Human Resources Manager

Position Summary

The Human Resources Manager helps ensure the firm attracts, develops, retains, and manages employees in a way that supports the firm’s business goals, protects clients, maintains regulatory standards, and promotes a professional and ethical workplace culture. 

The Human Resources Manager is responsible for overseeing the firm’s human resources functions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, compensation administration, benefits coordination, employee policies, and employment compliance. In a financial services environment, this role also supports regulatory and risk management efforts by helping ensure employees are properly screened, trained, documented, licensed where applicable, and held accountable to the firm’s standards of conduct. 

This position works closely with senior management, compliance, operations, and department leaders to support a professional, ethical, and client-focused workplace. 

Key Responsibilities

Recruiting and Hiring

• Manage the recruiting process for open positions, including job postings, candidate screening, interviews, reference checks, background checks, and employment offers. 
• Coordinate with management and compliance when hiring employees for licensed, client-facing, operational, or supervisory roles. 
• Ensure hiring practices are consistent, professional, and compliant with applicable employment laws and firm policies. 
• Maintain accurate hiring records and candidate documentation. 

Onboarding and Employee Administration

• Oversee new employee onboarding, including offer letters, employment agreements, policy acknowledgments, tax forms, benefits enrollment, system access requests, and orientation. 
• Coordinate with compliance, operations, and IT to ensure new employees receive required training, access permissions, and firm resources. 
• Help maintain personnel files, employee records, job descriptions, organizational charts, and employment documentation. 

Licensing and Regulatory Coordination

• Work with compliance to track employee licensing, registrations, continuing education, and renewal requirements where applicable. 
• Assist the compliance officer with documentation related to investment adviser representatives. 
• Coordinate with compliance on employee disclosures, outside business activities, disciplinary matters, and termination-related reporting when needed. 
• Help ensure employees understand firm policies related to ethics, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, personal trading, client information, and business conduct. 

Employee Relations

• Serve as a primary point of contact for employee questions, workplace concerns, interpersonal issues, and policy interpretation. 
• Investigate or coordinate the investigation of any employee complaints, harassment claims, retaliation concerns, policy violations, and workplace conduct issues. 
• Advise managers on appropriate documentation, coaching, corrective action, and disciplinary procedures. 
• Promote a respectful, professional, and ethical workplace culture. 

Performance Management

• Administer the firm’s performance review process, including review schedules, forms, manager guidance, and documentation. 
• Support managers in setting expectations, evaluating employee performance, and addressing performance issues. 
• Assist with performance improvement plans, promotions, role changes, and succession planning. 
• Help ensure performance evaluations consider both job results and adherence to compliance, client-service, and conduct standards. 

Compensation, Benefits, and Payroll Support

• Process payroll and time clock adjustment requests. 
• Coordinate compensation administration, including salary changes, bonuses, incentive plans, and payroll updates. 
• Work with management to ensure compensation practices are fair, documented, and aligned with firm goals. 
• Support employee benefits administration, including health insurance, retirement plans, leave programs, PTO, and other employee benefits. 
• Serve as a liaison with payroll providers, benefits providers, insurance carriers, and other HR vendors. 

401(k) Responsibilities

• Coordinate 401(k) plan enrollment and eligibility tracking for new and existing employees.guideline+1 
• Ensure payroll deductions, deferrals, and employer contributions are processed accurately and on time.benefit-resources+2 
• Monitor plan operations for compliance with the plan document, ERISA, and other applicable regulations.forusall+2 
• Prepare or support required filings and reports, including Form 5500, participant notices, and annual administrative reports.femwell+2 
• Reconcile plan transactions, trust accounts, and payroll records with the plan provider’s records.benefit-resources+1 
• Review participant loans, distributions, rollovers, hardship withdrawals, and related approvals or documentation.forusall+2 
• Support compliance testing, discrimination testing, and audit preparation.anderscpa+3 
• Manage employee communication and education about plan rules, benefits, eligibility, and enrollment materials.alight+2 
• Maintain participant records, census data, and plan files with accurate documentation.femwell+1 
• Serve as a liaison with the plan provider, auditor, accounting, and internal stakeholders to resolve issues and meet deadlines.benefit-resources+1 

Policy Development and Training

• Maintain and update the employee handbook and HR policies. 
• Coordinate required employee training, including workplace conduct, anti-harassment, cybersecurity, confidentiality, compliance, and firm-specific procedures. 
• Ensure employees acknowledge key policies and complete required training on schedule. 
• Help management communicate policy changes and reinforce professional standards. 

Employment Law and Risk Management

• Help ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws. 
• Maintain proper documentation for hiring, discipline, compensation, leave, accommodations, terminations, and employee complaints. 
• Coordinate with outside counsel, compliance consultants, or HR advisors when needed. 
• Support risk management by helping identify and address employee conduct, supervision, or culture issues before they become larger problems. 

Terminations and Offboarding

• Manage employee offboarding, including resignation documentation, termination letters, final pay coordination, benefit notices, exit interviews, return of firm property, and removal of system access. 
• Coordinate with compliance and management on regulatory filings or internal documentation related to employee departures. 
• Ensure confidential client, firm, and employee information is protected during the separation process. 

Required Qualifications

• At least 5 years of progressive HR experience , ideally within financial services industry. 
• At least three years in a supervisory or HR management capacity.
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field preferred. 
• Prior HR experience, preferably in financial services, banking, brokerage, investment advisory, insurance, or another regulated industry. 
• Strong understanding of employee relations, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation, benefits, and employment documentation. 
• Familiarity with employment law requirements and HR best practices. 
• Ability to handle confidential information with professionalism and discretion. 
• Strong communication, organization, documentation, and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to work collaboratively with management, compliance, operations, and employees at all levels. 

Preferred Qualifications

• HR certification such as SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR. 
• Experience working with broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks, trust companies, insurance agencies, or wealth management firms. 
• Familiarity with FINRA, SEC, state insurance, or banking regulatory environments. 
• Experience supporting licensing, continuing education, Form U4/Form U5 coordination, or employee disclosure processes. 
• Experience with payroll systems, HRIS platforms, benefits administration, and employee training systems. 

Key Skills

• Confidentiality and discretion 
• Strong judgment and professionalism 
• Employee relations and conflict resolution 
• Regulatory awareness 
• Detail-oriented documentation 
• Recruiting and onboarding 
• Policy development 
• Performance management 
• Compensation and benefits coordination 
• Strong written and verbal communication 
• Ability to balance employee support with firm risk management 

• Coordinate 401(k) plan enrollment and eligibility tracking for new and existing employees.guideline+1 
• Ensure payroll deductions, deferrals, and employer contributions are processed accurately and on time.benefit-resources+2 
• Monitor plan operations for compliance with the plan document, ERISA, and other applicable regulations.forusall+2 
• Prepare or support required filings and reports, including Form 5500, participant notices, and annual administrative reports.femwell+2 
• Reconcile plan transactions, trust accounts, and payroll records with the plan provider’s records.benefit-resources+1 
• Review participant loans, distributions, rollovers, hardship withdrawals, and related approvals or documentation.forusall+2 
• Support compliance testing, discrimination testing, and audit preparation.anderscpa+3 
• Manage employee communication and education about plan rules, benefits, eligibility, and enrollment materials.alight+2 
• Maintain participant records, census data, and plan files with accurate documentation.femwell+1 
• Serve as a liaison with the plan provider, auditor, accounting, and internal stakeholders to resolve issues and meet deadlines.benefit-resources+1