ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Founded in 1991, Living Cities is a collaborative of prominent foundations and financial institutions. We foster transformational relationships across sectors to connect those who are willing to do the hard work of closing racial income and wealth gaps. Together, we are partnering with cross-sector leaders in cities across the country to imagine and create an America in which all people are economically secure, building wealth, and living abundant, dignified, and connected lives. Our staff, investments, convenings, and networks support efforts that operationalize racial equity and inclusion in local government, create inclusive narratives, bring communities together to devise and act on a shared vision for the future, and eliminate inequities in systems such as entrepreneurship, homeownership, and access to capital.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Senior Associate, Talent and Organizational Development plays a vital role in managing employee benefits, records, systems, and confidential information while ensuring compliance with employment laws and organizational policies. Serving as the primary HR contact, this role supports employees throughout their lifecycle, providing guidance on policies, procedures, and workplace matters with professionalism and discretion. The Senior Associate effectively communicates HR practices to managers and employees, ensuring consistency and clarity. Additionally, they contribute to implementing and maintaining key talent and organizational development strategies while providing essential administrative support to the department. This position requires strong judgment, attention to detail, and a commitment to fostering a positive employee experience.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Benefits Administration – The Sr. Associate, Talent and Organizational Development is responsible for majority of the employee benefits processing cycle. This included processing enrollments, terminations, maintaining files and updating HRIS and policies. Other functions include but are not limited to:

o Managing, maintaining and updating HRIS, including carrier connection.

o Oversee annual open enrollment process .

o Coordinate with insurance broker and benefit carrier to resolve employee insurance issues.

o Execute HR onboarding, orientation and offboarding procedures, including initiating new hire benefits and terminating exiting employee benefits.

o Monthly invoice reconciliation with payroll deductions.

o Administer leave documents and process leave requests (disability, FMLA, PFL, etc.).

• HR Operations – the Sr. Associate is responsible for the day-to-day operations of human resources team (Talent and Org. Development). Some of those duties include:

o Work with our THR LCAP team member to move employment candidates through the interview process, then ultimately to the onboarding process for selected candidate.

o Manage streamlined onboarding, new hire orientation and offboarding processes for employees and Interns.

o Basic employee relations and inquiries utilizing applicable employment law, organizational policies, procedures and best practices.

o Manage HRIS and employee file system, ensuring to maintain updated and accurate information. Run system reports for Q&A purposes.

o Manage performance management platform, Work Story, communicate with staff and Performance Managers with low participation.

o Collaborate with Director of Talent and Organizational Development on developing and implanting policies, procedures and practices.

o Coordinate with Contracts Management for HR related contract execution and enter vendors in Salesforce.

• HR and Payroll

o Process semi-month payroll management. Serve as the point of entry to initiate HR and payroll such as promotions, bonuses, employee self-service.

o Track and maintain increases and performance management cycle.

o Run reports for analysis on various projects and monthly compliance.

• Talent Acquisition

o Work with our THR LCAP team member to move employment candidates through the interview process, then ultimately to the onboarding process for selected candidate.

o Manage streamlined onboarding, new hire orientation and offboarding processes for employees and Interns.

• Organizational Culture

o Manage the Time Out Tuesday process, structure and assist with development of content.

o Work with Director of Talent and Organizational Development to plan and execute annual staff retreats.

o Implement and track HR related surveys.

o Analyze the quarterly Sun Burst nominations.

o Serve as Living Cities culture advocate in working with staff and external partners.

o Engage colleagues in a hybrid model environment.

• Learning and Development

o Manage and track training and workshop sessions for staff.

o Participate in developing and implementing department goals, charter process, objectives and systems.

o Create presentations and train colleagues on HR related topics.

• Projects

o Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for HR functions

o Ongoing projects assigned as we continue to grow and develop as an organization

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field (e.g., Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Business Management, or related).

• Minimum 5 years of experience working in human resources or payroll, or related field

• Minimum 3 years of experience in benefits management, including enrollment, troubleshooting employee issues and invoice reconciliation.

• Minimum 1 year experience in nonprofit, philanthropic environment.

• Exposure and/or comfortable and working in a racial equity organization.

• Comfortable speaking, presenting, training, conducting training and/or workshops to colleagues.

• Demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to analyze and troubleshoot to drive solution.

• Exposure to project management, with experience developing and implementing systems and processes while maintaining an inclusive, collaborative approach.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build productive relationships across lines of difference and serve as an organizational culture carrier.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• HRIS (ADP, Workday, Paycom, etc.)

• Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel)

• Presentation software (Canva, PowerPoint, etc.)

• SharePoint, Google Drive, OneDrive

RACIAL EQUITY & INCLUSION (REI):

• Foundational knowledge and core concepts

• Understands why racial equity is an integral part of Living Cities’ approach, inside and outside the organization

• Displays clear willingness to learn and apply REI history and concepts REI Practice and Analysis

• Engages with curiosity, humility and openness in discussions about race, equity and power inside and outside of the organization

• Understands how the construct of race has impacted the distribution of power and resources, and recognizes its impact on current and future outcomes across systems

SALARY RANGE:

Salary is commensurate with experience, location, background and follows our internal compensation strategy. The range for this position is NYC: $99,365 - $105,210/DC: $90,355 - $95,750.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

None

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This job operates in a professional office environment and follows a hybrid work schedule. 2 days in office/3 days remote – Tuesdays and one other day, designated by team lead (Usually Wednesday or Thursday).

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

As much of our work is done on a computer, the employee must be able to remain in a position that allows them to do so effectively. Additionally, they may require some movement around the office to access files or other equipment or technology. As collaboration and communication are a large part of our work, the employee must also be able to accurately exchange information in these situations, whether verbally or written.

We will work with each employee to provide reasonable accommodations as needed.

TRAVEL

Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.

AAP/EEO POLICY STATEMENT

Living Cities is committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive team at all levels. We are an equal opportunity employer and provide opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

OTHER DUTIES

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $90,355.00 - $105,210.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid jury duty
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Human resources: 4 years (Required)
• Benefits management: 2 years (Required)
• HRIS management: 2 years (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• New York, NY 10018 (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in New York, NY 10018