Senior HR Generalist, People, Place & Culture

Vera Institute of Justice•New York, NY

3d•$125,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior HR Generalist is a hands-on individual contributor who provides broad day-to-day human resources support with particular depth in employee and labor relations. Reporting to the Managing Director, People, Place & Culture, this role serves as a trusted resource to employees and managers on workplace matters and supports consistent, equitable, and legally compliant people practices across the organization. The Generalist will have primary responsibility for employee and labor relations intake and coordination, including workplace concerns, investigations support, performance management, corrective action, accommodations, and day-to-day administration of the collective bargaining agreement. The role will also provide generalist support across benefits and leave administration, HR operations, compliance, onboarding and offboarding, and other employee lifecycle processes. This role works collaboratively across the People, Place & Culture (PPC) team and partners closely with the Compensation & Benefits function to support benefits administration. The role does not own Vera’s Total Rewards strategy; rather, it provides operational support and additional capacity across core HR services.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and 5 plus years of relevant HR experience. In lieu of a bachelor's degree, applicable work or life experience may be considered.
Demonstrated hands-on experience across multiple HR functions (e.g., benefits, HRIS, recruitment, compliance) as a generalist.
Direct experience handling employee relations matters, including intake, documentation, and handling of workplace investigations from start to finish.
Working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment law (e.g., Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA).
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (or similar) and comfortable working within an HRIS/ATS.
Sound judgment and discretion; able to handle confidential and sensitive matters with integrity and impartiality.
Strong written and verbal communication, including clear, objective investigation and case documentation.
Flexible and able to multi-task, prioritize, and manage multiple activities in a fast-paced environment.
Solutions-oriented problem solver who works well with people both inside and outside the organization.

Nice To Haves

SHRM-CP, PHR, or other HR-related certification.
Direct experience administering a collective bargaining agreement and supporting labor relations alongside legal counsel.
Experience in a unionized and/or nonprofit/mission-driven environment.
Committed to Vera's mission to end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty.

Responsibilities

Serve as a first point of contact for employee relations concerns, conducting intake, triage, documentation, and initial assessment of complaints, grievances, workplace conflicts, and other employee concerns.
Support and, where appropriate, lead workplace investigations, including fact gathering, interviewing parties, maintaining chain-of-custody documentation, preparing investigation summaries, and coordinating with the Managing Director and Legal.
Administer day-to-day aspects of the collective bargaining agreement, including tracking grievances and timelines, maintaining seniority and job-classification records, coordinating labor-management meeting logistics, and supporting implementation of negotiated provisions.
Advise managers on performance management, coaching, corrective action, conflict resolution, and consistent application of workplace policies and the CBA.
Coordinate accommodation and leave-related employee relations matters in partnership with the appropriate PPC team member and Legal, as needed.
Partner with Vera's Legal and Race, Equity, and Inclusion (REI) teams on anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, retaliation, and other sensitive workplace matters, ensuring consistent and equitable application of policy.
Provide day-to-day HR operational support across employee lifecycle processes, including employee records, status changes, reporting, and data integrity.
Partner with the Compensation & Benefits function to support benefits administration, including employee questions, enrollments, qualifying life events, vendor coordination, and routine benefits processes.
Provide operational support for leave administration, including FMLA, ADA, state/local leave, disability and other applicable leave programs, coordinating with employees, managers, carriers and vendors as appropriate.
Serve as additional PPC capacity and backup for core benefits and leave processes to support continuity of service.
Respond to employee questions regarding policies, pay, benefits, PTO and HR procedures, escalating complex compensation, benefits or Total Rewards matters to the appropriate PPC team member.
Maintain accurate HRIS and personnel records and support routine audits and reporting.
Identify opportunities to streamline and improve recurring HR processes and escalate operational gaps or trends to the Managing Director.
Partner closely with the Compensation & Benefits function to support the day-to-day administration of Vera’s employee benefits programs and continuity of employee support.
Respond to routine employee benefits questions and support enrollments, qualifying life events, benefit changes, and other benefits-related transactions.
Support leave administration, including FMLA, ADA, state and local leave, disability, and other applicable leave programs, coordinating with employees, managers, carriers, and vendors as appropriate.
Maintain accurate benefits and leave records and support required documentation, tracking, reporting, and employee communications.
Coordinate with benefits vendors and internal partners to resolve routine employee issues and ensure timely service.
Serve as additional PPC capacity and operational backup for benefits and leave administration, escalating matters involving benefits strategy, plan design, compensation, or broader Total Rewards decisions to the appropriate PPC functional lead.
Conduct routine audits of personnel files, I-9s, and required trainings to ensure federal, state, and local compliance.
Track and support mandatory training completion (e.g., anti-harassment, code of conduct) and maintain accurate compliance records.
Contribute to HR projects engagement surveys, policy rollouts, HRIS improvements, and total-rewards cycles as assigned.
Generate metrics and dashboards on ER/LR case volume, hiring, and turnover to inform decision-making.