Human Resources Specialist

State of Connecticut•Hartford, CT

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The State of Connecticut, Department of Administrative Services (DAS), Shared Services Center of Excellence invites applications for a multi-faceted Human Resources Specialist to join our Benefits & Leaves Retirement Unit. This certified list may be used to fill future vacancies in the Benefits and Leaves FMLA Unit processing medical, family, educational, and related leaves of absence. In this Human Resources Specialist role, you will provide service delivery in the areas of retirements, military leaves and service credit purchases, reporting directly to the Principal Human Resources Specialist. Provide assistance to employees in areas such as leaves (e.g., family, medical, military), and tuition reimbursement. This important work will also require close collaboration with teammates, leadership, agency partners, and other stakeholders – and your thoughtful input – as we strive to improve efficiency and accuracy. DAS is a state agency whose mission is to provide efficient and effective administrative services to state agencies, departments, and other governmental entities. DAS leads procurement, information technology, human resources, and other administrative functions. As a DAS Center of Excellence, the Benefits and Leaves Division has an administrative focus of employee leaves and retirements.

Requirements

Seven (7) years of professional experience in human resources management or equal employment opportunity/affirmative action or labor relations management.
One (1) year of the General Experience must have been at the junior working level in human resources management or equal employment opportunity/affirmative action or labor relations management.
For state employees this experience is interpreted at the level of a Human Resources Associate, Human Resources Generalist 1, or Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist 1.
College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equaling one half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
A Master's Degree in human resources management, labor relations, business administration, public administration or a closely related field or a law degree may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
For state employees one (1) year as a Human Resources Associate, Human Resources Generalist 1, or Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist 1 may be substituted for the General and Special Experience.
Knowledge of relevant state and federal laws, statutes, regulations, policies and procedures; human resources management; employment practices related to civil rights, equal employment opportunity, job classification, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefit programs, pay administration, workers compensation and labor relations
Considerable interpersonal skills
Oral and written communication skills
Conflict resolution skills
Ability to analyze and balance partners need with laws, regulations, policies, procedures and collective bargaining agreements
Ability to strategically plan, including succession planning
Ability to apply innovative solutions to organizational problems

Nice To Haves

Experience completing employee retirement applications with no supervision.
Experience providing guidance to employees on the retirement process.
Experience analyzing employee service records, including periods of unpaid leave for potential purchase credit.
Experience processing transactions and generating reports using a Human Resources Information System (HRIS).
Experience processing military leaves.

Responsibilities

Proposes, formulates and implements program policies and operational procedures
Screens, refers and recommends candidates for employment
Interprets, administers and ensures compliance with human resources, employment and equal opportunity laws, regulations, policies and procedures
Processes human resource records and transactions
Develops new job classifications and new job classification series and uses job evaluation systems and methodologies to evaluate jobs and set salaries
Communicates with agency human resources partners, bargaining unit representatives and other stakeholders to ensure cooperative relationships
Implements and may assist in developing training programs
Advises administrative officials, managers and supervisors regarding program policy and guidelines
Develops materials for recruitment programs
Collaborates with administrative officials in strategic planning to ensure alignment of activities with organizational goals and strategies
Monitors and makes recommendations for emerging program needs
Maintains human resources information systems
Processes workers' compensation claims
Provides assistance to employees in areas such as leaves (e.g., family, medical, military), and tuition reimbursement
Conducts audits of agency transactions to ensure business rules are followed
Analyzes and resolves problem situations and takes or recommends appropriate action
Performs job audits, or other fact finding techniques, related to individual job classification and job classification studies
Prepares or directs preparation of reports, manuals and correspondence
Interprets and ensures adherence to collective bargaining agreements
Participates in the recruitment and hiring of staff, including outreach, interview and selection
Ensures all records, files and folders are maintained, updated and digitized, where applicable
May serve on human resources project teams involving the conduct of best practice research and the development and implementation of new systems, training initiatives and other projects with statewide impact
Performs related duties as required