HR Generalist, Employee Service Center

Zillow

1d•$27 - $46•Remote

About The Position

The Employee Service Center (ESC) supports HR processes across the organization, ensuring data integrity and compliance, supporting manual transactions, and partnering with People Product and HR COEs to enable digital solutions that scale employee lifecycle service at Zillow. Within the ESC, Tier 3 is a new function designed to own routine but nuanced HR work: inquiries and projects that are too complex for Tier 2 but do not require full HRBP ownership. This work often involves nuanced judgment, manager coaching, data interpretation, and cross-functional coordination across the People Org to support cyclical processes such as annual review, performance management, and recruiting. The HR Generalist, Employee Service Center (Tier 3) serves an important role for the organization as a link between ESC operations and HR Business Partners (HRBPs). You will provide advanced manager coaching, case coordination, and project support across annual review, performance management, talent acquisition, and other management functions. You will partner closely with HRBPs to execute people and talent strategies and own intake, triage, and resolution for a large share of routine but nuanced HRBP work—where judgment and HR fluency are required, but a senior HRBP is not. You will log and track work in ServiceNow to create visibility into patterns, escalation accuracy, and opportunities to push work down to Tier 1/2 with clear SOPs over time.

Requirements

HR experience in shared services, employee service centers, HR operations, or HR generalist roles supporting managers and/or employees
Demonstrated experience in at least two of the following domains, with working knowledge across several others: performance management, annual review/talent processes, reporting & analytics for HR, Talent Acquisition support, org or job changes, benefits/leave intersections
Proficiency with Workday (or similar HRIS) and ServiceNow (or similar case management/ticketing tools) for transactions, reporting, and case tracking
Demonstrated ability to triage and route work based on complexity, risk, and business context—not just category labels—and to document decisions clearly
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create clear manager guidance, email templates, and light documentation/playbooks
Proven track record of handling confidential HR information with discretion and sound judgment
A judgment-forward HR generalist who is comfortable living in the gray space between process and strategy, and who enjoys untangling ambiguous requests into clear next steps
Energized by supporting managers directly, coaching them through people issues, and helping them navigate HR processes in a way that balances employee experience, fairness, and risk
Systems- and data-aware: comfortable working in Workday, ServiceNow, and core HR systems, using data to spot patterns, tell a story, and propose practical improvements
Organized and execution-focused, able to juggle multiple inquiries and projects, keep stakeholders informed, and close the loop with clean documentation and follow-through
A strong collaborator who builds trust across HRBPs, ESC teammates, TA, COEs, and People Legal, and who is comfortable working both through tickets and through real-time HR-to-HR collaboration (Slack, Zoom, working sessions)
Highly discrete and reliable when working with sensitive or confidential information related to performance, employee relations, or organizational changes

Nice To Haves

Experience working in or closely with HR Business Partner teams, supporting managers across multiple business groups or functions
Prior experience in an HR shared services / tiered support model (Tier 1/2/3) or similar model where routing, SLAs, and escalation accuracy are core to success
Comfort creating or iterating on SOPs, playbooks, and triage rules based on case pattern analysis and partner feedback
Experience supporting organizational change, re-leveling, or job profile work as a project contributor (project management, documentation, stakeholder prep) alongside HRBPs and COEs
Familiarity with key ESC / HRSD metrics (e.g., time-to-resolution, escalation rate, CSAT) and using data to make recommendations

Responsibilities

Provide advanced manager coaching, case coordination, and project support across annual review, performance management, talent acquisition, and other management functions
Partner closely with HRBPs to execute people and talent strategies
Own intake, triage, and resolution for a large share of routine but nuanced HRBP work—where judgment and HR fluency are required, but a senior HRBP is not
Log and track work in ServiceNow to create visibility into patterns, escalation accuracy, and opportunities to push work down to Tier 1/2 with clear SOPs over time
Serve as a primary point of contact for mid-level managers for complex but non-strategic HR questions, providing clear guidance rooted in policy, practice, and risk awareness
Partner with HRBPs to execute people and talent strategies, including performance, annual review, and org health efforts, ensuring operational details are managed end-to-end
Provide manager coaching on topics such as performance conversations, documentation expectations, leave intersections, and change adoption, escalating to HRBP when business strategy, senior leader relationships, or high risk are involved
Participate in HRBP team meetings, talent forums, and relevant syncs to stay current on business context and bring insights back into ESC operations
Handle a broad portfolio of Tier 3-aligned work - volume and mix shift seasonally based on HR cycles
Perform adhoc manager and HRBP reports; custom data pulls that require interpretation and narrative for stakeholders
Support annual review processes including calibration support, tracking and reminders, nominations coordination, documentation prep, and manager guidance on processes and timelines
Manage performance management logistics, documentation support, case tracking, and manager coaching on process, with clear handoffs to HRBP for high-risk or deeply consultative items
Provide talent acquisition coordination including offer support, complex offer questions, escalation support, and manager updates on pipeline, in partnership with TA and HRBPs
Handle miscellaneous requests that require HR judgment and pattern recognition; log and classify these to inform future triage rules and SOP opportunities
Apply clear triage rules to determine when work belongs in Tier 1/2, Tier 3, or HRBP; document decisions and escalate appropriately when business strategy, senior leader relationships, or elevated risk are present
Support annual and cyclical HR programs (e.g., annual review, org changes, performance cycles, engagement follow-up) by coordinating tasks, tracking progress, enabling managers with templates and guidance, and surfacing risks to HRBPs early
Partner with HRBPs and COEs on re-leveling, job profile creation, and reorg documentation, focusing on project management, documentation, and stakeholder prep
Coordinate with ESC Tier 1/2, Talent Acquisition, Benefits, and other partners to ensure end-to-end case completeness and smooth employee and manager experience across tiers
Uphold and contribute to Tier 3 operating norms, including weekly pod standups, monthly calibration with HRBPs, and quarterly development/alignment reviews
Support governance for “miscellaneous” work, ensuring Tier 3 remains a judgment-and-intake layer rather than a catch-all; proactively identify emerging categories that warrant new SOPs or routing rules
Maintain the highest level of confidentiality and handle sensitive employee and manager information with discretion and integrity