Employee Services Director jobs in Lawrence, MA

The Director of Employee Services will work closely with leaders across the organization to provide hands-on and collaborative human resource management support. Reporting to the Senior Director of Human Resources, this role will serve as a subject matter expert in HR policies, employee relations, and conflict resolution. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong leadership skills, a commitment to fostering positive work relationships, and the ability to navigate complex HR challenges with professionalism and integrity. This is full-time and exempt.

Schedule: This role requires a strong onsite presence, with the expectation of working four days per week at the office, while also offering the flexibility to work remotely one day per week; the successful candidate should be able to commit to a schedule of 9 am to 5 pm Monday - Friday.

Direct Reports: The Director of Employee Services will oversee a team consisting of, at minimum, two direct reports. The composition of the direct reports and their number may vary depending on the Director’s level of skill, expertise, and management experience.

Duties and responsibilities:
HR Administration:

• Act as a liaison between the HR department and program managers/directors, ensuring effective communication and collaboration.
• Manage the full employee life cycle from recruitment to offboarding, focusing on delivering a positive experience for both employees and managers.
• Collaborate with HR team members to develop and implement strategies for recruitment, onboarding, and employee retention.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director and members of Senior Leadership to identify areas for policy development and enhancement, leading the drafting and implementation of new HR policies and procedures to support the evolving needs of the organization.
• Develop and implement periodic training to ensure understanding of HR policies and procedures.
• Provide HR policy guidance and interpretation to employees and managers.
• Manage system changes in Paycom; collaborate with Paycom representatives to troubleshoot tasks as needed.
• Ensure accuracy of HR data system and timely completion of audit/compliance requirements.

Employee Relations:

• Foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, promoting a workplace where all employees feel valued and respected.
• Collaborate with program leadership to address employee relations challenges and highlight successes.
• Work closely with management and employees to improve work relationships, morale, productivity, and retention.
• Manage and resolve complex employee relations issues, including conducting thorough investigations and addressing complaints or concerns.
• Serve as the primary HR contact for employee separations, managing the termination process, monitoring the exit interview process, including conducting exit interviews.
• Oversee and monitor leaves of absences, unemployment claims, workers compensation claims, and employment verification requests.

Payroll and Benefits:

• Review and approve contract requests for new hires, promotions, and transfers; Manage the Personnel Action Form (PAF) process; serve as final HR approver.
• Participate in the review of payroll payments and collaborates with the Manager of Benefits on the creation of payroll upload files including Annual increases, vacation payouts, and bonuses.
• Support with Payroll processing Mondays even when they fall on a Holiday, winter break or vacation unless knowledgeable coverage has been obtained.
• Complete Paycom upload files such as School staff annual terminations, summer hires, new school year returning employees, etc.
• Support with Year-end review of W-2s & 1095 forms.
• Provide information for preparation of budgets – positions/roles – filled/open by program.
• Collaborate with the Manager of Benefits on Open Enrollment – including but not limited to reviewing benefits & payroll deductions, supporting with setting up new plans in Paycom.
• Oversee the management of all leave of absences including MA PFML, FMLA, disability, personal leaves and workers compensation in partnership with the Manager of Benefits; manage leave benefit tracking and impact in payroll.
• All other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Requirements:

• Uphold a passionate belief in The Community Group's mission, values, and educational model;
• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) oral and written language ability is required.
• Minimum 3 years of direct supervisory experience is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional work experience is required; HR experience strongly preferred.
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, HRIS software (Paycom), Google Suite, and internet applications.
• Human Resources certification from SHRM, HCI or a similar related credential is preferred.

The Community Group is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to their race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state or local law. We are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and where employees are treated with respect and dignity.