People and Culture Business Partner

Title: People & Culture Business Partner, Scholars Programs

Department: People & Culture

Report to: VP of People & Culture

Compensation: $90,000 - $110,000

FLSA: Exempt

LOCATION/HOURS

This is full-time, hybrid position based out of our New York City office. It is expected that some duties will be performed on-site at least 2-days a week, and some remotely, with the understanding that government and public health guidelines will help determine the extent to which it is safe to carry out in-person and onsite activities.

All candidates must be within commutable distance of offices at 55 Exchange Place, New York, NY 10005, upon hire.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The People & Culture Business Partner (PCBP) will collaborate with a multi-disciplined People & Culture team to support the assigned Scholars program teams to create an optimal employee experience that attracts, develops, and retains talent in service of mission, vision, and values. By cultivating strong, trusting internal client relationships and serving as strategic advisor and expert HR liaison to the Scholars program team leaders, the PCBP will help drive talent strategy and initiatives. Key responsibilities include providing consultation and support in the areas of talent management and development, total rewards, talent acquisition, DEIB, and employee relations.

In collaboration with the VP of People & Culture, the PCBP will also be responsible for devising and implementing the learning and development strategy for the entire organization, which is comprised of over 400 employees. Moreover, the PBCP will partner with other operations teams and people leaders to develop, implement, communicate, and evaluate People & Culture initiatives based on critical needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

HR Generalist and Business Partnership

• Serve as a strategic business partner to the assigned Scholars program teams on various People & Culture areas that are aligned to the talent strategy that supports the overall organizational priorities.
• Consult and advise the assigned Scholars program leaders on implementing effective processes, policies, and systems to recruit, select, engage, develop, and retain staff in all roles across the Scholars program teams.
• Stay abreast of human capital policies, best practices, and trends.
• Employee Relations & HR Policies – Serve as the primary point of contact for people managers in responding to ER concerns in a timely manner. Facilitate and mediate difficult conversations. Conduct ER investigations and make recommendations based on findings as needed. Escalate ER issues to Operations leadership and Scholars program leadership as appropriate. Collaborate with People & Culture team leadership and Legal Counsel to address complex or highly sensitive ER issues. Maintain an expert understanding of the Employee Handbook and policies to coach, guide, and support staff while holding all team members accountable for conduct and compliance.
• Performance & Development – Partner with the Scholars program leadership and People & Culture colleagues to manage the performance and development review cycle and milestones throughout the year. Liaise between the people managers and the People and Culture team to develop and deliver content for learning in support of organizational priorities, Scholar program participant needs, and individual/team development.
• Compensation & Benefits – Partner with the Total Rewards team to execute an annual compensation review with the Scholars program leadership and perform ad hoc analyses throughout the year. Collaborate with the Total Rewards team to drive high participation in annual benefits open enrollment processes and connect staff to key resources.
• Recruitment, Onboarding & Retention – Support the Talent Acquisition team to ensure a conscious, deliberate approach to attracting and retaining top talent. Partner with the Talent Acquisition team to ensure that the selection processes (e.g., conducting interviews, supporting new hiring managers, etc.) and onboarding processes (e.g., ensuring timely submission of new hire paperwork, supporting New Hire Orientation, etc.) are implemented. Execute retention strategies to minimize attrition, particularly in the Scholar program’s critical roles and specialty skillsets.
• Employee Engagement – Respond to employee engagement indicators in collaboration with People & Culture colleagues and work with the Scholar program leadership to develop action plans to address areas of concern for staff. Communicate with staff regarding People & Culture initiatives and assist in change management. Support employee recognition, milestones, and accolades for the Scholar programs.
• HRIS and People Analytics -- Assist in the execution of periodic data integrity audits and HRIS data clean-up, as well as the maintenance of accurate employee documents and databases for the Scholars programs.
• Lead or participate in special projects or taskforces in support of Scholars program needs and People & Culture team priorities.
• Cross-train and provide backup as well as thought partnership to different People & Culture centers of excellence (e.g., talent acquisition, total rewards, talent management, and development, DEIB) as needed.

Learning and Development

• In collaboration with the VP of People & Culture, develop a learning and development strategy and support all L&D efforts across the organization.
• Track and leverage people analytics to evaluate and make recommendations for individual and team development across the organization.
• Provide expert thought leadership, partner with program and ops team leaders and People & Culture leadership team on learning strategies, emerging skills, competencies, and alignment across talent retention, talent attraction, and performance & development.
• Identify and manage external learning and development vendors as required.
• Design and deliver training and toolkits, particularly for compliance, new hire onboarding, and first line manager development.
• Stay informed on the latest learning and development trends and best practices and serve as an internal consultant and subject matter expert to all staff and leadership.

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent working experience. A master’s in Business, Human Resources, Organizational Psychology, Public Policy, or Education is preferred.
• Minimum 5 years in an HR Generalist role with evidence of progressive responsibility and autonomy. Direct experience within a nonprofit organization, specifically in education, is desired.
• HR certification is required. Must have formal training and working knowledge of the current and changing labor laws and employment best practices within the United States, and experience conducting ER investigations and overseeing employees in NY and CA.
• Knowledge and experience with designing impactful learning and development programs for leaders and individual contributors and facilitating L&D sessions.
• Direct experience navigating and managing employee information in HR systems is required (we use Paylocity and Greenhouse!), as well as technical proficiency in MS Office, cloud-based applications like Box, and project management tools like Monday.com. Salesforce, HubSpot, chat platforms, and other employee communications and engagement tools are a plus.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills, including advanced Excel.
• Evidence of working within communities reflective of the organization's participant population and the combined lived and learned experience to apply an inclusive lens to work and relationships.

CCOMPETENCIES & SKILLS

• Talent Management: A proven track record of leading teams to high performance. Must have well-developed people management skills with a keen ability to lead across difference and apply consultative skills to determine professional development needs for team members at every level.
• Change Management: Lead the people side of change by shepherding the change management process through facilitation, clear communication, and effective interventions to reach team and organizational objectives; react to and manage change over time.
• Passion: A deep connection to and curiosity for mission, vision, and core values.
• Empathy & Inclusion: High emotional intelligence that centers inclusive leadership and collaboration, coupled with the combined lived and learned experiences to build authentic relationships effectively, and develop race- and culture-intentional people programs and processes.
• Communication: Expert written and extemporaneous communications skills. Must be comfortable addressing and engaging with diverse audiences through different mediums, including in-person, email, messaging, and phone calls.
• Judgment & Decision Making: Practiced skills in leveraging available information to make effective decisions with limited time while planning for contingencies and persisting towards solutions that best serve people and programs. A reputation for soliciting feedback, taking accountability for errors, and internalizing constructive feedback for continuous reflection and improvement.
• Conflict Resolution: An ability to resolve disagreements that arise from differing perspectives, opinions, intentions, and facilitate difficult conversations to drive towards mutually agreeable and favorable outcomes for all parties.
• Project Management: An affinity for strategic planning with the ability to break down issues into component pieces, build project work plans, manage timelines, lead cross-functional working teams, evaluate for continuous improvement, and navigate ambiguity all along the way.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The client offers a competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits plan including low-cost health, vision, and dental options, a generous holiday schedule and PTO policies, disability coverage, fully paid time off for new parents, and employer contributions to health reimbursement and retirement accounts. We are constantly working to improve our benefits each year based on the needs of our employees. We value wellness and strive to consistently use a DEIB lens to put people first and foremost.

The compensation listed in this posting reflects what they believe it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and they reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Vaccination Policy

In view of governmental vaccination recommendations and/or mandates in areas we work, as well as the guidance of the CDC that vaccination is the most effective means to provide a safe working and teaching environment, subject to applicable law, applicants who obtain a conditional job offer will be required to demonstrate that they have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or qualify for a medical or religious accommodation to this vaccination requirement, before beginning employment.

EEOC Policy

They are committed to cultivating a team that embodies the backgrounds and experiences of the constituencies we serve and the communities we live in, and a workplace that reflects the impact we make in the world. Candidates from historically excluded and underrepresented communities – including people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, veterans, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Equal Employment Opportunity is not just the law, it is our commitment.

They are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer – M/F/D/V. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other legally protected status.