Temporary Employee Recognition & Retention Manager (5-Month Assignment)

Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital•Grand Rapids, MI

About The Position

This is a temporary, limited-duration role created to backfill the Employee Recognition & Retention Manager position during a planned parental leave of absence. The role is expected to maintain continuity of key recognition, engagement, and retention initiatives while ensuring operational excellence across ongoing programs, events, and committees. Consistent with the permanent role, this position helps create a workplace where people feel valued, connected, and inspired to stay by executing recognition strategies, supporting engagement efforts, and sustaining a culture aligned with organizational values. This role will focus primarily on execution, coordination, and short-term program continuity, rather than long-term strategy development.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Communications, Organizational Development, Marketing, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
3–5 years of experience in employee recognition, engagement programs, event coordination, or HR-related roles.
Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional initiatives without direct supervisory authority.
Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills.
Experience tracking and reporting on employee engagement or retention-related activities.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a multi-site or healthcare environment.
Familiarity with recognition platforms, HR systems, or employee engagement tools.
Exposure to analytics dashboards or employee experience reporting.

Responsibilities

Coordinate and execute enterprise-wide recognition programs and appreciation activities, ensuring consistency across locations.
Maintain ongoing initiatives such as: Employee-to-Employee Giving program (weekly administration), Recognition committees (e.g., Candygram, Mary Messengers, Culture/TOGETHER Council), Service celebrations, contests, and seasonal engagement activities.
Support distribution of toolkits, templates, and communications for local recognition efforts.
Execute and support logistics for system-wide employee events and celebrations (e.g., holidays, appreciation weeks, retiree events).
Coordinate vendors, supplies, budgets, and scheduling across multiple stakeholders.
Ensure programs reinforce organizational culture, mission, and employee connection.
Facilitate and support recurring committees and council meetings, including agenda preparation, follow-up, and communication.
Partner with HR, Communications, Benefits, and operational leaders to ensure seamless execution of ongoing initiatives.
Serve as a central coordination point for recognition-related activities during the leave period.
Support employee engagement survey processes (e.g., Press Ganey EOS, pulse surveys) and track action plan progress.
Maintain and update tracking for recognition participation, engagement activities, and outcomes.
Provide basic reporting and insights for HR leadership to support decision-making.
Maintain continuity of weekly, monthly, and quarterly processes, including: Credit card reconciliation and approvals, Vendor invoices and budget tracking, Recognition platform administration (e.g., Axomo, MVP).
Coordinate with internal owners to ensure no disruption in key workflows.
Support rounding, thank-you initiatives, and employee experience touchpoints.
Assist with intern coordination and select HR initiatives as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned to ensure continuity of People Operations priorities.