HR Specialist

Objective Partners

Chicago (IL)

On-site

USD 85,000 - 115,000

Full time

9 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Objective Partners is seeking a Senior HR Specialist to own payroll, multi-state compliance, and core People Operations systems. You’ll manage employee data, onboarding/offboarding, and policy updates while partnering with Finance and Operations to ensure decisions are data-driven and compliant.

The role emphasizes hands-on execution, accuracy, and scalable processes as the company grows, with a focus on clear communication and operational excellence.

Qualifications

5+ years of HR experience, ideally in SaaS or scaling startups.
Strong payroll and multi-state compliance knowledge.
Excellent communication and cross-team collaboration.

Responsibilities

Own payroll from start to finish across 17 states, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
Maintain and improve core People Operations systems and data accuracy.
Keep onboarding/offboarding processes standardized and error-free.
Be a trusted point of contact for employee questions and policy interpretation.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations including Illinois-specific rules.
Own the employee handbook and develop annual training on policy and compliance.
Own performance cycle logistics, timelines, and data for fair reviews.
Collaborate with Finance, Operations, and leadership to align people needs with business goals.

Skills

HR operations

Compliance

Data accuracy

Communication

Tools

Rippling

Confluence

Slack

G Suite

Job description

Senior HR Specialist

Sponsorship: We are not able to provide employment sponsorship, including OPT or STEM OPT.

About The Role

We're looking for an HR Specialist to keep People Operations running smoothly across the whole company.

This is a hands‑on, execution-focused role. You'll own payroll and multi-state compliance, our core people systems and employee data, our performance review cycles and company training, and you'll keep the employee handbook accurate and current. You'll be the single go‑to for everything people‑related, and you'll partner closely with Finance and Operations so every decision rests on clean data and clear process.

The priority is getting the fundamentals right: accurate, compliant, and on time, every time, so the rest of the company can move with speed and confidence. If you also enjoy finding ways to evolve and improve how we work, that's a welcome bonus.

The right person for this role will bring deep HR operations experience, sharp attention to compliance, and clear, direct communication.

What You'll Be Doing

People Operations Systems and Data

Own and continually improve our core HR systems, workflows, and documentation.
Keep employee data accurate, organized, and easy to pull when leadership needs it.
Standardize onboarding, offboarding, and employee changes so nothing falls through the cracks.
Be the responsive, trusted point of contact for employee questions, and resolve them quickly and directly.

Payroll

Own payroll from start to finish: processing, accuracy, timelines, and issue resolution, every cycle, with no surprises.
Partner with Finance so payroll, reporting, and budgeting always reconcile.
Build payroll processes that stay reliable as the team grows.

Compliance and Multi-State

Keep ALIS compliant with federal, state, and local employment and pay regulations across our 17 states, including Illinois‑specific requirements.
Stay on top of multi‑state obligations like unemployment and, where relevant, sales tax.
Help stand up compliant employment in new states as ALIS continues to grow.

Handbook, Policy, And Company Training

Own the employee handbook: keep it current, compliant, and genuinely useful.
Design and run year‑round company training on compliance and policy.
Translate policy into plain language people can actually follow.

Performance and Review Cycles

Own the rhythm and logistics of our performance review cycles from start to finish.
Give managers clean tools, clear timelines, and reliable data so reviews stay fair and on schedule.

Cross-Functional Partnership

Work closely with Finance, Operations, and leadership to keep people, payroll, and business needs aligned.
Surface risks, gaps, and inefficiencies early, before they turn into problems.

You’ll Thrive in This Role If You

Have at least 5 years of HR experience, either at a SaaS company or running HR on your own as an individual contributor.
Have owned payroll and people operations in a growing company, ideally through real headcount growth.
Know payroll compliance and HR operations fundamentals cold, and stay current as the rules change.
Are comfortable with multi‑state compliance and can speak to unemployment and, ideally, sales tax across many states.
Are detail‑obsessed, with a bias for accuracy and follow‑through.
Can operate independently and take full ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.
Communicate clearly and directly, and work across teams without friction.
Are comfortable working across Confluence, Slack, and G Suite, and have experience owning an HRIS (bonus if it's Rippling).
Are comfortable being hands‑on today while building for scale tomorrow.
Bonus: experience with Illinois employment law and an HR certification (SHRM‑CP, PHR, or similar).

What Success Looks Like

Payroll runs accurately and on time, every cycle, without escalation or scramble.
Employees trust that the basics, pay, records, and transitions, are handled correctly every time.
People operations are clear, consistent, and easy to navigate for employees and managers alike.
Compliance stays airtight across all 17 states, with no surprises.
The handbook, company training, and review cycles all run on a predictable rhythm.
Leadership has full confidence in the data and systems behind team decisions.
Problems get caught and solved early, not after they become fires.

Why You'll Love It Here