Human Resources Specialist

Northwest-Bank; Lake Oswego (OR); On-site; USD 58,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwest Bank in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is seeking an HR Specialist to support a broad range of HR functions, including employee relations, recruiting, onboarding, payroll processing, and benefits administration.

The role collaborates across the bank to deliver a positive employee experience, maintain HR records, and ensure compliance while enabling business objectives and strong internal controls.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of HR administrative support across multiple HR functions.
• Payroll processing experience required.
• Strong knowledge of HR policies and compliance.
• Proficient with HRIS and payroll systems.

Responsibilities

• Provide exceptional internal support by fielding employee and manager inquiries regarding policies, procedures, and HR programs.
• Administer programs, procedures, and guidelines to align the workforce with Northwest Bank goals.
• Promote employee engagement and support bank culture initiatives.
• Maintain and update HR intranet sites and HR-related records.
• Assist in HR policy development, updates, and communication.
• Oversee HR records to ensure compliance with laws.
• Participate in projects to improve efficiency and service.
• Coordinate payroll changes for status changes, comp adjustments, promotions, and terminations.
• Maintain HRIS data and generate HR metrics reports.

Skills

HRIS experience

Payroll processing

Confidentiality

Data analysis

Communication skills

Tools

HRIS software

Microsoft Office

Job description

Description

The Human Resources (HR) Specialist - supports a broad range of human resources functions, including employee relations, recruiting, onboarding, benefits administration, payroll processing, performance management, policy administration, compliance, and employee engagement initiatives. This position serves as a resource for managers and employees on various human resource services, policies, and programs. The HR Specialist works collaboratively across the Bank to support business objectives while delivering a positive employee experience. Provides essential functions in areas of payroll, benefits, HRIS management, recruiting, onboarding, offboarding, employee relations and communications.

Summary

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Core HR

• Provide exceptional internal support by fielding, tracking and responding to employee and manager inquiries regarding policies, procedures, and HR programs.
• Responsible for the administration of programs, procedures, and guidelines to help align the workforce with the strategic goals of Northwest Bank.
• Promote employee engagement and support Bank culture initiatives, including employee milestone recognitions.
• Responsible for updates to HR intranet sites.
• Assist in HR policy development, updates, and communication.
• Oversee the maintenance of HR-related records required by law or local governing bodies.
• Enforce and maintain appropriate internal controls to ensure safe and sound practices.
• Responsible for participating in projects that facilitate greater efficiency and customer service.

Payroll Administration

• In partnership with Senior Generalist, act as primary for semi-monthly hourly and salary payroll processing, final pay, and special payrolls.
• Review payroll reports to ensure accuracy of earnings, deductions, taxes, paid leave, garnishments, and benefit elections.
• Research and resolve payroll discrepancies and employee payroll inquiries.
• Coordinate payroll changes related to status changes, compensation adjustments, promotions and terminations.

HRIS Administration

• Maintain accurate employee data in the HRIS, including but not limited to initiating and finalizing new employee profiles, entering job and or pay changes, supervisory / manager changes.
• Build and manage workflows, troubleshoot, run ad hoc reports and understand system integrations.
• Provide assistance to bank employees with HRIS self-service functions: access, timekeeping, paid time off, benefit / personal / payroll information.
• Generate HR metrics reports related to headcount, turnover, recruiting, payroll, benefits, audit requests.
• Recommend process improvements and support HR system enhancements.

Benefits

• Provide support for benefit-related administration, assist employees with any benefit questions or issues, life-event changes, new enrollments and terminations.
• Assist with 401k administration, including post-payroll uploads, reconciliation, new hire and term entries.
• Support leave administration, including state leave programs, and ADA accommodations.

Recruitment & Onboarding

• Collaborate with the human resources team to assist in recruitment activities, including job postings, applicant tracking, interviewing and candidate communications.
• Facilitate new hire onboarding process, including but not limited to initiating new-hire onboarding workflows, conducting background checks and pre-employment screenings, calendaring pre-hire onboarding meetings with multiple team members, preparing orientation schedules, maintaining appropriate documentation and timely entry for I-9 work authorizations.

Offboarding

• Facilitate offboarding process including preparing exit documentation, scheduling exit interviews, and updating internal systems.
• Other
• Prepare periodic reports for management as necessary or requested.
• Develop trust and partnership with leaders, managers and associates while maintaining highest level of confidentiality and professionalism.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• 2 years of Human Resource administration support in two or more HR functional areas
• HRIS Experience
• 1 year payroll processing
• Highly proficient end-user technology skills with HR software and platforms, including HRIS
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and sensitivity
• Ability to interact professionally with all levels of staff
• Highly proficient utilizing Microsoft Office Suites, including Word, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, etc.
• Capacity to calculate, analyze and use data to work with important HR performance measures, such as employee headcount and retention rates
• Ability to analyze work processes and to make recommendations for process improvement
• Ability to analyze complex and sensitive issues and situations, identify alternative solutions, and implement effective course of actions
• Ability to adapt to changes in the work environment, manage multiple projects and perform efficiently in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to provide exceptional services in a high-volume work environment

Preferred Qualifications

• HR credentialing such as PHR, SHRM-CP
• Paylocity HRIS experience
• Banking experience
• Process documentation or SOP development
• Recruiting and Interviewing ATS