Director of Human Resources (part-time)

The Water Project•Anywhere, NH

8d•Remote

About The Position

The Water Project is seeking a part-time Director of Human Resources to serve as its senior hands-on HR practitioner and day-to-day point person for people-related matters. Working with a small, distributed, multi-state team, this individual contributor owns the employee lifecycle, HR compliance, employee relations, performance processes, compensation support, and effective use of the organization’s PEO. The role combines sound HR advice with detailed execution and requires a predictable weekly schedule as well as flexibility to respond promptly to time-sensitive employee matters. It focuses on U.S. human resources and excludes responsibility for finance, general operations, and international employment compliance unless separately agreed. The Director will provide respectful, dependable support to employees and managers; maintain fair, compliant, and well-documented HR practices; and help strengthen the employee experience. Responsibilities span HR operations, recruiting, employee relations and compliance, performance and compensation support, HR systems and reporting, and coordination with Finance & Operations. The role is approximately 15–20 hours per week and may be located anywhere in the United States. Core responsibilities are planned to fit within an average of approximately 15 hours per week; approval is required before materially exceeding the normal schedule, except when immediate action is reasonably necessary to protect an employee or the organization.

Requirements

Typically seven or more years of progressive, hands-on human-resources experience, including meaningful ownership of an HR function or broad generalist portfolio.
Demonstrated experience handling employee relations, performance concerns, leave and accommodation questions, and sensitive personnel matters.
Working knowledge of federal and multi-state employment requirements and judgment to recognize when legal guidance is needed.
Experience administering benefits, payroll inputs, policies, personnel records, and other HR operations, preferably through a PEO or HRIS.
Experience supporting compensation reviews, performance-management processes, recruiting, and manager coaching.
Strong judgment, discretion, empathy, organization, and follow-through; confidentiality is essential.
Clear, practical written and verbal communication skills and comfort working independently in a remote environment.
Ability to balance strategic advice with detailed administrative execution.
Ability to establish a predictable weekly schedule and maintain sufficient flexibility to respond promptly to time-sensitive employee matters.

Nice To Haves

Experience as the sole or senior HR practitioner in a small nonprofit or similarly lean organization.
Experience supporting a distributed workforce across several U.S. states.
Familiarity with Justworks or a comparable PEO.
SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR, or another relevant credential.
Experience developing compensation structures, manager resources, and scalable HR processes.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary contact for employee and manager questions about policies, benefits, leave, performance, workplace concerns, and other HR matters.
Manage onboarding, job and status changes, leave coordination, and offboarding from an HR perspective.
Maintain complete, accurate, confidential personnel records and ensure required documents, acknowledgments, and notices are completed and retained.
Administer and improve the employee handbook, HR policies, templates, checklists, and standard operating procedures.
Coordinate benefits and payroll-related employee information through Justworks or another PEO; Finance retains ownership of payroll funding, accounting, and reconciliation.
Maintain an HR compliance calendar and ensure recurring filings, notices, training, and policy reviews are completed on schedule.
Identify opportunities to simplify processes and improve the HR experience.
Partner with hiring managers to define roles, draft job descriptions, establish hiring plans, and develop fair, consistent selection processes.
Coordinate job postings, candidate screening, interviews, references, offers, background checks, and pre-employment documentation.
Provide candidates with a professional, welcoming, respectful experience through clear communication and timely follow-up.
Maintain recruiting records and ensure candidates are treated consistently and fairly.
Plan recruiting within the regular weekly schedule and identify in advance when an active search may require a temporary increase in hours.
Advise the President & CEO and managers on employee relations, performance, conduct, accommodations, leave, and other personnel matters.
Serve as a trusted resource for employees and receive and assess employee concerns; conduct or coordinate appropriate fact-finding and document matters appropriately.
Handle sensitive situations with empathy, objectivity, sound judgment, confidentiality, and a commitment to fair and constructive outcomes.
Maintain working knowledge of federal and applicable state employment requirements and coordinate timely escalation to outside counsel or specialized expertise when needed.
Support manager training on interviewing, feedback, documentation, anti-harassment, leave, and other employment responsibilities.
Coordinate the performance-management cycle, including schedules, forms, manager guidance, calibration support, and completion tracking.
Coach managers on setting expectations, giving constructive feedback, documenting performance, and navigating difficult conversations.
Support compensation reviews, market benchmarking, job classification, salary-range development, and career-growth conversations.
Partner with Finance on compensation and benefits cost modeling and with the President & CEO on workforce planning and organizational design.
Maintain current job descriptions, roles, classifications, reporting relationships, and employment records.
Maintain accurate employee information in the PEO and other HR systems and protect access to confidential information.
Track useful HR measures such as headcount, turnover, recruiting activity, performance-cycle completion, and leave trends.
Provide concise updates to the President & CEO on material employee matters, compliance risks, upcoming decisions, and workload priorities while respecting confidentiality.
Coordinate with Finance & Operations on payroll changes, benefits costs, systems access, equipment, and onboarding or offboarding tasks.
Maintain clear documentation, ownership, and follow-through so employees and managers receive dependable support.
Establish a predictable weekly schedule and regular availability; communicate availability and expected response times clearly.
Respond promptly to time-sensitive employee-relations and compliance matters, generally within one business day.
Plan recurring work so core HR responsibilities can be completed within an average of approximately 15 hours per week, and obtain approval before materially exceeding the normal schedule except when immediate action is reasonably necessary.