Human Resources Manager

Buckingham Search; Gurnee (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckingham Search is seeking an experienced HR leader to establish and scale a core People Operations function for a growing, acquisition-focused organization. Reporting to the CFO, you will be the go-to HR leader, balancing employee support with the operational work to build programs, systems, and processes.

The role is hands-on, independent, and initially non-managerial, with potential to add HRIS, payroll, and compliance capabilities as the business expands.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive HR experience in a broad generalist or leadership capacity.
• Experience independently managing core HR operations, including compliance and payroll.
• Involvement in HRIS and payroll system implementation.
• Strong knowledge of multi-state employment laws and wage-and-hour requirements.
• Ability to create practical policies in a fast-moving environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary HR resource across the full employee lifecycle.
• Lead full-cycle recruiting, onboarding, and candidate communication.
• Develop and maintain the employee handbook and HR policies.
• Manage benefits programs, payroll operations, and related controls.
• Oversee compliance training and employment filings (EEO-1, ACA, OSHA).
• Support acquisitions with HR due diligence and data analysis.
• Lead system implementation for HRIS/payroll and ongoing optimization.

Skills

HR leadership

Full-cycle recruiting

HRIS implementation

Payroll administration

Policy development

Cross-functional collaboration

Multi-state compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field

Job description

This is a high-impact opportunity for an experienced HR professional to establish and scale a strong internal People Operations function within a growing, acquisition-focused organization. Reporting to the CFO, this individual will be the go-to HR leader for the business, balancing day-to-day employee support with the operational work needed to build sustainable people programs, systems, and processes.

The ideal candidate is highly hands-on, comfortable working independently, and energized by creating structure in an evolving environment. This role will initially have no direct reports, with the potential to build out support as the function and organization grow.

What You'll Own

• Serve as the primary HR resource for employees and leaders across the full employee lifecycle, from recruiting and onboarding through performance management, development, and offboarding.
• Lead full-cycle recruiting activities, including job postings, sourcing, interview coordination, offers, candidate communication, and onboarding.
• Create a thoughtful, compliant, and consistent new-hire experience, including orientation, employment documentation, I-9/E-Verify, state reporting, and benefits enrollment.
• Develop, maintain, and improve the employee handbook, HR policies, and people-related procedures to support a multi-state workforce.
• Manage employee relations matters with discretion and sound judgment; conduct investigations and partner with outside counsel or advisors when needed.
• Administer leave programs, accommodations, disability, return-to-work processes, and related employee communications in compliance with federal and state requirements.
• Oversee the company’s benefits programs and broker relationships, including annual renewals, employee communications, enrollment, and open enrollment.
• Manage payroll operations and related controls, including multi-state payroll considerations, wage-and-hour compliance, tax setup, reporting, reconciliation, and coordination with Finance.
• Own annual performance review, compensation planning, merit increase, and incentive processes.
• Build and manage required compliance training, employee education, safety-related programs, and completion tracking.
• Prepare and maintain accurate records for employment-related filings and reporting, including EEO-1, ACA, OSHA, unemployment, workers’ compensation, and other applicable requirements.
• Support acquisitions through HR due diligence, employee-data review, workforce analysis, and integration of new employees into payroll, benefits, HR systems, and policies.
• Evaluate, select, and implement an HRIS/payroll platform that will support the organization’s next phase of growth.
• Lead the system implementation process from vendor evaluation through configuration, data cleanup, testing, integrations, training, and go-live.
• Act as the internal system owner following implementation, managing reporting, workflows, updates, vendor relationships, and continuous improvement.

What You Bring

• 5+ years of progressive HR experience in a broad generalist, People Operations, or HR leadership capacity.
• Experience independently managing core HR operations, including employee relations, compliance, benefits, payroll, and HR administration.
• Prior involvement in, or ownership of, an HRIS and/or payroll system implementation.
• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and multi-state employment laws, payroll practices, leave administration, and wage-and-hour requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to create practical processes, policies, and programs in a fast-moving or growth-stage environment.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, external vendors, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Comfortable partnering closely with Finance, leadership, managers, and outside advisors.
• Excellent communication skills, discretion, and the ability to handle sensitive information with sound judgment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR, or CPP certification is a plus.
• Bilingual English/Spanish skills are strongly preferred.