Position Title: HR Generalist (Part Time Manager)

Supervisor: Deputy Director

Employee Status: Part-time (20-30 hours per week), Hourly, Non-Exempt

Who We’re Looking For

Food Connects is seeking an experienced HR Generalist to lead the organization’s HR and Culture initiatives, ensuring the engagement, development, and wellbeing of our workforce (currently 33 and growing).

Food Connects believes that a workforce of individuals from varied backgrounds is essential to a thriving and adaptable business. Therefore, we encourage all to apply to join our team. 

What You Will Be Doing

The HR Generalist’s primary responsibility is to foster a culture of trust, accountability and wellbeing while managing daily HR administration. They must model comfort and confidence navigating brave conversations swiftly. This position plays a pivotal role in developing our staff through effective recruiting, retention and continued training initiatives. This role is responsible for HR administrations including: confidential record-keeping, hiring and onboarding, benefits enrollment and development, and regulatory compliance. They will have the opportunity to develop new organizational systems, policies and practices that align with our strategic cultural goals.

Experience and Knowledge Needed

This position requires excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills, as well as knowledge of employment regulations and best practices. The right candidate will be skilled at: 

• Building Collaborative Relationships: The ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support.
• Empowering Others: The ability to convey confidence in employees’ ability to be successful, especially at challenging new tasks; delegating significant responsibility and authority; allowing employees freedom to decide how they will accomplish their goals and resolve issues.
• Thoroughness: Ensuring that one’s own and others’ work and information are complete and accurate; carefully preparing for meetings and presentations; following up with others to ensure that agreements and commitments have been fulfilled.
• Managing Change: The ability to demonstrate support for innovation and for organizational changes needed to improve the organization’s effectiveness; initiating, sponsoring, and implementing organizational change; helping others to successfully manage organizational change.
• Fostering Teamwork: As a team member, the ability and desire to work cooperatively with others on a team; as a team leader, the ability to demonstrate interest, skill, and success in getting groups to learn to work together.
• Developing Others The ability to delegate responsibility and to work with others and coach them to develop their capabilities.

• Managing Performance: The ability to take responsibility for one’s own or one’s employees’ performance, by setting clear goals and expectations, tracking progress against the goals, ensuring feedback, and addressing performance problems and issues promptly.

   

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Serves as primary HR personnel for the organization, including: 

• recruitment and retention
• maintenance of job descriptions
• onboarding and offboarding processes
• benefits administration and development
• regulatory compliance
• staff training and development
• behavior management and conflict resolution
• Manages FC cultural development and cohesion, including staff engagement activities and events, professional development initiatives, and annual review processes.
• Leads HR and Culture related communications to staff, in collaboration with Deputy Director and Marketing.
• Maintains staff records and data in a manner that ensures confidentiality including basic employee documentation, personnel files, complaints, and benefits paperwork.
• Reviews and prepares payroll data for time and attendance tracking, regular audits for workers compensation insurance, and as needed.
• Partners with the Deputy Director to ensure compliance with the Compensation Philosophy and Employee Handbook, including maintenance, updates and creation of new policies.
• Partners with the Deputy Director to ensure that all human resource matters are handled appropriately, swiftly, and in compliance with applicable local, state and federal regulations and laws.
• Partners with the Deputy Director and Leadership Team to develop new organizational systems that align with culture goals. 

General Administration

• As needed, collaborates with other department staff on projects and communications.
• Partners with the Deputy Director on continued HR systems development.
• Partners with the Deputy Director in development and implementation of policies, processes and procedures.
• Assists with other projects as needed to support FC’s growth.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops and reviewing professional publications.

• Fill in for other staff with related roles when needed. 

   

Skills and Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 2 or more years in an HR Generalist or similar role.
• 3 or more years prior experience managing people.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including nonviolent communication and conflict resolution.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to manage their own schedule and prioritize competing tasks independently.
• Ability to create and maintain harmonious relationships with a diverse workforce.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and to maintain confidentiality.
• Clarity and groundedness in a fast-paced business or non-profit environment.
• Demonstrated experience and comfort with technology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher degree, in a related field.
• Prior experience in a non-profit setting.

• Familiarity with our regional food system or local farming community.

   

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

Food Connects aims to make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals of all abilities to perform the essential functions of their role.

• Schedule: This position is expected to work between 20-30 hours per week, ebbs and flows dependent on hiring activities, and be available to work between 8am and 5pm Monday through Friday.
• Location: The position is based in the Food Connects office in Brattleboro, although Food Connects promotes a flexible working schedule that allows for a hybrid-remote model. This role is required to work a minimum 2 days per week in office, in order to experience what it's like to live out our mission on a day-to-day basis. Evening and weekends may be required rarely, and with plenty of notice for planning.
• Working Conditions: This position entails extensive use of a desktop or laptop computer, sitting or standing at a desk workstation.