HR Representative

American Sugar Refining; South Bay (FL); On-site; USD 48,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Florida Crystals Corporation is seeking an experienced Human Resources Representative to support employee relations, recruitment, onboarding, payroll, and benefits inquiries within a sugar industry facility.

The role requires handling HR administration, compliance, and training coordination in a unionized environment, with strong teamwork across HR, Operations, Safety, Payroll, and Benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3–5 years of professional HR experience in industrial settings.
• Experience with labor relations and union agreements preferred.
• Bilingual English/Spanish highly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of HR laws and compliance.
• Experience with HRIS, payroll, and timekeeping systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as HR contact for employees, supervisors, managers, and union representatives.
• Assist in employee questions about policies, benefits, payroll, attendance, and seniority.
• Support investigations, grievance processes, and documentation.
• Coordinate recruiting for hourly, seasonal, union, and non-union roles.
• Onboard new hires, verify I-9, and coordinate safety training.
• Maintain confidential HR records and respond to inquiries.

Skills

HR principles

Employee relations

Labor relations

Recruitment

Onboarding

Payroll & benefits

HRIS & timekeeping

Bilingual English/Spanish

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related

PHR/SHRM-CP preferred

Tools

HRIS systems

Microsoft Office

Payroll software

Job description

Florida Crystals Corporation is a fully integrated cane sugar company. Florida Crystals regeneratively farms sugarcane and rice in South Florida, where it owns two sugar mills, a sugar refinery, a packaging and distribution center, Florida's only rice mill, a compost facility, and one of the largest renewable power plants of its kind in the U.S., which uses sugarcane fiber to generate eco-friendly energy that powers its sugar operations. Florida Crystals owns one of the largest Regenerative Organic Certified farms in the U.S. and its Florida Crystals products are the only ROC sugar grown and milled sugar in the country. Florida Crystals owns ASR Group International, Inc., a holding company that conducts operations through its subsidiaries. The ASR Group family of companies make up the world's largest refiner and marketer of cane sugar. Florida Crystals is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. Learn more at www.FloridaCrystalsCorp.com.

Overview

The Human Resources Representative serves as a key member of the HR Operations team and provides day-to-day HR support to employees, supervisors, managers, and union representatives within a sugar industry facility. This position supports employee relations, labor relations, recruitment, onboarding, payroll and benefits inquiries, compliance, training coordination, employee engagement, and HR administration. The role requires the ability to work effectively in both office and industrial settings while ensuring compliance with company policies, applicable employment laws, safety expectations, and the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Detailed Roles and Responsibilities

Employee and Labor Relations

• Serve as a visible and trusted HR contact for employees, supervisors, managers, and union representatives.
• Assist in addressing employee questions and workplace concerns related to company policies, benefits, payroll, attendance, job postings, seniority, bidding, transfers, grievances, and other employment matters.
• Support investigations, disciplinary processes, grievance preparation, and documentation in partnership with HR leadership and Operations management.
• Maintain strong working relationships with union representatives while supporting consistent application of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and company policies.
• Promote a respectful, inclusive, safe, and productive work environment across union and non-union employee groups.

Recruitment, Staffing, and Onboarding

• Coordinate recruiting activities for hourly, seasonal, union, and non-union positions, including job postings, applicant screening, interview scheduling, background checks, pre-employment testing, medical examinations, and related hiring steps.
• Partner with supervisors and managers to understand staffing needs during grinding, repair, harvesting, production, and distribution cycles.
• Facilitate new hire onboarding, orientation, I-9 verification, required documentation, and coordination of initial safety and compliance training.
• Support internal posting and bidding processes in accordance with the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Assist with rehire, recall, transfer, promotion, and seasonal workforce administration.

HR Administration, Payroll, and Benefits Support

• Maintain accurate employee records, personnel files, bid records, attendance documentation, leave records, disciplinary documents, and other HR-related files with strict confidentiality.
• Respond to employee inquiries related to pay, timekeeping, benefits, leave of absence, job classification, seniority, and general HR matters.
• Partner with payroll, benefits, and HRIS teams to research and resolve employee questions or discrepancies.
• Prepare reports, letters, employee communications, forms, and documentation as needed.
• Support audits, compliance reviews, and document requests related to labor, safety, social responsibility, and employment practices.

Compliance, Policies, and Training

• Support compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, company policies, safety procedures, and applicable labor agreements.
• Assist with coordination and tracking of required employee training, including onboarding, safety, policy awareness, harassment prevention, and other HR or compliance-related programs.
• Participate in employee communication initiatives, employee engagement activities, service awards, surveys, and facility events.
• Assist in preparing for internal and external audits by ensuring HR records and supporting documentation are accurate, organized, and readily available.
• Support continuous improvement of HR processes, forms, employee communications, and workforce management procedures.

Work Experience Requirements

• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of professional Human Resources experience, preferably as an HR Representative, HR Generalist, HR Specialist, or similar role.
• Experience supporting employees in an industrial, manufacturing, agricultural, food production, refinery, distribution, or unionized work environment is strongly preferred.
• Experience interpreting or administering collective bargaining agreements, handling grievances, employee relations, discipline, investigations, and workforce administration is preferred.
• Experience with HRIS systems, payroll support, applicant tracking systems, timekeeping systems, and Microsoft Office applications.
• Bilingual English/Spanish skills are highly preferred.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, Business Administration, Labor Relations, Industrial Relations, or a related discipline preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant HR experience may be considered.
• PHR, SHRM-CP, or similar HR certification is preferred but not required.

Essential Capabilities

• Strong knowledge of HR practices, employee relations, labor relations, and employment compliance.
• Ability to interpret and apply company policies, work rules, and collective bargaining agreement language with consistency and discretion.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact professionally with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, follow-through, and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Sound judgment, confidentiality, professionalism, and ability to handle sensitive employee matters appropriately.
• Customer-service mindset with the ability to build trust, resolve issues, and support both operational and employee needs.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with HR, Operations, Safety, Payroll, Benefits, and management teams.

Working Conditions

• Position is based in a sugar industry facility, which may include office areas, production areas, refinery areas, agricultural operations, maintenance shops, warehouses, and outdoor industrial environments.
• Must be comfortable interacting with employees in both office and operational areas and wearing required personal protective equipment when entering designated work areas.
• May require work outside normal business hours, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, or extended hours during grinding season, repair season, shutdowns, audits, investigations, or other operational needs.
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality and professionalism in a high-volume, fast-paced, and labor-intensive work environment.

Supervisory Responsibility

• This position typically does not have direct supervisory responsibility; however, it requires strong leadership, influence, and partnership with supervisors, managers, union representatives, and employees to support effective workforce management and HR service delivery.

Location of Role

South Bay, Florida

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, genderidentity, age,nationalorigin, disability, veteranstatusorany other category protected under federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.