HR Onboarding Specialist

Pine Street Inn; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Pine Street Inn is seeking an HR Onboarding Specialist to manage end-to-end pre-employment screening and onboarding processes. You will partner with Recruiting to deliver a seamless, compliant entry for new staff, focusing on background checks, education verifications, and reference checks.

You will use Paylocity and related HR systems to ensure accurate records and a positive candidate experience from offer to day one.

Qualifications

• Experience with employee onboarding and compliance coordination.
• Familiarity with state and federal background checks.
• Strong attention to confidentiality and data integrity.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent mix of training and experience.

Responsibilities

• Manage pre-employment screening across required checks.
• Verify education, employment history, and professional references.
• Provide high-touch candidate experience from offer to day one.
• Coordinate with Recruiting and HR teams to ensure smooth onboarding.
• Maintain accurate electronic employee files in Paylocity.

Skills

Empathetic communication

Confidentiality

Onboarding coordination

HR operations

Background screening

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related field

Tools

Paylocity onboarding

HRIS systems

Job description

Description

Schedule:

40 hours per week, Monday thru Friday 8:30am – 5pm. The role operates in PSIs hybrid working model with on‑site requirements 3x/week and 2 days remote. Additionally, the role requires participation in the HR Department’s Friday rotation (usually about 1 Friday every 5-6 weeks).

Pay:

Pay: $60,000 - $75,000 annually DOE (salary ranges are based on experience and relevant skill set)

Location:

434 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA (On-site / Hybrid)

About Pine Street Inn

Pine Street Inn is New England’s largest provider of services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Founded in 1969, we serve more than 2,000 people each day through emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, street outreach, and employment and workforce development programs. Our mission is to provide a compassionate and safe environment, as well as essential services, to homeless individuals while supporting each person’s movement toward self-sufficiency and more stable lives.

Pine Street Inn is committed to using technology as a strategic lever in advancing our mission — improving service delivery, strengthening operational efficiency, and enabling data‑driven decision‑making across all of our programs.

This critical role manages the end-to‑end pre‑employment lifecycle, ensuring every incoming staff member receives a seamless, welcoming, and fully compliant entry into the organization.

The HR Onboarding Specialist focuses heavily on executing comprehensive state and national background checks, education verifications, and professional references. Partnering closely with the Recruiting team, you will utilize Paylocity and related HR systems to deliver an exceptional, "white glove" candidate experience that directly aligns with our mission to end homelessness by building an engaged, qualified, and high‑performing workforce.

Key Responsibilities:

Compliance & Background Screening

• Pre-Employment Screening Management: Initiate, track, and review comprehensive background profiles, including national criminal checks and Massachusetts CORI/SORI requirements.
• Credential & Education Verification: Conduct rigorous education, employment history, and professional reference verifications to confirm full regulatory and organizational eligibility.
• Risk Mitigation: Proactively identify and flag potential compliance or background check concerns to HR leadership with complete discretion and professional judgment.

Candidate Experience & White Glove Service

• High-Touch Communication: Serve as the primary, highly welcoming point of contact for all future employees from the point of offer acceptance up to their official day one.
• Onboarding Support: Guide candidates clearly through their pre‑employment steps, answering questions about documentation, timing, and system access.
• Technical Navigation: Provide personalized troubleshooting assistance for incoming hires encountering technical difficulties within the Paylocity onboarding module.

Recruiting Partnership & HR Operations

• Talent Acquisition Synergy: Collaborate seamlessly with the Recruiting team to execute flawless handoffs from selection to onboarding phases.
• Recruiting Collaboration: Provide real-time updates and clear timeline visibility to Recruiters and Director of Talent Acquisition regarding the clearance status of their prospective hires.
• HRIS & Data Integrity: Build and maintain pristine electronic employee files within Paylocity, tracking mandatory requirements and keeping record logs Audit-ready.
• Clinical Coordination: Schedule, monitor and track PSIs Occupational Health pre‑employment requirements.
• Documentation: Follow the Recruiting checklist to ensure all documents are gathered and accounted for prior to clearing candidates for New Employee Orientation.
• Sourcing: This role may be asked to source using online job boards such as Indeed and/or LinkedIn.
• Talent Attraction: Assist the Director of Talent Acquisition in planning and executing job fairs, hiring events, and overall talent attraction.

Requirements

Qualifications & Requirements

• Experience: 1–3 years of dedicated experience handling employee onboarding, compliance coordination, or human resources operations in a fast‑paced environment
• Software Proficiency: Hands‑on, direct experience utilizing Paylocity (specifically the onboarding, recruiting, and HRIS modules) or closely related modern enterprise HR software.
• Regulatory Literacy: Familiarity with state and federal laws governing background screenings, Massachusetts CORI clearance standards.
• Interpersonal Skills: Exceptional empathetic communication skills with an innate ability to maintain confidentiality and cultivate a stellar customer‑service relationship.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or related discipline; or an equivalent mix of professional experience and targeted training.