HR Generalist II

Job Description

Term: Full-time salaried

Pay: $85000/annual health insurance paid time off and other benefits

Location: Portland OR

Reports To: Manager Human Resources

Organization Description:

Urban Alchemy hires individuals who were once incarcerated and trains them to transform people and places through love and respect. We provide services that heal communities challenged by the intersection of extreme poverty mental illness addiction and homelessness. When individuals are suffering in our public spaces Urban Alchemy offers solutions. When a neighborhood street or intersection earns a reputation as a place to avoid we turn it around. Urban Alchemy staff known as Practitioners create a peaceful and supportive presence helping our communities rebuild a sense of pride one person at a time. Urban Alchemy is a nonprofit organization founded in 2018. We quickly grew from a small program in San Francisco to a thriving social enterprise with over 1000 staff. We currently operate in California Alabama Colorado Georgia New Mexico and Oregon. Over 95% of Urban Alchemy employees including leadership experienced incarceration and/or homelessness. For more information visit our website.

Position Summary:

The Human Resources Generalist II (HRG II) is an experienced HR professional who owns their desk with full accountability. They serve as the primary HR partner for Portland Operations supporting supervisors directors and staff across five worksites. They build working partnerships across HR functions including employee relations benefits and payroll to deliver practical solutions-focused support that reflects the business needs and mission of the organization.

This is not a transactional role. The HRG II manages their caseload like a project manager: knowing what is on their plate at all times anticipating what comes next and executing without hand-holding. They are measured on impact specifically what changed what improved and what risk was reduced not on how busy they were or how many things they touched.

This work is performed in shelter environments. The HRG II will engage directly with Practitioners and operational staff who serve guests experiencing homelessness poverty addiction and mental illness every day. That requires genuine emotional resilience sound and independent judgment and the ability to remain grounded professional and compassionate under pressure. Integrity is not optional in this role. HR at Urban Alchemy is the function that protects employees the organization guests and the mission through fair evidence-based decisions and the HRG II is expected to embody that standard in every interaction.

This role is not managed from behind a desk. The HRG II goes where the work is. That means visiting worksites showing up in the environments where Practitioners and supervisors actually operate and building trust through presence not from a distance. The expectation is not that people come to you. The expectation is that you go to them. If your instinct is to wait this is not the right fit. The HRG II is inherently active and action-oriented: someone who rolls up their sleeves stays close to the ground and understands that credibility in this organization is built in the field not at their office.

Position Duties and Responsibilities:

A Note on the Nature of This Work

This role is compliance and risk assessment work at its core. Every case every investigation every performance conversation every accommodation request carries legal operational and human weight simultaneously. The HRG II is expected to hold all of it at once.

That means understanding that the process matters as much as the outcome. A termination for example is rarely the starting point. Getting there or deciding not to get there requires working through the full lifecycle: understanding what happened managing the investigation or performance discussion with rigor documenting thoroughly assessing risk at each step and making recommendations grounded in evidence. Sometimes the right answer is a performance discussion form. Sometimes it is coaching. Sometimes it is termination. The HRG II does the work to figure out which one and can articulate why.

At the same time Urban Alchemy is mission driven. We employ people who are justice-impacted may have experienced homelessness and may carry histories of addiction. That context shapes how we manage employee experience. We do not cut corners on compliance and we do not cut corners on compassion. The HRG II holds both without losing either.

HR Business Partnering

• Conduct regular check-ins with designated Operations business units across Portland worksites
• Consult with line management and provide clear legally grounded HR guidance
• Serve as a trusted neutral HR presence: listening advising and following through
• Build authentic working relationships with Operations leaders while maintaining HRs independence and objectivity
• Pull and analyze HRIS reports to identify trends that inform HR recommendations and operational decisions

Case and Caseload Management

• Own your desk: manage every open task case and request from initiation to documented close
• Function as the project manager of your own caseload knowing the status of every open item controlling your calendar and never being surprised by your own deadlines
• Close the loop without being asked: when something is done say so; when a case resolves document it; when a question gets answered confirm it
• Communicate proactively: flag issues before deadlines never let a deadline pass in silence and give stakeholders the context they need to act

Performance Management

• Provide day-to-day performance management guidance to line management including coaching counseling career development and performance discussion forms (PDFs)
• Support supervisors in holding difficult conversations with clarity consistency and fairness; this means preparing them before the conversation not just supporting them after
• Own documentation integrity across all performance-related matters: accurate thorough timely and written to withstand scrutiny
• Understand that documentation is not a formality; it is the record of what happened what was said and what was agreed to and it is what protects the employee the supervisor and the organization if a situation escalates
• Train and coach supervisors on documentation standards so that what HR receives is usable not something that has to be reconstructed after the fact
• Know the difference between a document that captures the facts and one that tells a story; the HRG II produces the former and can spot the latter

Offboarding and Termination Compliance

• Serve as primary owner of offboarding workflows ensuring compliance at every step; onboarding is managed by HR Coordinators
• Own the compliance and risk assessment work that leads to and surrounds termination decisions with particular accountability for involuntary separations
• Understand that a termination is not a single event; the HRG II manages the full process leading up to it assessing risk ensuring documentation is airtight and confirming that each step was taken correctly before a recommendation is made
• Maintain compliance with federal Oregon and local employment laws and regulations throughout the offboarding process
• Monitor wage and hour compliance and surface risks proactively
• Conduct regular process reviews to identify gaps before they become problems

Conduct and Behavioral Investigations

• Handle workplace conduct and behavioral matters as assigned approaching each situation with neutrality curiosity and rigor
• Conduct investigations into employee behavior and conduct including complaints policy violations and workplace incidents from intake through findings and documentation
• Manage investigation timelines witness interviews and evidence gathering with discipline and objectivity
• Document accurately thoroughly and in real time; if it is not written down it did not happen
• Exercise sound judgment in assessing facts and escalating appropriately
• Understand that investigations at Urban Alchemy are not routine; the complexity of our workforce and the environments we operate in means cases can involve serious behavioral concerns safety implications and operational risk simultaneously

Accommodations and Safety-Driven Case Management

• Partner with the Benefits unit on accommodations overall; where a case carries a safety or high-risk workplace dimension including high-risk return-to-work situations the HRG II assumes full lifecycle ownership from interactive process through documentation coordination across HR Operations and legal counsel and final implementation
• Exercise careful independent judgment in cases where an employees return to the workplace or continued presence poses a potential safety risk to guests staff or the broader operation
• Maintain thorough case files and know when to escalate; these cases can carry significant legal and operational exposure
• Urban Alchemys work environments are complex; accommodations and safety cases here are often more layered than what you would encounter in a traditional workplace and the HRG II is expected to handle that complexity without losing composure or rigor

Impact Accountability

• Measure your performance on outcomes: what changed what improved what problem exists less
• Surface patterns not just individual cases; when a recurring issue appears escalate with a recommendation
• Continuously identify opportunities to reduce friction improve processes and deliver better service to Operations

General

• Follow all safety procedures and ensure compliance with OSHA state local and Urban Alchemy policies
• Attend orientation and complete all required training mandated by the company or funders
• Wear designated Urban Alchemy uniform and ID badge at all times; HR staff are held to the same uniform standard as Practitioners
• Perform additional duties as assigned by supervisor

Position Requirements:

Technical Requirements

• 5 years of HR experience including HR business partnering experience preferably in a high-growth or startup environment; experience supporting a large nonexempt workforce is strongly preferred
• Broad knowledge of HR principles and best practices and how HR workflows and systems connect
• Strong knowledge of Oregon and federal labor law including FMLA ADA EEO and wage and hour requirements
• Working knowledge of benefits plan design and payroll processes
• Ability to run and analyze reports from an HRIS system
• Proficiency in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office; experience with HRIS systems
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to communicate clearly and precisely with employees supervisors Operations leadership and HR leadership across routine and high-stakes situations including delivering difficult news documenting investigation findings and translating complex HR guidance into actionable direction

Character and Judgment

• You move with urgency. You understand that in this environment delayed action is not neutral. Cases that sit requests that go unacknowledged and decisions that stall all carry risk. You respond quickly triage accurately and do not let things age on your desk.
• You own your desk. You do not wait to be told what comes next. You know what is on your plate you know the status of every open item and you close the loop without being asked.
• You hold deadlines as commitments. If you need more time you say so before the deadline not after. Silence is never the answer.
• You exercise sound independent judgment especially in situations that are confidential sensitive or emotionally charged without losing your neutrality or your professionalism. You know when to escalate and when to hold the line yourself.
• You bring integrity to every case. HR is not an advocacy function and it is not a hammer. It is the function that protects employees the organization guests and the mission through evidence-based fair decision-making. That standard lives in you.
• You are emotionally resilient. This work is hard. You will hear things that are heavy. You will sit in conflict. You will deliver news people do not want to hear. You have the constitution for it and you know how to take care of yourself.
• You are accountable for impact not just effort. You do not measure your value by how busy you were. You measure it by what changed.
• You are a disciplined executor. Urban Alchemy has built the infrastructure: the playbooks the frameworks the toolkits the processes. Your value is not in reinventing them. It is in following them rigorously completely and without cutting corners when the case gets complicated or the pressure gets high. The system exists to protect everyone involved. Respecting it is part of the job.
• You ask before you miss. If you are stuck or overwhelmed you surface it early not after a deadline has passed.
• You document because you understand that if it is not written down it did not happen and that documentation protects everyone.
• You spot patterns ask why and bring recommendations rather than just observations.
• You prioritize ruthlessly. Not everything on your plate is equally urgent and you know the difference.
• You are comfortable with ambiguity and change and you adapt without losing your grounding.

General

• Must be able to work compassionately and respectfully with people from all backgrounds
• Must be prepared to engage with individuals navigating poverty mental health challenges addiction and/or homelessness
• Must be able to pass and maintain background clearance in accordance with Urban Alchemy policy
• Lived experience with incarceration and/or homelessness preferred
• Drivers license and good driving record preferred; travel between Portland worksites is required

Physical Requirements:

• Sitting: 7 hours
• Standing: 1 hours
• Walking: 1 hours
• Bending at waist: less than 1 hour per day

Work Environment:

• Work is performed in a shelter site with direct regular exposure to the shelter environment and guests served
• May involve exposure to extreme temperatures dirt dust fumes smoke unpleasant odors and/or loud noises

In-Office Requirement:

• This position requires full-time in-office presence five days per week. When the Manager Human Resources is present and coverage is available the schedule may shift to four days per week.
• In-office presence is non-negotiable and is essential to how this role serves Operations.

Travel Requirement:

• Travels regularly between Urban Alchemys five Portland worksites; primary home base is Clinton Triangle 1490 SE Gideon St Portland OR
• Travel to Urban Alchemys San Francisco headquarters or other regional sites is rare and requested only when operationally necessary; occasional travel to support other regions may be asked on an as-needed basis
• Must be able to travel by car or plane

Statement of Non-discrimination:

Urban Alchemy shares a special bond with societys most vulnerable because we see ourselves in their struggle. When doing our work we recognize the humanity in those who are struggling and treat them how we once wished others had treated us. People who have been incarcerated experienced homelessness and/or come from marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply because we believe they have unique skills and abilities to engage with people who are struggling. Urban Alchemy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws. Urban Alchemy prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type.

How to Apply:

If you have questions please email .