Senior HR Generalist / HR Business Partner

Saint Mary's College • Notre Dame, IN

8d

About The Position

The Senior HR Generalist / HR Business Partner (HRBP) serves as a strategic and hands-on partner to administrators and staff (non-faculty). This role provides expert guidance across employee relations, talent acquisition, performance management, and unemployment administration while supporting the operational and mission-driven environment of higher education. The HRBP balances strategic consultation with day-to-day HR generalist responsibilities, ensuring compliance, consistency, and an employee-centered approach aligned with institutional values.
This position works closely with department leads to facilitate workforce needs, address employee relations matters, and strengthen people practices that support institutional effectiveness.
The Senior HR Generalist/ HR Business Partner serves as a trusted advisor to administrators, aligning people strategies with institutional goals, HR policies, and compliance requirements. This role partners closely with HR leadership to support organizational change, workforce planning, policy development, and institution-wide HR initiatives, using workforce and engagement data to inform recommendations.
The position leads employee relations efforts by serving as the primary contact, involving staff and administrators, for performance, conduct, attendance, and workplace issues, conducting impartial investigations, and advising leaders on corrective action, discipline, and terminations in compliance with employment laws. The role also supports talent acquisition by partnering with hiring managers on staffing needs, managing full-cycle recruitment for staff and administrative roles, ensuring equitable and compliant hiring practices, supporting onboarding, representing the College at recruitment events, and working within compensation guidelines.
Additionally, the Senior HR Generalist/ HR Business Partner provides guidance throughout the performance management lifecycle, supports performance processes within Oracle HCM, and identifies trends to recommend targeted interventions. The role manages unemployment claims, ensures compliance with employment laws, maintains confidential employee records, supports audits and reporting, delivers manager and employee training, and leads or contributes to HR projects focused on continuous improvement and strengthening manager effectiveness across the institution.
The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities and requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive HR experience, with significant responsibility in employee relations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting administrators and staff in a complex organization.
• Experience in talent acquisition, performance management, and unemployment administration.
• Strong working knowledge of employment laws and HR best practices.
• Ability to manage sensitive matters with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment.
• Must be proficient utilizing Microsoft Officer products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Experience working with various HRIS/Payroll systems such as Banner and Oracle HCM.

Nice To Haves

• HR certification (SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, PHR/SPHR, or equivalent).
• Experience in higher education or another mission-driven, regulated environment.
• Experience representing an employer in unemployment hearings.

Responsibilities

• Strategic partner to administrators and staff (non-faculty)
• Expert guidance across employee relations, talent acquisition, performance management, and unemployment administration
• Balances strategic consultation with day-to-day HR generalist responsibilities
• Ensuring compliance, consistency, and an employee-centered approach aligned with institutional values
• Facilitate workforce needs
• Address employee relations matters
• Strengthen people practices that support institutional effectiveness
• Aligning people strategies with institutional goals, HR policies, and compliance requirements
• Partners closely with HR leadership to support organizational change, workforce planning, policy development, and institution-wide HR initiatives
• Leads employee relations efforts by serving as the primary contact
• Conducting impartial investigations
• Advising leaders on corrective action, discipline, and terminations in compliance with employment laws
• Supports talent acquisition by partnering with hiring managers on staffing needs
• Managing full-cycle recruitment for staff and administrative roles
• Ensuring equitable and compliant hiring practices
• Supporting onboarding
• Representing the College at recruitment events
• Working within compensation guidelines
• Provides guidance throughout the performance management lifecycle
• Supports performance processes within Oracle HCM
• Identifies trends to recommend targeted interventions
• Manages unemployment claims
• Ensures compliance with employment laws
• Maintains confidential employee records
• Supports audits and reporting
• Delivers manager and employee training
• Leads or contributes to HR projects focused on continuous improvement and strengthening manager effectiveness across the institution

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level