People Operations Leader: Build & Scale HR Systems

Buckingham Search; Gurnee (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckingham Search is seeking an experienced HR leader to establish and scale a comprehensive People Operations function within a rapidly growing, acquisition-focused organization. Reporting to the CFO, you will serve as the go-to HR partner for the business, balancing day-to-day support with strategic program development.

You will own full-cycle HR, oversee payroll, benefits, compliance, and multi-state policies, lead system implementations, and drive acquisitions through due diligence and

Qualifications

• 5+ years in broad HR/generalist or People Ops leadership.
• Experience managing payroll, benefits, and compliance across multi-state operations.
• Experience implementing HRIS/payroll systems.
• Strong knowledge of federal/state employment laws and wage-and-hour requirements.
• Ability to build scalable HR processes in a growth environment.
• Excellent communication and discretion in handling sensitive information.
• Bachelor's degree in HR/Business; SHRM cert a plus.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary HR resource for employees and leaders across the full lifecycle (recruiting to offboarding).
• Lead full-cycle recruiting including postings, sourcing, interviewing, offers, and onboarding.
• Create a compliant new-hire experience (orientation, I-9/E-Verify, state reporting, benefits enrollment).
• Develop, maintain and improve the employee handbook and HR policies across multi-state workforce.
• Manage employee relations matters with discretion; conduct investigations as needed.
• Administer leave programs and accommodations per federal/state requirements.
• Oversee benefits programs, renewals, communications, enrollment and open enrollment.
• Manage payroll operations with multi-state tax setup, reporting, and reconciliations.
• Own annual performance, compensation, merit increases and incentive processes.
• Lead HRIS/payroll platform implementation and go-live; act as system owner post-implementation.
• Support acquisitions via HR due diligence and employee data integration.

Skills

Full-cycle HR

HR leadership

HRIS implementation

Payroll

Benefits administration

Compliance

Multi-state HR

Recruiting

Employee relations

Bilingual EN/ES

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business

SHRM certification (CPA/CPR)

Tools

HRIS/Payroll platform

Job description

Buckingham Search is seeking an experienced HR leader to establish and scale a comprehensive People Operations function within a rapidly growing, acquisition-focused organization. Reporting to the CFO, you will serve as the go-to HR partner for the business, balancing day-to-day support with strategic program development.

You will own full-cycle HR, oversee payroll, benefits, compliance, and multi-state policies, lead system implementations, and drive acquisitions through due diligence and