About Us

Positively Partners delivers integrated, people-centered consulting services to social impact organizations. Our services include recruitment, HR outsourcing, and consulting on people practices related to compensation, employee engagement, and inclusion.

Positively Partners was founded by nonprofit leaders in 2016 to help social sector organizations access the high-quality and inclusion-focused HR services important to the achievement of their missions. We are a team of learners, activists, HR professionals, trainers, recruiters, and consultants committed to helping employees thrive in support of their organization’s mission. Our home bases are in Boston, MA, and Washington, DC and we employ a remote workforce, located in cities across the United States. The locations in which our team lives and works position us to provide our services through a combination of both in-person and online channels to best accommodate the needs of our clients, many of whom have teams located in multiple states across the country.

You can learn more about Positively Partners and our service offerings at www.positivelypartners.org.

The Opportunity

Join the Positively Partners team as an HR Generalist and play a pivotal role in the delivery of our HR outsourcing services. As HR Generalist, you will make a meaningful impact, serving as a critical link between our organization, our mission-driven outsourcing clients, and their employees, ensuring top-quality service and a positive employee experience. You’ll bring a systems-oriented approach and a proactive mindset to manage key HR functions, directly engaging with employees across multiple organizations. As you navigate complex HR systems and compliance requirements, your ability to communicate clearly and empathetically will be key in supporting employees with varying levels of familiarity with HR policy and process.

In this dynamic position, you will have the opportunity to handle a wide range of HR tasks, from onboarding new hires to managing offboarding processes and everything in between. Your contributions will directly impact the day-to-day operations of our HR Systems & Operations Team, where your precision, discipline and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion will set you apart. You will thrive in a role that demands strong execution, the ability to manage multiple tasks and timelines, and a consistent focus on delivering outstanding customer service. Your talent in building high-quality relationships, and your enthusiasm for solving puzzles - using data and documentation to make sense of the pieces to solve problems - will be invaluable as you tackle HR challenges and contribute to process and system improvements.

More than just an operational position, this role offers a unique path to professional growth and expansion of your HR expertise. The HR Generalist will have opportunities to work directly with employees at mission-oriented organizations around the country and to collaborate with an internal team of HR professionals dedicated to centering equity and people-first policies. Positively Partners fosters a flexible work environment that values best practices in HR, encourages autonomy, and prioritizes professional growth and development. As the HR Generalist, you will report directly to the Employee Support & Compliance Officer.

Key Responsibilities

EMPLOYEE LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT:

• Efficiently manage workflows utilizing defined process documentation to ensure all tasks are processed accurately and promptly for multiple clients. Workflows include onboarding, offboarding, employment changes, and benefit changes.

• Provide superior customer service to new hires and hiring managers, monitoring the completion of onboarding tasks and addressing any queries or concerns.

• Schedule and conduct orientation meetings, ensuring a positive first experience for new hires.

• Efficiently manage offboarding processes for exiting employees, including termination from HRIS and benefit systems, processing COBRA qualifying events, and conducting exit interviews.

• Facilitate performance review processes, including launching and closing each cycle, providing support to employees and managers as needed, and tracking and reporting compliance as needed.

• Provide process support for leave of absence management, including request intake, general policy questions, disability benefit application support, leave tracking, and documentation. Build trust with employees through empathetic, personalized communications and support.

• Operate with a high degree of integrity and transparency to ensure PositivelyHR operations are accurate, reliable and seamless.

EMPLOYEE INQUIRY RESOLUTION:

• Manage client support inbox, consistently meeting service level agreements (SLAs) with a prompt response or by acknowledging receipt and escalating the inquiry to team members when necessary

• Serve as the first point of contact for employee inquiries and provide basic and intermediate-level guidance on a wide variety of topics, including systems support and HR policies and procedures. Evaluate and analyze employee requests/concerns to determine the appropriate resolution and/or escalation.

• Investigate and resolve unique/moderately complex HR-related issues.

• Utilize tools and resources to resolve inquiries comprehensively and accurately by referring to available data sources and documentation such as policy documents, knowledge base articles, standard operating procedures, and internal notes and references.

• Use judgment, critical thinking and logic when resolving employee inquiries, ensuring that your responses are clear, understandable, and helpful, even for employees who may need a basic understanding of the concepts.

• Proactively identify trends that may lead to a high volume of inquiries and partner with leadership for resolution.

PAYROLL OPERATIONS & BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION:

• Maintain accurate data entry for the payroll log for each client, documenting new hires, terminations, payroll or benefit changes, bonuses, or other payroll adjustments and ensuring appropriate documentation is referenced for all changes

• Attend regular payroll meetings to monitor payroll processing and related projects or tasks

• Support the team during client open enrollment periods by reviewing/inspecting broker-provided materials, updating employee resources, and supporting employee communication.

• Assist employees with new hire and qualifying life event benefit enrollments by setting up enrollment windows in the HRIS, collecting required documentation, and providing general employee support for the enrollment process.

• Direct employee benefit inquiries to the benefit admin partner. Escalate benefit issues to the Employee Support and Compliance Officer.

HR SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS TEAM SUPPORT:

• Provide valuable support to HR Systems & Ops team members by drafting documents, correspondence, and presentations as requested, contributing to the team's overall efficiency and effectiveness

• Collaborate with Employee Support & Compliance Officer to process quarterly handbook updates and draft communications to clients and employees as necessary.

• Conduct regular and ad-hoc audits to ensure compliance and data integrity.

• Respond to ad hoc requests such as employment verifications, unemployment claims, workers compensation audits, etc.

• Support and process work as assigned, continually evaluating existing work processes and prospective processes to ensure the most effective use of resources. Discuss potential improvements with relevant stakeholders, and document any process changes.

• Ensure accuracy and confidentiality of HR data.

• Other support needs or projects as needed to support the HR Systems and Ops Team and/or PositivelyHR clients.

Qualifications and experience

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We review each application to better know you and the unique strengths you will bring to work. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below:

• 5+ years in human resources roles including previous work as an HR Generalist, holding responsibilities such as employee onboarding and offboarding, benefits administration, leave management, policy interpretation and general employee support. Experience in employee-facing roles is preferred

• A degree in Human Resources or related field and/or a certification from SHRM or HRCI is highly desirable

• Experience working at/for organizations with employees in multiple states is necessary

• Possess a solid understanding of employment laws (e.g., ACA, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, etc.) to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local jurisdictions.

• Ability to analyze data, documents, reports, etc., with meticulous attention to detail.

• Proactive attitude and comfort in communicating directly with clients and employees at various organizational levels. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Demonstrated commitment to DEI principles and fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment

• Impeccable ethics and commitment to protect highly-sensitive and confidential information

• Strong problem-solving skills to address inquiries, analyze issues, and anticipate client needs effectively

• Ability to work autonomously, prioritize tasks with a sense of urgency, proactively identify areas for improvement, and propose solutions

• Adaptability to a flexible work environment, including remote work, and the ability to accommodate clients located in various states

Your strengths and interests

At Positively Partners, our training in Positive Psychology informs everything we do. We know that our team will do their best work when they love what they do. So, it’s important that you’re as excited about this role as we are. We believe to enjoy this role you’ll:

• Continuously demonstrate curiosity with an eye towards improvement - looking at each process and set of information with a critical eye, believing it can be improved and be more effective in service of our clients.

• Excitement about becoming an expert in your work – understanding the ins and outs of each system and the nuances in our support of each client

• Enjoy working independently and collaboratively with a team to create and drive process adherence and efficiency

• Embrace complexity - show empathy and kindness while balancing the mission of client organizations with its obligations under the law and the needs of employees.

• Effectively foster spaces that are inclusive of people’s identities and encourage participants to speak in full and authentic voice

Compensation, benefits, and location

Positively Partners offers staff a robust compensation and benefits package including access to high-quality, inclusive health benefits that prioritize employee agency and an opportunity for an end-of-year discretionary bonus calculated in equal measure based on individual, team, and organizational performance.

The salary range for this role is $71,000-$75,500. Positively Partners is committed to supporting employee growth in our field, including providing training and support on an ongoing basis.

Positively Partners’ employees have flexibility in their work location (in the United States), with in-person travel requirements determined by the nature of the work performed. We offer flexible hours, but the majority of our clients are located on the east coast of the US and availability during business hours there is required.The HR Generalist can expect to travel two or fewer times per year.

How to apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to promptly submit their application through our online portal. All applicants will receive a response to their application. Please email rcostello@positivelypartners.org with questions or for support submitting your application.

While subject to change, candidates elected to advance throughout the process can expect:

• an initial phone interview with a member of the Positively Partners’ team

• a short test assessing HR compliance expertise administered by a third party system

• a multi-part final interview including opportunities to engage with a range of stakeholders at Positively Partners and a one on one conversation with the Employee Support & Compliance Officer

The expected start date is in the fourth quarter 2024. Positively Partners is committed to conducting an equitable, accessible assessment process. If you would like to request accommodation during the interview process, please email search@positivelypartners.org. Requests for accommodation will be handled confidentially.

© by Positively Partners, LLC 2024