Senior Human Resources Manager

Colorado State University; United States; Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

robust benefits package

collaborative atmosphere

focus on work-life balance

Job summary

Colorado State University is seeking a Senior HR Manager to serve as the senior HR presence within an assigned college or division and to lead the unit’s embedded HR team. The role reports to a Senior HRBP with a dotted line to the dean or VP and translates institutional HR strategy into unit-level action.

At CSU, the Division of Human Resources supports employees and leaders across the university, helping attract, develop, engage, and retain talent to advance teaching, research, service, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of progressive HR experience with leadership responsibilities.
• Knowledge of federal and state employment laws and HR practices.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Advisory & Leadership Partnership: advise leaders on workforce strategy, organizational design, and leadership effectiveness; translate enterprise strategy to unit actions.
• Team Leadership & Development: lead embedded HR staff and ensure service standards and escalation procedures are followed; manage workloads.
• Operational Alignment: connect unit with COEs; apply COE solutions in talent acquisition, total rewards, payroll, and data management; escalate complex matters.
• Workforce Strategy & Organizational Health: use data to inform decisions; support workforce planning and organizational effectiveness.

Skills

Strategic advisory

Leadership

Employee relations

Workforce planning

Data-driven HR

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR, business, or related field

Tools

Workday

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Human Resources Manager (Sr. HR Manager) serves as the senior HR presence within an assigned college or division and leads the unit’s embedded HR team. Reporting to a Senior HRBP with a dotted line to the dean or VP, this role is the strategic interface between enterprise HR and the embedded units by advising leadership on workforce decisions, connecting the unit to the Centers of Expertise (COEs) and Shared Services, and ensuring enterprise standards are applied with appropriate local context. The Sr. HR Manager translates institutional HR strategy into unit-level action. At Colorado State University, the Division of Human Resources supports employees and leaders across the university throughout the employee experience. Our work helps CSU attract, develop, engage, and retain the people who advance the university’s mission of teaching, research, service, and extension. We are continuing to strengthen how HR works across CSU by building a more connected HR experience, creating greater clarity and consistency, growing our HR community, and evolving how we work to meet the university’s future needs. Positions will be onsite with possibility for hybrid work. Learn more about the Division of Human Resources, our work, and the values that guide how we serve CSU at: https://hr.colostate.edu/about-hr/our-values/.

Job Duties

Strategic Advisory & Leadership Partnership

Serve as the primary HR advisor to the dean/VP and unit leadership team on workforce strategy, organizational design, talent risks, employee relations, and leadership effectiveness within a shared governance environment. Translate enterprise HR strategy and institutional priorities into unit‑relevant actions, processes, and clear decision guidance for leaders. Coach leaders and managers through change, restructuring, difficult conversations, and complex or high‑risk people decisions. Participate in the unit’s strategic and workforce planning in alignment with enterprise HR strategy.

Team Leadership & Development

Lead, coach, and develop the unit’s embedded HR staff; set clear role expectations and hold the team accountable to enterprise service and escalation standards. Manage workload distribution and coverage across the team based on unit size, complexity, and risk; ensure consistent service through peak cycles.

Operational Alignment

Act as the connector between the unit and the COEs, ensuring COE‑designed solutions are applied consistently and effectively within the unit in areas of talent acquisition, talent management, total rewards, employee relations, time and labor, absence, data management, and payroll functions. Provide initial employee relations consultation and guidance including coaching managers and facilitating conflict resolution. Steward complex, high‑risk, cross‑unit, repeat, or strategic matters to the Senior HRBP, COEs, or Shared Services through proper escalation paths.

Workforce Strategy & Organizational Health

Support unit‑specific workforce planning, performance management, talent strategy, succession considerations, and organizational effectiveness in partnership with the Senior HRBP. Use workforce and people data to surface risks and trends and to inform unit leadership decisions; translate analytics into actionable insight for non‑HR leaders. Steward enterprise standards while balancing unit nuances. Monitor unit workforce outcomes and partner with leaders to act on them.

Conditions of Employment

Pre‑employment Background Check

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in HR, business, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience. 5+ years of progressive HR experience, including business partner or generalist work with leadership‑facing responsibility. Demonstrated working knowledge of federal and state employment laws, regulations, and HR practices, with the ability to advise leaders in their application to workforce matters. Demonstrated experience managing employee relations matters and advising leaders on performance management, workforce planning, organizational design, and organizational effectiveness.

Preferred Qualifications

Higher education or other shared‑governance / faculty‑relations experience. Experience leading or maturing an HRBP function during organizational change. Familiarity with Workday and data‑informed HR practice. Experience with labor relations, talent management, talent acquisition, training, and total rewards. Experience leading, coaching, and developing staff.

Salary Range

$100,000-$130,000

Employee Benefits

Colorado State University is not just a workplace; it’s a thriving community that’s transforming lives and improving the human condition through world‑class teaching, research, and service.

• robust benefits package
• collaborative atmosphere
• focus on work‑life balance

Review our detailed benefits information here. Explore the additional perks of working at CSU here. For the total value of CSU benefits in addition to wages, use our compensation calculator. Lastly, click here for more information about why Fort Collins is consistently ranked in the top cities to live in!

Background Check Policy Statement

Colorado State University strives to provide a safe study, work, and living environment for its faculty, staff, volunteers and students. To support this environment and comply with applicable laws and regulations, CSU conducts background checks for the finalist before a final offer. The type of background check conducted varies by position and can include, but is not limited to, criminal history, sex offender registry, motor vehicle history, financial history, and/or education verification. Background checks will also be conducted when required by law or contract and when, in the discretion of the University, it is reasonable and prudent to do so.

EEO

Colorado State University (CSU) provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Inspired by its land‑grant heritage, Colorado State University is committed to excellence and engagement, setting the standard for public research universities in teaching, research, service and extension for the benefit of the citizens of Colorado, the United States, and the world. Prospective Employees, click here to learn more about CSU's perks and purpose. Current employees will need to apply for jobs in Workday.