Human Resources Manager (M&A Integrations)

Nova Solutions Group; The Woodlands (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Nova Solutions Group, a publicly traded infrastructure company headquartered in The Woodlands, TX, seeks a Manager, HR M&A to lead the people-side integration of acquired companies and harmonize compensation, benefits, payroll, and HRIS across platforms.

You will guide due diligence, Day One readiness, and post-close integration, coordinating across HR, finance, legal, IT, and leadership to ensure smooth transitions, cost control, and synergies while maintaining compliance and consistent

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in Total Rewards, Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, or HR.
• Demonstrated experience leading the people-side of M&A, including Total Rewards and HR due diligence, Day One readiness, and post-close integration.
• Minimum of 3 years of leadership experience managing Total Rewards, Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, or HR Operations teams or integration workstreams.
• Experience supporting publicly traded company compensation and benefits programs, including annual planning, market pricing, and executive compensation support.
• Strong knowledge of benefits administration, retirement plans, payroll operations, and multi-state regulatory compliance, including employee classification / FLSA, I-9 and work authorization, and state wage-and-hour and paid-leave requirements.
• Experience harmonizing benefits, payroll, or HRIS across multiple legal entities, brands, or acquired businesses.
• Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills, with strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with HRIS, payroll, and compensation systems.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, manage cross-functional initiatives, and operate under transaction-driven deadlines.
• Excellent communication, presentation, project management, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead Total Rewards and HR due diligence on prospective acquisitions, identifying compensation, benefits, payroll, retirement, equity, and employment-related liabilities, exposures, and one-time and run-rate cost impacts.
• Support diligence findings report and the consolidated decisions-and-actions tracker that deal teams and executive leadership use to make close and integration decisions.
• Build and drive Day One readiness for acquired employees, including offer and onboarding logistics, benefits enrollment, payroll cutover, and compensation continuity.
• Coordinate cross-functional integration activities across HR, Corporate Development, Finance, Legal, IT, and the acquired company’s leadership to ensure seamless execution.
• Manage transition services agreements (TSAs), vendor transitions, and the wind-down of legacy programs as acquired businesses move onto the company’s platform.
• Pressure-test cost and liability estimates provided by brokers, actuaries, and external advisors, rather than relying on them as given.
• Capture and codify integration playbooks, templates, and lessons learned to make each successive transaction faster, cleaner, and more repeatable.
• Design change management and employee communications that explain program changes clearly and protect engagement and retention through the transition.

Skills

Total Rewards

Compensation

Benefits

Payroll

HR Operations

Leadership

Analytics

Excel

HRIS

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Business/Finance/Economics

Tools

Workday

UKG

SAP SuccessFactors

Oracle HCM

Job description

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Our client is a publicly traded infrastructure company headquartered in The Woodlands, TX. The organization delivers projects through three reporting segments: E-Infrastructure Solutions, Transportation Solutions, and Building Solutions. Our client operates through a family of operating subsidiaries and has grown steadily through acquisition. Our client is seeking an Manager, HR M&A, to lead the people-side integration of acquired companies and to execute the harmonization of compensation, benefits, payroll, and HRIS programs for acquired businesses under the direction of enterprise HR leadership.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Manager, HR M&A leads the human-capital workstream across the full deal lifecycle, from diligence through Day One readiness and post-close integration, serving as a total rewards integration resource for compensation, benefits, payroll, and HRIS. The role is built for someone who can quantify people-related deal risk in diligence, design the integration plan, and then execute the compensation, benefits, and payroll harmonization required to bring acquired businesses onto the company’s Infrastructure platform.

This individual ensures every transaction is integrated on time, on budget, and with minimal disruption to employees, while capturing cost and program synergies underwritten in the deal. The ideal candidate brings a track record of leading people integration in M&A, fluency in executive and broad-based compensation, command of benefits and payroll operations, and the judgment to operate across multiple entities, brands, and pay structures in a fast-moving deal environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead Total Rewards and HR due diligence on prospective acquisitions, identifying compensation, benefits, payroll, retirement, equity, and employment-related liabilities, exposures, and one-time and run-rate cost impacts.
• Support diligence findings report and the consolidated decisions-and-actions tracker that deal teams and executive leadership use to make close and integration decisions.
• Build and drive Day One readiness for acquired employees, including offer and onboarding logistics, benefits enrollment, payroll cutover, and compensation continuity.
• Coordinate cross-functional integration activities across HR, Corporate Development, Finance, Legal, IT, and the acquired company’s leadership to ensure seamless execution.
• Manage transition services agreements (TSAs), vendor transitions, and the wind-down of legacy programs as acquired businesses move onto the company’s platform.
• Pressure-test cost and liability estimates provided by brokers, actuaries, and external advisors, rather than relying on them as given.
• Capture and codify integration playbooks, templates, and lessons learned to make each successive transaction faster, cleaner, and more repeatable.

Total Rewards Integration

• Design the transition approach that balances retention, equity, cost, and compliance.
• Develop harmonization strategies for medical, dental, vision, life, disability, voluntary benefits, wellness, and retirement plans, including blackout periods, plan mergers, and carrier transitions.
• Lead 401(k) and defined contribution plan integration for acquired businesses, including with external parties, communicating timelines and supporting transition to the company’s providers.
• Partner with IT and Finance to integrate acquired payroll populations, including pay calendars, tax setup, deductions, and accruals, while maintaining accuracy and compliance throughout cutover.
• Design change management and employee communications that explain program changes clearly and protect engagement and retention through the transition.

Onboarding & Day One Readiness

• Onboard acquired employees onto the company’s policies, systems, and processes, including new-hire documentation, employee data collection and validation, and HR systems access provisioning.
• Coordinate work authorization and compliance onboarding, including I-9 verification where required as part of the transaction, and confirm employee records meet the company’s standards at or before close.
• Prepare Day One logistics for acquired employees, including welcome communications, manager and employee readiness checklists, payroll cutover coordination, and benefits enrollment support.

Payroll, HRIS & Systems Integration

• Partner with IT and Finance to maintain strong payroll controls and governance, and to integrate acquired payroll operations onto enterprise systems and processes.
• Oversee payroll accuracy, tax compliance, and regulatory reporting, and support payroll, tax, and internal-controls audits.
• Lead HRIS and Total Rewards systems integration for acquired businesses, including data migration, mapping, validation, testing, and process standardization.
• Ensure data integrity across compensation, benefits, payroll, and HR systems, and use analytics and AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency and decision-making.
• Quantify integration costs and synergies, track realization against deal assumptions, and identify opportunities for improved efficiency and effectiveness.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to HR leadership, Corporate Development, and business leaders on people-side deal strategy and Total Rewards matters.
• Build strong partnerships with sell-side HR and leadership teams, earning their trust and supporting them across Day One planning and post-close integration to ensure a smooth transition for acquired employees.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in Total Rewards, Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, or HR.
• Demonstrated experience leading the people-side of M&A, including Total Rewards and HR due diligence, Day One readiness, and post-close integration.
• Minimum of 3 years of leadership experience managing Total Rewards, Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, or HR Operations teams or integration workstreams.
• Experience supporting publicly traded company compensation and benefits programs, including annual planning, market pricing, and executive compensation support.
• Strong knowledge of benefits administration, retirement plans, payroll operations, and multi-state regulatory compliance, including employee classification / FLSA, I-9 and work authorization, and state wage-and-hour and paid-leave requirements.
• Experience harmonizing benefits, payroll, or HRIS across multiple legal entities, brands, or acquired businesses.
• Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills, with strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with HRIS, payroll, and compensation systems.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, manage cross-functional initiatives, and operate under transaction-driven deadlines.
• Excellent communication, presentation, project management, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation, Certified Benefits Professional (CBP), Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), SHRM-SCP, or SPHR certification.
• Experience integrating acquisitions within an acquisitive, multi-subsidiary, publicly traded organization.
• Experience with equity compensation programs and stock administration
• Experience leading HRIS implementations, conversions, or integrations on platforms such as Workday, UKG, SAP SuccessFactors, or Oracle HCM.
• Experience within construction, engineering, EPC, industrial services, infrastructure, or related industries.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Our client is an Equal Opportunity Employer.