HR Operations Specialist

HR Operations Specialist

At Communities In Schools (CIS) of Chicago we believe students can enhance their learning when their needs are met and that includes mental and emotional health. Every day we partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and hundreds of community organizations to bring no-cost high-quality programs directly

Our employee population is over 75 full-time employees and we are looking to grow our team and out impact over the next few years. With that growth we are taking an opportunity to shape our HR team and leverage their skills and experiences to modernize our processes and practices to best support our team mission and values. This role will be influential in showing the value of HR and translating that value into the everyday work experience at CIS.

This role will report to our Chief Operating Officer (COO). The person in this role will bring their skills and ideas in support of the organization and the people in it. You will be encouraged to align our resources in a Goldilocks way meaning finding the best solutions and practices for CIS. Our intention is to reflect our mission and core values into our practices and support team members in their work that ultimately impacts the future of over 80000 students in the Chicago Public School (CPS) system.

This role is hybrid and requires regular working hours at our office located at 815 West Van Buren in Chicago IL. Expect to be on-site an average of three days/week. We provide comprehensive health dental and vision plans along with other offerings like a 401(k) all intended to support your personal health and financial goals. We also enjoy a balanced workload and various time off options that include summer hours on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Interested

Heres a bit more about the role and the requirements and the why behind them. Preferred candidate attributes are also listed.

We are a small and mighty team so you will need to have proven relevant experience in various aspects of HR including strengths in building effective relationships. Creating an approachable positive fair and capable reputation for the HR team is key. This role has a significant level of autonomy and needs to have the experience to operate accordingly.

You will have/bring/be:

• At least 5 years of HR experience that includes working directly with employees and managers as the first point of contact for HR related questions.
• At least 3 years of experience managing key operational details related to new hire orientation the administration of benefits including FMLA and short-term and long-term disability unemployment claims performance reviews and 401(k) processes and exit processing.
• Key knowledge of laws practices and processes to support the employee experience and confidently provide answers and guidance.
• Proven experience integrating values into processes and practices.
• Ability to influence others to adopt more effective practices / sustainable systems.
• Ability to communicate key information that helps others navigate sensitive and complex issues given your working and applicable knowledge of related laws HIPPA accommodations I-9s FLSA FMLA and/or other leave-related items.
• An experience level that creates confidence in your ability to exercise ongoing autonomy and discretion and ask for help when needed. Your experience will enable sound judgement including the ability to both understand and apply consistency and/or exceptions where they best meet the needs of situations and align with our values. You can manage in the gray.
• Ability to provide ad hoc support to our Operations team with items including but not limited to assisting with time-sensitive items and projects and other office-centric items (mail badge issuance etc.).
• Ad hoc admin support for executive leadership team.

We need to balance everyones (including your) resources (i.e. time and money) to best align with our needs. We dont need best-in-class we need best-for-CIS. We want you to leverage our vendors and technology to streamline and drive efficiencies.

Required mindsets and skills:

• Highly organized and detail-oriented youll manage and bring to closure HR inquiries and related processes
• Experience with HRIS systems Paylocity preferred; must be resourceful in using technologies to support processes
• Experience partnering with vendors i.e. benefit HRIS etc. and utilizing their expertise
• Strong listening and problem-solving skills to help identify needs connect the dots and identify opportunities for process improvement
• A learning and continuous improvement mindset with the ability and courage to ask for help when needed. You will understand and challenge the why of processes and practices and recommend right-sized alternatives.
• Proven experience and ability to influence outcomes and decisions applying and balancing a company and employee perspective inclusive of our values.
• College degree

Other attributes that are important to be successful in this role include:

• Constant ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.
• Employing a proactive stance to planning that provides adequate timelines for all.
• Experience meeting people where they are including specific experience working with leaders and managers with varying levels of experience and skill sets.
• Excellent listening skills and the ability to be curious to better understand the full picture and approach next steps.
• Ability to build relationships and trust with stakeholders and be a trusted advisor.
• Desire to develop your skills and evolve in this job as the organization evolves.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with Paylocity.
• Knowledge experience and/or application of design thinking methodology and tools.

What you will get:

The budgeted annualized base pay range for base for this role is 65-70k dependent on relevant skill and experience levels. This role does not include any bonus incentives. Candidates must be legally able to work in the US without sponsorship. We offer a full range of competitive benefits including medical dental vision time off (including summer hours) 401k plan and an array of other options.

We offer the opportunity to make an impact every day.

Communities In Schools of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all individuals feel valued respected and supported. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on sex gender identity or expression sexual orientation pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions) race color ethnicity national origin religion age disability medical condition marital or family status veteran or military status citizenship genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local law.

This commitment applies to every aspect of employment at CIS of Chicago including recruitment hiring training promotion compensation and all other conditions of employment. We believe that building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve strengthens our mission to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Required Experience:

IC