Coordinate with Payroll, Benefits, IT, and other campus partners to improve HR service delivery, reduce process gaps, and clarify handoffs. Support HR department planning by identifying workload trends, recurring service needs, and opportunities for improved communication, training, or workflow design. Promote consistent use of HR systems, shared files, calendars, tracking tools, and documentation practices. Recommend practical improvements that strengthen HR efficiency, accountability, compliance readiness, and service to employees and supervisors. Qualifications Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree required from an accredited college or university in human resources, business administration, psychology or closely related field. SHRM-CP, PHR, or similar HR certification preferred. Minimum of 3 to 5 years of progressive human resources experience, including at least one year of supervisory, team lead, project lead, or process leadership experience required. Experience in higher education, non-profit, public sector, or another complex employment environment preferred. Experience managing or administering HRIS platforms (e.g., Banner, Workday, UKG, ADP or equivalent) including workflow design, reporting, and data auditing. Demonstrated ability to train, coach, and develop staff, fostering accountability and professional growth. Proven experience guiding supervisors and managers in the consistent application of HR policies and performance management practices. Strong background in coordinating cross-functional HR operations, ensuring collaboration between benefits, payroll, and compliance areas. Strong understanding of HR operations and employee lifecycle processes, including recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, employee records, performance management, and HRIS workflows. Experience contributing to a culture of engagement and service, modeling professionalism, empathy, and clear communication. Ability to recognize when an issue requires escalation to the Associate Director or CHRO. Physical Demands & Work Environment The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Personal Protective Equipment must be worn when required. A respiratory function test and the ability to use respirators may be required. Stairs and uneven surfaces may be present; artificial lifts, etc. may or may not be available. The position may require the incumbent to walk outdoors in all types of weather to other buildings or offices located on the campus. The campus is located in an area that contains numerous hills and slopes and may not always be fully accessible for mobility‑impaired individuals. Alfred University actively subscribes to a policy of equal employment opportunity, and will not discriminate against any employee, student or applicant because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, gender identification or expression, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry or national origin, marital status, genetic information, military or veteran status, domestic violence victim status, criminal conviction status, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. #J-18808-Ljbffr The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.