Human Resources Manager (Benefits and Workers’ Comp) na Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (Fresno EOC)

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Supervises assigned staff, interns, and volunteers.

SUMMARY 

We are looking for an experienced human resources professional to focus on our Workers’ Comp, Benefits and Leave Administration.

The Human Resources Manager is responsible for leading and directing the routine function(s) of the Human Resources (HR) department including recruitment, administering pay, benefits and leave, worker’s compensation and safety, employee relations, systems and applying company policies and practices.

Assist in the fulfillment of the Agency’s vision, “A strong Fresno County where people have resources to shape their future free from poverty.”

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES/ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Responsible for supervising assigned staff, interns and volunteers; recruitment, performance management and other personnel processes.

Shares responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Human Resources Office.

Oversees the administration human resources functions, such as but not limited to: benefits and leaves of absence, wellness, retirement plans, recruitment, employee relations, safety and workers’ compensation, Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS). 

Provides guidance and interpretation of policies to managers and employees to ensure understanding of policy intent and consistency of administration.  

Assists with ensuring agency compliance regarding federal and state laws and regulations.

Advises Human Resources Director/Officer on human resources issues and activities within the agency.

Provides complex analysis of human resources data for statistical and legal reporting purposes.

Presents requested information to directors, officers, board of commissioners and others as requested.

Completes special projects as assigned by the Human Resources Director/Officer.

Provides assistance with staff relations issues.

Participates in and oversees employee committees as assigned.

Benefits and Leave Administration:

• Plans, develops, and maintains effective benefit programs and leave administration policies and procedures including:
• Serves as point of contact for benefits to employees, vendors and third-party administrators.
• Provides direction and performance management to assigned staff for benefit and leave activities.
• Document and maintain administrative procedures for assigned benefits processes; evaluate and revise internal processes to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
• Maintains master list of all benefit programs, plan documents, summary plan descriptions etc. 
• Manages benefit plans in HRIS; conducts quarterly ACA Reporting and generates annual 1095-C.
•  In conjunction with benefits broker, participates in and analyzes benefit plan reviews, negotiations, plan utilization, implementation/termination of plan benefits, return on investment and cost effectiveness etc. for best plans, options and rates. Develop specific recommendations for review by management.
• Conducts benefit plan audits including eligibility and ability to enroll in eligible plans.
• Works with finance/payroll department to verify the accuracy of employee contributions.
• Ensures timely processing of vendor payments reflecting accurate coverage and enrollment costs.
• Coordinate transfer of data to external contacts for services, premiums and plan administration.
• Processes qualifying event, court-mandated and qualifying event enrollments. Processes mandatory benefit deductions, disability, accident and death claims, loss of coverage, COBRA and related claims/changes.
• Ensures compliance with applicable government regulations.
• Design materials and communications for benefits orientations, open enrollment and summary plan descriptions. Provide training and support to management and staff.
• Oversees leave administration in compliance with state and federal regulations, and agency leave policies.
• Ensures leave requests are processed timely and within available balances.
• Engages in interactive process meetings with staff needing accommodation.
• Provides engaging and beneficial wellness resources and events for employees.

Workers’ Compensation and Safety:

• Manages and participates in the development and implementation of goals, objectives, policies, and priorities related to safety programs and workers compensation.
• Disseminates agency-wide safety training, corrects safety hazards, and ensures compliance with local, state, and federal safety regulations
• Work closely with agency leadership to report safety/loss control, audits, inspections, and injury prevention training.
• Investigates and analyzes incident reports and refines procedures and methods to improve safety.
• Recommends improvements to developing future safety policies and procedures.
• Manages the entirety of the workers’ compensation function including:  accident investigation, fitness for duty, injury reporting, claims management, communications with program directors and managers, claims resolution, interactive process, check detail reports (wage summary reports), subpoenas, first aid invoices; compensation class codes, claims audits.
• Stay current on workers' compensation and risk management laws and best practices.
• Oversees loss control mitigation related to workers' compensation claims and compliance reporting.
• Works with the company's workers' compensation attorneys on all litigation and administrative proceedings.
• Maintain all Agency risk management insurance, including but not limited to general liability insurance, automobile insurance, worker's compensation insurance, and fidelity.
•  Responsible for maintaining professional relationships with claims adjusters, workers' compensation brokers, and third-party administrators.

Employee Relations:

• Provides leadership and coordination of employee relations functions and activities in compliance with applicable regulations and employment laws. Advances positive employee relations, creates fair and equitable employment practices across the Agency.
• Receives complaints of discrimination, harassment, conduct and other concerning matters.  Investigates and takes appropriate action to resolve workplace conflicts.  
•  Assists management throughout the performance management process.  Provides coaching, guidance and policy review to employees and management. 
• Works collaboratively with human resources team and agency management to support an effective, positive employee relations culture that fosters diversity, inclusion, tolerance and understanding.  
• Works closely with program leaders and managers to gain an understanding of the assigned programs’ specific needs and objectives.  Develops employee communications and relations strategies to address the unique needs of the programs assigned.  
• Fosters a culture of accountability, fairness, equity, and consistency in the administration of policies and procedures.  Works closely and meets regularly with others on the human resources team to ensure mutual understanding and consistent interpretation of policies, procedures and practices. 
• Coaches and guides managers on matters of discipline up to and including termination to ensure fair and equitable treatment.  Works closely with managers and employees to resolve performance related concerns.  Ensures respectful treatment of employee throughout the corrective action process. 
• Creates measurable annual goals for EOC’s employee relations initiatives; and assesses progress toward achieving goals and establishing best practices.
• Maintains complete and accurate records of employee relations activities.

Recruitment:

• Works collaboratively with the recruiting team to ensure a smooth and successful transition of new hires into the Agency.  Provides feedback to the recruiting team on possible enhancements and improvements to the onboarding process.
• Provides leadership and coordination of recruitment and selection functions and activities in compliance with applicable regulations and laws to attract qualified talent, promote from within where possible, and to be perceived as an employer of choice in the greater Fresno area. 
• Works collaboratively with management to create strategies and action plans for the recruitment processes that will result in an equitable and diverse leadership, management, and supervisory team.  Identifies organizational and/or cultural issues that may impact the Agency’s recruitment and retention effectiveness.
• Collaborates with agency management and leadership to gain an understanding of each department’s and each position’s specific requirements.  Develops and reviews selection parameters and criteria (hiring profile) with the respective manager.  
• Develops a recruitment action plan and timeline for each position being recruited and effectively manages the timeline.  Remains in close communication with the manager to ensure mutual understanding of process and expectations.  Evaluates the time to hire/time to fill metrics for each position recruited.  Strives to reduce time to fill statistics by removing inefficiencies from the process.
• Creates a clearly defined and formal centralized hiring process.  Communicates hiring process to all hiring managers.  Holds managers accountable for respecting and adhering to the recruitment process.  Remains responsive to the concerns of managers. 

Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS):

In collaboration with HR management and agency needs, supports and maintains HR systems by: 

• Oversees and maintains internal HR information services systems, which may include database management, customization, development, maintenance, and upgrades to applications, systems, and modules.
• Oversees and maintains internal database files, tables, codes, backup files, integrity, and security.
• Implements, modifies, and upgrades software and applications to meet changing business and technology.
• Collaborates with leadership and HR staff to identify needed improvements and enhancements to existing information services and databases; recommends and implements solutions.
• Manages permissions, access, personalization, and similar system operations and settings for HR services users. Provides technical support, troubleshooting, and guidance to HR employees.
• Compiles or assists with acquisition of complex data reports, summaries, and logs requested by senior executives and HR staff.
• Serves as lead representative and liaison between HR, Information Technology, external vendors, and other stakeholders for HR database design and implementation projects.
• Ensures system compliance with data security and privacy requirements.
• Maintains knowledge of trends and developments in data management and security, HR technology, and HRIS applications.
• Oversees the procurement of appropriate hardware and software to ensure that the organization has high quality, efficient systems.
• Facilitates migration to new systems as needed.

Compensation/Position Management:

Plans, develops, and maintains an effective compensation program and related administrative policies, procedures, and guidelines including:

• Develops and updates job descriptions to ensure all positions have a job description, job code, FLSA status, and compensation grade. Evaluates new/revised/reclassified job descriptions as needed.  
• Works with Human Resources/Agency management to ensure the completeness and accuracy of all job descriptions within the Agency.
• Regularly conducts internal equity analysis to determine the relative value of positions within the Agency to properly compensate employees for work performed across programs and departments.
• Conducts external market analysis to determine the marketplace value for positions.
• Develops a formal base compensation structure representing all positions.
• Analyzes current pay practices relative to the establish pay ranges.
• Evaluates individual employee placement within range based on length of service, performance, experience, and other equitable factors.
• Identifies potentially problematic and sensitive pay situations and offering solutions for resolution.
• Incorporates new or newly defined positions into the structure as needed.
• Works with program accountants to determine funds available for compensation increases as to fairly compensate and award increases on the basis of performance.
• Creates a formal, written compensation philosophy and supportive administrative guide.
• Oversees and revises compensation policies and procedures.
• Ensures salary tables remain competitive with market and trends; conducts benchmarking of jobs with market demand; conducts formal evaluation of salary structure at least every three years.

Travels for agency business using reliable transportation.

Works evenings and weekends as required.

Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

To execute this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s Degree with major courses in human resources, business administration, public administration, or related field of study required. Additional relevant work experience may substitute required education on a year-by-year basis.

EXPERIENCE:

• Four (4) years of progressively responsible professional human resources management or generalist experience required.
• Two (2) years’ supervision in a human resources capacity required, four (4) years preferred.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS:

PHR or SHRM certification strongly preferred. 

PHR-CA, SHRM California Law Credential, function-specific certifications/credentials such as Workplace Investigation, CEBS, OSHA30 preferred.

Previous practitioner experience in ADP Workforce Now desirable.

Knowledge of and ability to interpret and apply Federal and State employment laws as they pertain to Human Resources administration.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills that contribute to a respectful and collaborative work environment. 

Proven ability to develop and manage community partnerships and professional relationships. 

Excellent problem solving, time management, analysis, design, project management and facilitation skills in a team-oriented work environment.

Strong business acumen. Ability to leverage available technology to its full capacity. 

Ability to provide critical evaluation of processes and provide solutions that increase efficiency. 

Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and related business software.  

Effective presentation, written and verbal communication skills. 

Willing to work non-traditional hours and days to meet the needs of this position.

Maintain a valid California driver’s license, reliable transportation, adequate auto insurance as required by State law, and insurability by agency carrier for those driving agency vehicles.

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. 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 sit; use hands and fingers to handle or feel; and talk or hear.  The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms.  The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.  The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing 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 occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Note:  The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed, but are not to be seen as a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required.  Also, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of Fresno EOC.

Rev. 10.06.2025