Human Resources Manager (Employee Engagement)

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This position manages the employee engagement team and talent acquisition function to ensure the university has the right talent, leadership and culture in place to accomplish its mission. Leads the employee engagement team to strategically plan recruitment processes to attract diverse and exceptional talent and successfully onboard new employees, coordinates with department managers and the Learning and Development function to ensure employees have the training and feedback mechanisms in place to succeed. Develops and deploys best practices to ensure the university can make informed decisions based on the needs of our employee population. Works with highly confidential employee information and ensures employee engagement team is in compliance with labor, employment and privacy laws and university policy.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Manages the employee engagement team to ensure workload is distributed optimally, based on skill set and abilities of team members.
• Acts as a subject matter expert with regard to the recruitment and onboarding process and related systems.
• Provides leadership and guidance to employee engagement team on difficult employee questions and situations.
• Trains, mentors, and supervises assigned staff.
• Initiates and leads special projects including process improvements, implementations, and key program development.

Recruitment & Onboarding

Ensures the employee engagement function is compliant with applicable employment laws and utilizes best practices to ensure a fair, equitable and defensible hiring process. Takes ownership of higher level or high-profile recruitments. For every recruitment, performs or manages the team's performance of the following services:

• Partners with the hiring department to ensure a fair and inclusive search process that provides candidates with an exceptional USD experience, regardless of whether they are selected for the position. This includes search committee training and guidance, communication with candidates and thoughtful consultation on the interview and selection process/experience.
• Leads strategic sourcing efforts including those that will attract both active and passive candidates. Writes and posts job advertisements and identifies recruitment sources suited for the position. Represents USD at community, campus, and industry job fairs.
• Trains and supports hiring managers and applicants with the online application system.
• Supervises the screening and interview process. May review the applicant pool for minimum qualifications, participate in the interview process, and/or assist with candidate selection and salary determination, as requested by the hiring manager.
• Manages background check process, including initiating and reviewing background checks, determining when secondary review is necessary, counseling department leadership in decision-making process, and communicating with candidates. Manages invoicing with USD's background check vendor.
• Negotiates salary and benefits with candidates when making job offers.
• Counsels supervisors and employees on university policies pertaining to employment, background checks, and I-9s.
• Verifies I-9 documents, provides training on I-9 completion process, and maintains compliance audits. Conducts follow-up with departments on compliance issues.
• Manages and oversees the onboarding process, conducting audits and ensuring onboarding tasks are being completed in a timely manner, following-up with departments as necessary.
• Ensures relevant sections of the HR website, USD Jobs website and employee portal are reviewed and updated regularly; works with other HR functions on content creation.

Employee Learning

Partners with the Learning and Development function to help design and deliver high-quality learning and new hire experiences on applicable subjects including search committee training, annual performance evaluations and/or performance management.

Employee Relations

Working in alignment with USD's Culture of Care, manages team in building relationships across campus so that concerns can be brought forward and addressed constructively and compassionately.

• Together with senior HR team members, may be responsible for select employee relations cases or may guide others through the process.
• Counsels employees regarding university policies/procedures and general HR information. Analyzes unique situations for appropriate policy implementation. Escalates issues appropriately within HR or other university functions (e.g. Provost, General Counsel, Risk Management, University Audit).
• In coordination with the HR systems team, leads the employee engagement team in administration of the annual performance evaluation process, including training delivery, assisting managers, and follow-up with departments.
• Oversees ongoing assessment of campus climate through exit interviews and other mechanisms and brings concerns forward so they can be proactively addressed.

Employee Engagement Programming and Events

Collaborating with the Learning and Development team and other campus partners, oversees the production of meaningful employee programming designed to build positive morale and employee engagement. Guides the Employee Engagement team in planning, organizing and managing employee events including the Torero Employees Connect programs, Service Award Ceremony, annual employee community events, Wellness Programming, and other engagement events.

Systems/Data Analytics

• Works closely with HR Systems team in managing recruiting and onboarding systems.
• Tests new features, runs reports, and works to help address concerns.
• Manages the maintenance of recruitment statistics and generates monthly and quarterly reports. Identifies trends and makes recommendations designed to improve/enhance university recruiting efforts.
• Manages the exit interview process and other data collection procedures. Analyzes related information, identifies trends and provides data-driven recommendations.
• Manages the calculation of turnover statistics and other identified metrics and ensures reporting on a monthly, quarterly, and/or annual basis as appropriate.
• Researches best practices and advises HR leadership on possible strategies for future planning.

Other Administration

• Oversees the Mandated Reporters requirements, ensuring university is compliant with California Penal Code §§11164.
• Manages employment visas and permanent resident processes. Handles more complex visa cases and delegates routine cases to appropriate staff, providing oversight and guidance. Serves as liaison between the university and outside immigration attorneys. Ensures records and files related to employment authorization are maintained in an organized and compliant manner.
• Special projects and other duties as needed or assigned.

Special Conditions of Employment:

Effective June 1, 2025, based on CDC guidance, the University strongly encourages all campus members to stay up to date with Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination recommendations. For more regarding information USD's COVID-19 protocols, please visit sandiego.edu/onward.

Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement : Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.

Job Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Requires bachelor's degree or equivalent in related field.
• 5+ years of directly related experience in Human Resources or a combination of Human Resources and other roles requiring administration of employment-related policies and/or talent acquisition.
• 5+ years of constituent-centered or service focused experience with demonstrated ability to resolve complex problems that meet underlying needs of both the constituent and the organization.
• Experience supervising Human Resources staff.
• Experience working with sensitive and/or confidential concerns.
• Experience using complex HR systems (e.g. Human Resources Information Systems, applicant tracking systems).
• Strong computer literacy required (e.g. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Strong communication skills required (e.g. listening, speaking, and writing).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree and/or HR Certification preferred.
• Experience with WorkDay HCM
• Experience in a higher education setting.
• Experience with employment visas.
• Experience with PageUp ATS

Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge

• Working knowledge of current regulations regarding employment practices.
• Knowledge of effective recruiting and interviewing techniques and best practices.
• Working knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations and California wage and hour laws.
• Overall knowledge of an HR department and its functions.

Skills

• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship building skills.
• Demonstrated recruitment and interviewing skills.
• Independent judgment and decision-making skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including accurate typing and proofreading skills.
• Strong administrative and multi-tasking skills.
• Strong leadership and delegation skills.
• Strong problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated public speaking skills.
• Conflict mediation skills.
• Investigatory skills.

Abilities

• Ability to work independently to prioritize, multi-task, and meet multiple simultaneous process and project deadlines.
• Ability to work consultatively with hiring managers, supervisors and department administrators.
• Ability to work with upset customers and potentially volatile situations in an effective, professional and positive manner that de-escalates the situation.
• Ability to effectively communicate and recommend policies and procedures as guides when answering employment questions.

Posting Salary:

$5833.34 - 9166.67/month; Excellent Benefits The University of San Diego offers a very competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision & life insurance, free tuition for employees and dependents upon length of service eligibility, a retirement contribution given to you by the University (currently 10% with no vesting or waiting period), and access to on-campus Fitness Centers. Please visit the benefits section of our website to view all of the perks and benefits that USD has to offer.

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position. Actual compensation offered or earned within the posted range is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Special Application Instructions:

Resume and Cover Letter Required

Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers' review. If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at View email address on us.fitly.work.