Human Resources Generalist

County of Marathon; United States; On-site; USD 34,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation grant

Marathon County benefits

Job summary

Marathon County Public Library is seeking an HR Generalist to provide comprehensive administrative and operational support across recruiting, onboarding, benefits, and policy compliance. You will be the primary contact for candidates, employees, and supervisors, ensuring accurate, confidential, and compliant handling of HR processes county-wide.

Responsibilities include full-cycle recruitment in Workday, benefits education, and contributing to the continuous improvement of HR processes and

Qualifications

• Associate's degree in HR or related field.
• Minimum of 2 years HR experience.
• Public sector, unionized environment, or civil service experience preferred.
• HR certification (PHR, SHRM-CP, IPMA-HR) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Handle full-cycle recruitment and onboarding processes.
• Manage benefits administration and open enrollment support.
• Maintain HRIS records (Workday) and HR compliance.
• Provide high-quality customer service to candidates, employees, and managers.

Skills

HR knowledge

Communication

Confidentiality

Organizational skills

Education

Associate's degree in HR or related field

Job description

Job Posting End Date: 11-07-2026

Worker Sub-Type: Regular

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40

Position Summary

The Human Resources Generalist provides comprehensive administrative and operational support across multiple HR functional areas, including recruitment, onboarding, benefits administration, and supports policy compliance. Serving as the primary point of contact for general inquiries for candidates, employees and supervisors, this role provides consistently accurate, high-quality customer service, while maintaining confidentiality and compliance to support the needs of the organization.

Examples of Work Performed: The following duties are typical of this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all-inclusive. Other duties may be required or assigned.

Recruitment and Onboarding

Perform full-cycle recruitment activities for various job classifications, including preparing job postings, developing offer letters, assessing hiring eligibility, and processing hires within HRIS (Workday) accurately and in a timely manner.

Serve as primary point of contact for candidates and managers regarding application submissions, document uploads, status checks, and workflow navigation.

Educate managers on recruitment processes and requirements to ensure fair, transparent, and consistent practices county-wide.

Assist in the development of job aids and other resources that document HR and recruitment-related processes to improve staff efficiency and ensure consistent application of procedures.

Assist in the implementation of improvements to Workday functionality and standardized hiring processes to enhance efficiency and user experience.

Maintain recruitment documentation and materials in accordance with organizational standards and employment law requirements.

Partner with internal stakeholders to enhance the new employee orientation experience.

Process various employment and employee data changes within the HRIS to ensure timely and accurate updates for departments and employees.

Benefit Administration

Serve as primary point of contact for general employee benefit inquiries and trouble shoots basic questions and concerns throughout the employee lifecycle.

Under direction of the Benefit Analyst coordinates and supports a variety of educations meetings such as annual Open Enrollment, New Employee Orientation, and on-site vendor meetings.

Schedule on-site vendor visits.

Utilize web-based employer portals to enroll, change or terminate employee benefits with third party benefit administrators and vendors under the direction of Benefits Analyst.

Supports leaves including military leaves with pay differential, required notices, processes WRS eligible hours and contributions.

Process transactions for new hires, qualified life events and employment terminations, including term payments, resignation/separation payouts along with coordination with third-party COBRA administration.

Coordinate the Educational Reimbursement Program, respond to general inquiries, processes applications, tracks participants, approves payments and tracks repayment agreements.

Support the Wellness Plan Administration, responds to general inquiries, provides new hires and terms to vendor, assists with password resets, and helps processes annual credit eligibility.

Complete monthly reconciliation of bills/invoices for on-time and accurate processing of payments.

General HR Support and Customer Service

Maintain the HR department inbox and provide timely responses or route inquiries to the appropriate team member to ensure efficient follow-up.

Actively collaborate as a member of the Human Resources team to support continuous improvement of HR processes and systems and contribute to special projects with internal and external stakeholders.

Maintain, update, and manage personnel files, including supporting the transition from paper to electronic records and coordinating employee requests to review personnel files.

Organize and maintain files and public records; assist with scheduling appointments, events, and meetings; and support general office operations.

Provide excellent customer service while maintaining confidentiality.

Qualifications

• Associate's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a related field required.
• Minimum of 2 (two) years of HR experience.
• Public sector, unionized environment, or civil service experience preferred.
• HR certification (PHR, SHRM-CP, IPMA-HR) preferred.
• Other combinations of education and experience that provide equivalent knowledge, skills, and abilities may be considered.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Working knowledge of HR principles, employment laws, and best practices.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships.
• Ability to balance empathy with consistency, fairness, and policy compliance.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Ability to interpret and apply personnel policies and procedures, labor contracts, and federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.
• Ability to work without direct supervision and exercise initiative.
• Ability to control and process information received from a wide variety of sources and disseminate it to appropriate staff.
• Ability to think independently and make decisions based on established policies, procedures, and precedents and recognize when to seek out higher level decisions on those policies, procedures, and precedents.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees, departments, agencies, and the public in an honest, kind, and respectful manner.
• Ability to compile, analyze, record, and assemble data and information in a meaningful and effective manner.

Physical Requirements

Low Physical Requirements - Job involves minimal physical exertion or movement. This job typically requires prolonged sitting, limited walking, or minor lifting. Job tasks may require working with a computer or in an office setting with occasional movement. All physical requirements are described with the intent to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job.

Compensation

Starting hourly rate of pay: $29.53 + Marathon County benefits

Selection Procedure

The selection of the successful candidate may be made by assessment of education and work experience, oral interview, review of references, and/or other job-related selection procedures. Depending on position requirements, the selected candidate may be required to satisfactorily complete post-offer assessments, including but not limited to education verification, background checks, driver license verification, physical examination, psychological assessment, and drug screening paid for by the County.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Marathon County is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information or protected veteran status.

Special Accommodations

Marathon County will make arrangements to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary and reasonable to afford an individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in the recruitment process. Please notify the Employee Resources Department office or phone [phone] to request special accommodations prior to the application deadline.

Notice to Applicants

Wisconsin Statutes, Sections 19.36 (7), 64.09 (5), and 64.11 (7) require public employers to treat the following items as a public record: Each applicant's application, records, recommendations, and qualifications except as provided in Section 19.36 (7), Wis. Stats. that allows the identity of an applicant to remain confidential if the applicant requests in writing that the County not provide access to this information. If you choose not to have this information become a public record, you must make such a request in writing to the Employee Resources Department. If you become a finalist for the position, your identity may be disclosed as required by law Marathon County was officially established in 1850 and is the largest of Wisconsin's 72 counties today. Centrally located, Marathon County is easy to find, but with 1,584 square miles of natural beauty set in the Wisconsin River Valley, it is hard to leave. Marathon County has a population of 137,958 including the Wausau metropolitan area of 70,000. Marathon County offers a combination of big city amenities with the look and feel of the great north-woods, surrounded by hills, lakes, and rivers; complete with small town hospitality. Our community takes pride in its natural beauty, abundant recreation opportunities, quality education, healthcare, diversity, industry, and overall quality of life. Whether you enjoy fishing, boating, biking, swimming, hiking, cross country or downhill skiing, snowmobiling, ATVing, camping, or anything in between, Marathon County is the place to be! In fact, Wausau and Central Wisconsin was voted as The BEST Place in Wisconsin for Outdoor Activities by the readers of Wisconsin Trails magazine. In addition to four seasons of recreation, Marathon County also has a thriving arts community, events and festivals, an active nightlife scene, diverse dining options, and a convenient regional airport. Basecamp Greater Wausau offers eligible out-of-state professionals a $10,000 relocation grant and additional benefits to help them build a life in the Greater Wausau region. The Greater Wausau Prosperity Partnership (GWPP) is facilitating the program in collaboration with regional project partners.