Serving as a highly visible, accessible, and trusted HR business partner, this position proactively develops relationships with employees, managers, and leaders across a diverse manufacturing workforce, anticipating needs and addressing challenges before they escalate. The HR Manager owns the day-to-day execution of the employee lifecycle and HR operations, leading employee relations, talent acquisition, total rewards, leave administration, workforce analytics, organizational integration, and continuous improvement initiatives that support CEPA & Qualastat’s ongoing growth and operational excellence. Balancing the facets of HR with genuine care for people, this position creates an environment where employees feel supported, managers are empowered and equipped to lead effectively, and organizational priorities are executed with consistency, empathy, and accountability.
Minimum Qualifications
This is an on-site, not remote, position requiring reporting to two Chandler, Arizona locations (currently across a parking lot from each other and will eventually be consolidated under one roof) and quarterly travel to Qualastat’s Gettysburg, Pennsylvania location. This role supports two separate businesses.
Education: Bachelor’s degree. Demonstrated ongoing education and certifications desirable.
Experience: Five (5) years of experience in a dedicated human resources function, in a manufacturing or value-added distributor organization – at least three (3) of which have been in a manager or business partner role.
Knowledge: Working knowledge of HRIS system administration, benefits, talent acquisition (recruitment and onboarding), employee relations, compensation, performance management, and promoting/developing company culture. Demonstrated ability to improve processes, diagnose problems, and navigate complex interpersonal issues towards resolution. Must have working knowledge of Arizona state labor and wage/hour laws. Training will be provided on internal CEPA/Qualastat/Trexon processes and systems, as required for this position.
Skills: Must be detail-oriented, responsive, accessible, self-motivated, hands-on as needed (i.e. “roll up your sleeves”) and able to work well with diverse internal team members and external points of contact. Must demonstrate strong communication skills, with the ability to present ideas and recommend appropriate courses of action. Must be able to influence, negotiate with, and motivate behavior without a direct reporting structure. Must have demonstrated success in positions that require professionalism in supporting and working alongside a diverse group of established and new team members. Must have demonstrated success managing multiple projects and priorities simultaneously; creating company-wide communication; and practicing sound judgment as it relates to matters of significance and confidentiality.
Travel Requirements: 10% travel can be anticipated, with additional travel as business needs require.
Job Responsibilities
Human Resources Leadership & Operations
Lead the day-to-day operation of the HR function for CEPA & Qualastat, owning the operational execution of HR programs and ensuring responsive, consistent, compliant, and high-quality HR services across the three sites.
Manage day-to-day operations, exercise sound judgment, resolve operational issues, and ensure matters are handled at the appropriate level while elevating issues requiring HQ review or strategic direction.
Exercise a high degree of initiative and intellectual curiosity by proactively identifying organizational challenges, developing scalable HR solutions, driving operational excellence, improving execution, and ensuring initiatives deliver measurable business value with minimal direction.
Action on operational HR plans/initiatives and lead various implementations while ensuring successful execution and measurable results.
Serve as the primary HR business partner to people leaders and employees, providing practical guidance on employment practices, company policies, employee relations, and workplace matters.
Administer and continuously improve HR policies, procedures, workflows, standard operating procedures, programs, tools, templates, manager resources, and implementation materials that promote operational excellence and scalability.
Roll out multiple HR initiatives simultaneously coordinating stakeholders, monitoring progress, removing barriers, resolving implementation challenges, and ensuring successful execution.
Employee Relations & Manager Partnership
Serve as the primary resource for employee relations matters, providing objective, practical, and solutions-oriented guidance to managers and employees.
Conduct fair, thorough, and confidential investigations involving employee concerns, workplace complaints, policy violations, and other employment matters.
Build trusted relationships throughout the organization by maintaining a visible, approachable, and accessible presence within the workforce, anticipating employee and manager needs, and proactively addressing concerns before they escalate.
Coach managers on employee performance, documentation, corrective action, conflict resolution, organizational effectiveness, and leadership best practices.
Recommend and support appropriate corrective and disciplinary actions, including performance improvement plans, written warnings, suspensions, and terminations.
Facilitate employee counseling meetings, conflict resolution, and other workplace discussions to foster positive employee relations.
Administer the organization’s performance management process, including goal setting, performance evaluations, coaching, and development planning.
Analyze employee relations trends, turnover, absenteeism, corrective actions, and performance data to identify root causes and recommend proactive solutions.
Design language/messaging and support discussions around performance improvement opportunities, including but not limited to documented warnings, performance improvement plans, suspensions, and terminations.
Promote consistent interpretation and application of HR policies, employment practices, and organizational standards throughout the company.
Talent Acquisition & Workforce Administration
Lead full-cycle recruitment activities, partnering with managers to develop staffing plans that support operational needs, workforce planning, and organizational growth, while aligning with company budget/forecast plans.
Draft, maintain, and continuously improve job descriptions, recruiting materials, interview processes, and hiring practices.
Source, recruit, interview, evaluate, and recommend candidates while developing proactive talent pipelines.
Coordinate interviews, facilitate phone screens, provide comprehensive notes to hiring team, prepare employment offers, and oversee all pre-employment activities.
Monitor recruitment metrics, hiring trends, candidate pipelines, time-to-fill, source effectiveness, and workforce needs; recommend and implement process improvements.
Continuously evaluate and improve recruitment, selection, onboarding, and hiring manager practices to enhance hiring quality, candidate experience, operational efficiency, and long-term employee success.
Own the end-to-end onboarding process, including coordinating pre-employment activities, new hire orientation, employment eligibility verification (i.e. Form I-9), required documentation, manager onboarding activities, employee integration, coordination with Finance and Payroll, and HRIS/systems setup.
Lead employee offboarding activities, including coordinating separation communications, exit interviews, required documentation, knowledge transfer, manager support, and coordination with Finance and Payroll, HRIS updates, benefits administration, and systems access changes.
Compensation, Benefits & Employee Programs
Conduct market benchmarking, compensation analyses, internal equity reviews, workforce analyses, and salary recommendations.
Evaluate and recommend compensation actions for new hires, promotions, transfers, and salary adjustments.
Serve as the primary HR resource for employee benefit education, enrollment support, and complex benefit-related matters.
Troubleshoot, liaise, and otherwise provide customer service and advocacy to employees as it relates to claim issues, reimbursements, confirming coverage, finding a doctor, and accessing care.
Manage onsite Open Enrollment activities, employee communications, and benefit education initiatives.
Leave Administration, Accommodations & Workers’ Compensation
Manage employee leave and accommodation cases from initial request through return-to-work, administering federal, state, and company leave programs, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), disability and wage replacement programs, military leave, jury duty, bereavement, personal leave, and other protected absences while ensuring compliance with applicable laws, company policies, payroll requirements, and employee benefit continuation.
Administer the interactive process for workplace accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and other applicable laws, partnering with managers and employees to identify and implement reasonable accommodations.
Coordinate leave administration, workplace accommodations, return-to-work planning, fitness-for-duty determinations, and transitional work assignments while balancing employee needs with business and operational requirements.
Administer the company’s Workers’ Compensation program, including claim coordination, communication with employees, managers, insurance carriers, and medical providers, incident follow-up and return-to-work activities.
Coordinate with Finance and Payroll to ensure timely and accurate payroll processing, HRIS transactions, employee benefit continuation, required documentation, regulatory reporting, and recordkeeping associated with employee leaves, accommodations, Workers’ Compensation claims, and wage replacement programs.
Respond to all incidences of work-related illnesses and injuries, directing employees and managers to the most appropriate course of action, ensuring that all incident reports and claims documentation is completed, responded to, filed, and tracked according to regulatory and compliance requirements.
Analyze leave utilization, attendance, Workers’ Compensation activity, and related workforce trends to identify risks, recommend process improvements, and support operational effectiveness, employee well-being, and regulatory compliance.
Investigate all known risks and incidences, recommending intervention and resolutions.
Facilitate safety, hazard, ergonomics, rick prevention, and policy-based trainings as needed.
Human Resources Systems, Payroll, Reporting & Workforce Intelligence
Ensure all site data is entered into HRIS and other systems accurately and comprehensively.
Serve as a primary point of contact for HRIS administration, providing support and troubleshooting to employees navigating the HRIS.
Work with management team to ensure timekeeping and payroll data is completed on time to ensure readiness for processing. Review pre-submission payroll reports to confirm accuracy.
Maintain standardized executive and operational dashboards that enable leaders to monitor workforce trends, organizational health, labor costs, and key HR performance indicators.
Analyze workforce trends, including headcount, turnover, recruiting activity, compensation, labor costs, overtime, absenteeism, organizational structure, productivity, retention, and other key workforce metrics.
Develop meaningful analyses that identify trends, operational risks, cost drivers, inefficiencies, and opportunities to improve workforce effectiveness and organizational performance.
Prepare recurring and ad hoc workforce analyses, compensation studies, census reports, and organizational charts as business needs require.
Develop workforce forecasts and planning analyses that support budgeting, headcount planning, organizational design, acquisitions, and long-term workforce planning initiatives.
Translate workforce data into meaningful business insights and actionable recommendations that support operational excellence, workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, financial performance, and informed executive decision-making.
Compliance, Organizational Integration & Risk Management
Ensure compliance and site alignment with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, including wage-and-hour laws, equal employment opportunity, leave administration, workplace accommodations, employment eligibility, and recordkeeping requirements.
Monitor changes in employment legislation and proactively recommend updates to HR policies, procedures, and practices.
Maintain employment records, postings, and documentation in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Coordinate employment-related audits, compliance reviews, and corrective action initiatives.
Identify, recommend, and implement operational improvements that strengthen compliance, reduce organizational risk, improve process efficiency, and enhance the employee experience.
Organizational Effectiveness, Employee Engagement & Continuous Improvement
Develop and implement employee engagement, recognition, communication, and retention initiatives that support a positive, high-performing workplace culture.
Identify organizational training and development needs and coordinate leadership, professional development, compliance, and HR-related training programs.
Partner with people leaders to strengthen leadership capability through coaching, practical tools, training, and implementation of HR best practices.
Lead the operational implementation of organizational change initiatives by coordinating communications, training, stakeholder engagement, implementation activities, and adoption efforts that support successful execution and long-term organizational effectiveness.
Recommend and implement continuous improvements to HR operations, employee experience, business processes, documentation, and service delivery.
Lead complex HR initiatives and organizational projects requiring cross-functional coordination, analytical problem-solving, and operational leadership.
Perform other duties, special projects, and responsibilities as assigned in support of HR, organizational growth, and evolving business objectives.
Physical Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to twenty-five (25) pounds. The employee must occasionally crouch, stoop, or reach. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
