HR Operations Leader

HR Operations Leader

Schedule: Monday-Friday, regular business schedule

Salary: $110K-$150K

Location: Bloomington, MN – Hybrid Schedule of 1-2 days a week in office, 3-4 days remote

Role Overview

Our client is seeking a highly capable HR Operations Leader to own payroll, benefits, and core HR operations with precision, integrity, and strong business partnership. This role sits at the intersection of HR, Finance, and compliance and is critical to ensuring employees are paid accurately, benefits are administered seamlessly, and employment practices remain compliant across multiple jurisdictions.

The ideal candidate brings deep payroll and benefits expertise, strong employee relations judgment, and the confidence to uphold compliance standards without compromise. This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives in detail, data, and process ownership while also mentoring others and driving operational maturity.

Core Responsibilities

Payroll & Benefits Operations

• Lead full-cycle payroll processing across multiple states, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory compliance.
• Administer employee benefits programs end to end, including carrier coordination and ongoing reconciliation.
• Reconcile payroll deductions to benefits invoices and partner with Finance to resolve discrepancies quickly and thoroughly.
• Partner closely with Finance on payroll GL reconciliation, benefits cost validation, audits, and month-end close activities.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Maintain a strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment and payroll regulations.
• Ensure policies, processes, and execution meet all compliance requirements and mitigate organizational risk.
• Serve as a trusted point of escalation for sensitive payroll, benefits, or compliance-related issues.

People Operations & Employee Relations

• Own employee relations matters, including investigations, conflict resolution, and escalations, applying sound judgment and consistency.
• Support and enhance HR programs such as onboarding, offboarding, policy rollout, and People Ops initiatives.
• Act as a steady, professional presence for employees and leaders navigating complex people matters.

Data, Systems & Reporting

• Build and maintain HR metrics, dashboards, and reporting to inform leadership decisions.
• Leverage HRIS and payroll platforms (e.g., Paycor, Lattice or similar) alongside advanced spreadsheet capabilities to ensure data integrity and insight.
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities through data analysis before they become issues.

Leadership & Team Development

• Mentor and develop junior HR team members, providing guidance on best practices and execution.
• Contribute to the growth and maturity of the People Operations function through continuous improvement.
• Champion process optimization and thoughtful adoption of tools and technology.

Required Experience & Skills

• Proven experience managing multi-state payroll and benefits administration in partnership with Finance.
• Must have end to end, full cycle payroll processing experience within a system in Paycor or something similar.
• Strong background in benefits reconciliation and payroll audits.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets, including formulas, pivot tables, and data validation.
• Hands-on experience with HRIS and payroll systems.
• Demonstrated ability to handle employee relations issues with discretion, fairness, and professionalism.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly present HR data and insights to stakeholders.