Human Resources Consultant

HR Jobs; Knoxville (TN); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Tennessee in Knoxville seeks an HR consultant focused on compensation strategy, position management, and risk-aware guidance across the Tickle College of Engineering. You will coordinate salary recommendations, support merit and out-of-cycle adjustments, and ensure documentation quality for approvals.

You will analyze pay equity issues, support wage certifications, and own PD requests while collaborating with campus compensation partners to maintain policy alignment and consistency.

Qualifications

• Experience developing compensation plans and analyzing equity and compliance.
• Ability to provide consultant-style feedback in high-volume settings.
• Strong data, reporting, and analytics to support HR outcomes.
• Familiarity with HR policy interpretation and complex employment law topics.
• Experience with onboarding and hiring documentation including I-9 e-verification.

Responsibilities

• Act as subject matter expert for compensation strategy execution and documentation.
• Coordinate salary recommendations for new hires and compensation actions.
• Identify compensation inequities and escalate risks with documentation.
• Support wage certification and compensation reporting requests with auditable data.
• Own PD intake, ensure timeliness and consistency of titles and submissions.
• Provide consultative support for job family reviews and reclassification packages.
• Develop SOPs and tools to improve PD quality and downstream decisions.
• Serve as HR consultant to college leaders, aligning with UT policies.

Skills

Data analysis

Communication

HR analytics

Confidentiality

Customer service

Policy interpretation

Team collaboration

Education

HS diploma or GED

Bachelor's degree in HR-related field

Master's degree in HR

Tools

Oracle HCM

TDX

Smartsheets

Microsoft Office 365

I-9 e-verification

H-1B

J-1

Job description

Provide consultative HR guidance to leaders and HR partners across the Tickle College of Engineering, with emphasis on compensation strategy, position management, and risk-aware HR support.

Responsibilities

• Act as the college subject matter expert for compensation strategy execution, maintaining documentation and justifications for pay exceptions or outliers in coordination with campus compensation partners.
• Coordinate salary recommendation requests for new hires and support compensation actions (including merit processes and out-of-cycle adjustments) by preparing analysis, ensuring documentation quality, and facilitating timely routing and approvals.
• Use evidence-based analysis to identify and escalation compensation inequities and risk points to HR leadership with clear, decision-ready documentation.
• Support wage certification and other compensation reporting requests by producing accurate, auditable data outputs and associated documentation.
• Own the intake and workflow for position description (PD) requests (including TDX ticket ownership as applicable), ensuring PDs are complete, consistently titled, and submitted on schedule.
• Provide consultative support for job family reviews, compression analyses, and reclassification/compression review packages by gathering documentation, coordinating stakeholders, and facilitating submission through appropriate compensation/classification channels.
• Support role standardization by contributing to role architecture efforts (standardized roles, career paths, and upskilling options) and documenting procedures for consistency and scalability.
• Develop and maintain college SOPs and tools to improve PD quality, reduce rework, and support accurate downstream classification and compensation decisions.
• Serve as an HR consultant to college leaders and unit HR/business staff, offering guidance and problem-solving aligned with UT policy and established HR standards.
• Maintain partnerships with campus and system HR functional areas (e.g., compensation, employee relations) to support consistent policy interpretation and smooth escalation for complex cases.
• Provide consultative coverage for college HR leadership as assigned to maintain continuity of HR guidance and service expectations.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of HR deliverables through benchmarking, training, research, and structured feedback with HR leadership and operational partners.
• Provide guidance to leaders and unit staff on compliance-related HR topics and employee programs (including leave tracking/administration support such as FML), seeking interpretation from campus partners for unique or high‑risk situations.
• Support workforce change actions (including reductions in force and externally funded position eliminations) by coordinating documentation and assisting with process steps and communications aligned with policy and approvals.
• Coordinate as the college point of contact for workers’ compensation by ensuring timely reporting and coordination with campus risk partners and maintaining documentation updates to HR leadership.
• Coordinate with International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) as needed to validate and assemble visa‑related documentation (e.g., H-1B and J-1 requests and renewals) in support of compliant employment actions.
• Maintain continuing education and awareness of changing employment law and compliance expectations to support accurate guidance and risk‑aware decision support.
• Apply advanced working knowledge of UT HR systems (primarily Oracle HCM) for functional/administrative support, data validation, and operational troubleshooting tied to HR transactions and reporting.
• Manage HR intake and workflow systems (including TDX inbox processes as applicable) by monitoring volume and timing, applying routing rules and SOPs, identifying bottlenecks, and recommending workflow improvements and resourcing needs based on workload trends.
• Produce, analyze, and interpret HR reports to support college processes and compliance/quality control (appointments, student FTE, work permissions, COI, APR/annual compliance, background checks, temp positions, and compensation), advising HR leadership on trends and risks.
• Develop, maintain, and deliver training and SOPs for unit HR and department representatives, and maintain an inventory of training resources for college and campus HR procedures.
• Maintain organized HR files and records standards consistent with internal controls and operational needs.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED required, or a bachelor’s degree in HR Management, Industrial Psychology, or other HR-related fields.
• High school diploma with at least 7-8 years of combined HR experience related to developing compensation plans, compensation analysis for compliance and equity, and consulting on position descriptions and high‑level employee relations situations.
• Or bachelor’s degree with a combination of 3-4 years of combined human resources roles tied to developing compensation plans and position descriptions, compensation analysis, and consulting on high‑level employee relations situations.
• Experience providing consultant‑style feedback and collaboration in a high-volume, customer service setting.
• Strong service orientation and continuous improvement mindset.
• Sound judgment and decision‑making skills; ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality.
• Strong data, reporting, and analytics capabilities to achieve HR outcomes.
• Strong advocacy for Access and Engagement initiatives, including ability to communicate with broad audiences.
• Experience with onboarding and hiring documentation including I-9 e-verification.
• Knowledge of employment laws and practices; strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365.
• Excellent organization and time management with ability to prioritize time‑sensitive deadlines; ability to work autonomously and as part of a team.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; knowledge of federal and state employment laws.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis without need for sponsorship now or in the future for employment‑based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in HR Management, Industrial Psychology, or other HR‑related field with 2 years developing compensation plans, compensation analysis, and position descriptions, plus consulting on high‑level employee relations situations.
• Experience in higher education managing compensation planning/strategy and/or employee relations.
• Experience hiring foreign nationals and communicating with non‑native English speakers.
• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) or SHRM-CP, PHR.
• Certificates or training related to HR competencies such as compensation and employment law.

Technologies

• Oracle HCM
• Smartsheets
• TDX
• Microsoft Office 365
• I-9 e-verification
• H-1B
• J-1

Work Location

• Knoxville, TN (onsite)
• Hybrid with one day remote each week after the probationary period

Compensation

• UT market range: MR09
• Anticipated hiring range: $65,000 to $70,000 per year