Human Resources Generalist, Payroll and Recruitment

Overview How You’ll Contribute The Human Resources (HR) team works to find, grow, and retain talent and build the NGS community by designing strategies that enhance employee culture. As the National Geographic Society (NGS) prepares for the landmark 2026 opening of the Museum of Exploration (MOE), the HR team is expanding to support a rapidly growing workforce. Reporting to the Senior HR Business Partner (Sr. HRBP), the HR Specialist provides essential client support and tactical execution for the Campus & Experiences and Legal & Business Affairs divisions. This role serves as a foundational support to the Sr. HRBP, supporting a client base of approximately 350 employees. The Specialist handles day-to-day HR inquiries, manages the worker lifecycle in Workday, and assists with high-impact projects that ensure the HR function is positioned to support a world-class visitor-centric operation.
Responsibilities Client Support & Operational Excellence (45%) Communication Channel Management: Monitor activity coming through the dedicated HRBP email and Slack channel from staff within the C&E and Legal & Business Affairs divisions and provide support as appropriate. Serve as the primary initial point of contact for day-to-day inquiries from the frontline and shift-base workforce.
Policy Guidance: Provide timely and accurate responses to standard inquiries regarding the interpretation and application of Human Resources policies and procedures.
Lifecycle Management: Manage Workday transactions for the full employee lifecycle, including promotions, job changes, anniversary tracking, contingent worker oversight, and temporary staff requests.
Onboarding & Offboarding: Coordinate introductory meetings, assist with the delivery of new hire orientations, and manage the end-to-end offboarding process, to include conducting exit interviews and identifying and tracking organizational trends.
Compliance & Reporting: Accurately process unemployment claims and new hire DC reporting.

Strategic Support & Engagement (30%) Leadership & Engagement Initiatives: Provide administrative and logistical support for HRBP divisional leadership programs and help coordinate intentional employee engagement activities, such as Connection Days and the HRBP Forum.
Retention Framework: Support the Sr. HRBP by executing a formalized stay & exit interview process for frontline staff to proactively identify and address concerns that may impact staff retention.
Summer Internship Program: Provide critical support to the organization's Summer Internship Program, including school outreach, advertising through the Handshake platform, planning programmatic events, managing website updates, and acting as a liaison with Technology, Security, and Payroll teams.
Manage the administrative lifecycle by entering positions in Workday and reviewing departmental requests.

Special Projects & Tactical Partnership (25%) Sr. HRBP Partnership: Manage complex calendar logistics for the Sr. HRBP, including scheduling check-ins, divisional introductions, and follow-up communications post-training or orientation.
Risk Mitigation & Support: Assist the Sr. HRBP with maintaining divisional documentation, help draft separation agreements for legal review, and serve as an on-the-ground point of contact to identify emerging team needs.
Presentation Development: Create high-quality, professional slide decks and communications for leadership briefings, workshops (e.g., CliftonStrengths), and other reports.
Project Support: Support the Sr. HRBP with research for special projects and administrative tasks related to internal investigations.

Qualifications Minimum Education Required : Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Sociology, Psychology, or a related field. Relevant military experience and training in personnel management, administration, or leadership may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Minimum Years and Type of Experience : 3+ years of progressively successful experience in Human Resources or a related field. Experience as a military non-commissioned officer (NCO) or officer with a focus on personnel actions, unit administration, or human capital is highly encouraged and will be counted toward years of experience.
Necessary Knowledge and Skills : Ethical mindset with strict confidentiality; strong communication and sense of urgency; collaborative spirit; working knowledge of federal, state (DC), and local employment laws and regulations.
Desired Qualifications : Proficiency with HRMS platforms; Workday experience is highly desirable. Problem solving with standard procedures. Operational sector experience supporting a non-exempt, frontline, or visitor-centric workforce.
Supervision : No direct reports.
Salary & Benefits The salary range for this position is $76,000.00 - $80,000.00. The National Geographic Society offers a competitive and holistic total rewards package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) retirement savings with matching; flexible paid time off and holidays; parental leave, adoption and surrogacy support, fertility benefits; learning and development opportunities; Life and disability benefits; and various discounts and perks.
Other Information Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position. We are looking for someone with relevant skills and experience, not a checklist that exactly matches the job description.

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