Senior Human Resources Specialist

National Wildlife Federation; Reston, Northern (VA, KY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Family and medical leave (up to 16+ w)

Health, dental and vision insurance

Therapist available

Pet insurance

Retirement plan with match

Job summary

The National Wildlife Federation is seeking an experienced Employee Relations practitioner to lead proactive and reactive ER across a remote and hybrid, multi-state workforce. You will coach managers, conduct neutrals, and partner with Legal, Compliance, and Learning & Development to strengthen the employee experience.

This role sits in the People Team and collaborates across Talent Acquisition, EIB, and CTR.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of HR experience with direct employee relations casework.
• Experience supporting programs in a remote, hybrid, or multi-state organization is strongly preferred.
• Genuine interest in building an employee experience reflecting NWF’s mission.

Responsibilities

• Proactive Employee Relations: monitor engagement and turnover data, coach managers, build manager capability.
• Reactive Employee Relations: serve as first point of contact, conduct neutral intake and investigations, guide corrective actions.
• Cross-Level HR Partnership: ensure consistency across policy and practice, support onboarding content.
• Employee Experience Program Support: contribute to onboarding design, stay interviews, and action-oriented improvements.

Skills

Employee relations

Confidentiality

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; SHRM-CP/PHR preferred

Tools

HRIS platforms

Survey tools

Learning management systems

Job description

HQ
11100 WILDLIFE CENTER DRIVE
RESTON, VA 20190, USA

HQ
11100 WILDLIFE CENTER DRIVE
RESTON, VA 20190, USA

The National Wildlife Federation is on an essential journey to become a durable organization that champions belonging, where we act as bridgebuilders to unite people to do big things for wildlife and the communities we serve. By honoring our essence, living our core values and committing to this vision, the Federation can become the model wildlife organization that fully welcomes, retains, and celebrates staff, volunteers, and supporters from all backgrounds – while achieving big things.

About the Role

NWF’s People Team is executing a three-year strategy to build a modern, high-impact People function for a remote and hybrid, multi-state workforce, grounded in three pillars: Trust, Well-Being, and Community.

This role is the People Team’s primary employee relations practitioner managing employee issues both proactively and reactively, and partnering with staff, managers, and senior leaders across the organization. The person in this role is equally comfortable coaching a manager through a difficult conversation and consulting with an executive on a sensitive personnel matter. In addition to owning employee relations, this role supports select Employee Experience (EX) programs such as onboarding, performance evaluation, engagement, and culture that intersect with and are strengthened by a strong employee relations practice. It partners closely with Talent Acquisition, Equity Inclusion & Belonging (EIB), Learning & Development, and Compliance & Total Rewards (CTR).

Impact on Our Three Pillars

• Trust —by resolving employee concerns fairly and consistently, and by delivering onboarding, performance evaluation feedback, and survey processes employees can count on regardless of where or how they work.
• Well-Being —by identifying and addressing workplace friction before it escalates, and by building feedback loops (pulse surveys, stay interviews, skip-levels) that surface workload and burnout signals early.
• Community —by modeling fair, transparent conflict resolution and by supporting the connection and culture touchpoints that build belonging across a distributed workforce.

Key Responsibilities

Proactive Employee Relations

• Monitor organizational health indicators (engagement data, turnover patterns, exit interview themes) to flag emerging ER risks before they become formal issues.
• Coach managers on early intervention: setting expectations, giving feedback, and addressing performance or conduct concerns before they require formal action.
• In partnership with the Director, Learning & Development, build manager capability through training, toolkits, and just-in-time guidance on employee relations fundamentals.
• Partner with leadership to identify team or organizational dynamics that could create risk (e.g., unclear roles, team dysfunction).

Reactive Employee Relations

• Serve as the first point of contact for employees and managers to address concerns, complaints, and workplace conflicts; conduct thorough, neutral intake and investigation and close-out.
• Guide managers through corrective action processes, including performance improvement plans and separations.
• Recommend and document resolutions that are fair, consistent, and legally sound.
• Support sensitive situations such as leave-related conflicts, interpersonal disputes, in coordination with the Legal team.

Cross-Level HR Partnership

• Act as an HR resource for staff, managers, and senior leaders alike adjusting tone and approach appropriately
• Ensure consistency between policy, practice, and lived employee experience across the organization.
• Help maintain onboarding and EX-related content in the employee handbook, in coordination with AVP, Total Rewards multi-state compliance work.

Employee Experience Program Support

• Support the ongoing evolution of the performance evaluation and feedback program, including rollout communications and staff support materials.
• Contribute an employee relations lens to onboarding design and early-tenure feedback, helping reduce friction and set new hires up for success.
• Assist with employee listening efforts such as stay interviews, and survey follow-up and help translate findings into action, including employee experience program improvements.
• Contribute to reporting on key People metrics (e.g., eNPS, engagement score, 90-day retention) as they relate to employee relations trends.

Core Competencies

• Demonstrates a high degree of self-awareness — recognizes how personal emotions, assumptions, and reactions affect others and adjusts approach accordingly.
• Builds trust by showing up with empathy, consistency, and candor, particularly in difficult or high-stakes conversations.
• Reads organizational and interpersonal dynamics accurately and uses that insight to facilitate constructive outcomes rather than escalating conflict.
• Manages complexity and ambiguity with steadiness — holds space for others without projecting personal anxiety or urgency onto the situation.
• Models the emotional tone expected of a healthy workplace: professional, grounded, and authentically human.

Influence & Collaboration

• Builds credibility through knowledge, fairness, and reliable follow-through, earning trust with managers and colleagues rather than relying on formal authority.
• Influences outcomes by building strong relationships, communicating persuasively, and framing ideas in ways that resonate with diverse stakeholders.
• Shares knowledge and coaches colleagues and managers in the moment, helping build people-management capability across the organization.
• Makes clear, timely recommendations under pressure while remaining open to new information and willing to course-correct.
• Holds self and stakeholders accountable to outcomes while maintaining psychological safety and trust.

Strategic Thinking

• Connects People programs and practices to NWF’s broader organizational mission and long-term strategy.
• Identifies root causes rather than symptoms, designing solutions that are durable and scalable rather than reactive.
• Uses data and metrics engagement scores, retention trends, time-to-fill, performance patterns to inform priorities and demonstrate impact.
• Anticipates workforce trends and helps position NWF to attract, develop, and retain the talent it needs.

Communication & Trust-Building

• Communicates with clarity, honesty, and care adapts style and approach to the audience without losing directness or authenticity.
• Navigates sensitive and confidential situations with discretion, demonstrating sound judgment about what to share, with whom, and when.
• Creates environments where people feel safe raising concerns, giving feedback, and asking hard questions.
• Represents the People function credibly with managers and stakeholders across the organization, translating HR concepts into plain language tied to business outcomes.

Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

• Centers equity in all aspects of the role from case handling and policy application to the way difficult conversations are approached.
• Actively disrupts bias and inequity in systems and practices, even when it requires uncomfortable conversations with stakeholders.
• Creates inclusive environments where people from all backgrounds can contribute fully and feel they belong.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of HR experience with direct employee relations casework
• Comfort holding difficult conversations and maintaining confidentiality and neutrality.
• Experience supporting programs in a remote, hybrid, or multi-state organization strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of HRIS platforms, survey tools, and/or learning management systems.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience; SHRM-CP/PHR preferred but not required.
• Genuine interest in NWF’s conservation mission and in building an employee experience that reflects it.

Work Mode

The National Wildlife Federation is committed to a flexible and empowered work environment with an authentic community of care for all staff. This is a hybrid position working out of NWF’s Headquarters office in Reston, Virginia, at least one day per week.

NWF is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a workplace where all employees can thrive. We strongly encourage candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to apply.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $70,000 - $85,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

Travel Requirements

This position does not require travel

Physical Requirements:

Cognitive & Intellectual Requirements:

• Ability to understand,analyze,and apply complex information, policies, and concepts
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, problem-solve, and make decisions in situations involving ambiguity or competing priorities
• Ability to maintain focus and sustained attentionand manage multiple tasks or work-streams
• Ability to listen,interpret,and respond appropriatelyin discussions with colleagues, leadership, and external stakeholders
• Physical Requirements
• Ability to remain in a stationary positionfor extended periods of time while working at a computer or attending meetings
• Ability to operate standard office equipment, including computers, keyboards, monitors, telephones, and video conferencing tools
• Ability to communicate and exchange informationin person, via telephone, and through electronic or virtual platforms
• Ability to read,review, and produce written and electronic documents, including prolonged use of computer screens
• Ability to move within an office or remote work environmentto access files, meetings, or equipment as needed
• Work is performed primarily in an office or remote environment
• Role may involve extended screen timeand participation in virtual meetings

We are proud of our designation by Mogul as a Top 100 Workplace with the Best Benefits, and by Forbes as one of America’s best small employers!We value work-life balance and a family-friendly atmosphere with flexible scheduling.We want you to be able to integrate work and personal life with attention to your self-care, so that your work schedule is not depleting.We offer benefits so you feel restored and fueled through the day and week.

We offer these supports to help manage your mental, emotional, and physical health:

• Paid time off: Vacation that starts off at three weeks accrual based on a full-time schedule, unlimited wellbeing (this time can be used for physical, spiritual, emotional, cultural, religious or financial wellbeing for yourself, a partner, or family member – including pets)half day Fridays, and 11 holidays
• We close down for a paid winter break between December 25 to January 1 to recognize end of year stress, and time for reflection, rejuvenation, and spending time with family
• Up to 16 weeks of fully paid Family and Medical Leave
• Low-cost health, dental, and vision insurance options – all outpatient mental health is covered at in-network rates
• Therapist available at no cost
• Pet insurance and discount perk program

In addition to your salary, we offer the following supports to your personal finances:

• Retirement plan with immediate match and vesting

We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of wildlife and people in a rapidly changing world. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion athttps://www.nwf.org/equity .

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job, therefore our job descriptions are guidelines, not hard and fast rules.Your experience, which may include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, helps build the competencies and knowledge that translates to our openings.Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of excellence.Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.

Please let us know if you require accommodations during the application or interview process by reaching us [e-mail] or 703-438-6244.

If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.

Qualifications