Senior People Partner

Herrera Environmental Consultants; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 92,700 - 113,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)

401(k) retirement plan

Medical/dental/vision insurance

Flexible hybrid work culture

Paid vacation and sick time

Job summary

Herrera Environmental Consultants offers a pivotal People & Culture role in Seattle. You will partner with leaders to strengthen leadership, develop talent, and drive a positive employee experience across a national environmental consulting firm.

You will lead recruitment, performance management, and workforce planning while navigating complex employee relations and ensuring regulatory compliance. The role emphasizes strategic impact, inclusion, and growth within the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive HR experience in recruitment, talent management, employee relations, benefits and leave administration, and workplace accommodations.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills with ability to develop policies, leadership recommendations, and training materials.
• Strong business acumen to align people strategies with business objectives.
• Exceptional coaching/consulting skills to influence across all levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations.
• Experience supporting talent management initiatives including performance management and engagement.
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, hands-on environment balancing tactical execution with strategic partnership.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion, belonging, and psychological safety.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to strengthen leadership effectiveness and develop talent.
• Lead talent management initiatives: performance management, leadership development, engagement, and workforce planning.
• Advise on complex employee relations matters, investigations, leave administration, and accommodations.
• Lead recruitment for assigned positions, ensuring an outstanding candidate experience.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of People & Culture and mentor team members as needed.

Skills

Leadership coaching

Talent management

Employee relations

Policy development

Communication

Strategic partnership

Inclusion & psychological safety

HRIS

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

Tools

Microsoft 365

HRIS/HCM applications

Job description

Envision yourself at a growing, employee-owned company that inspires and empowers you to deliver your best performance while making a difference in the world.

We are Herrera, a science, planning, and design consulting firm dedicated to working with clients to develop holistic solutions that provide social and environmental benefit. We protect the environment every day by providing a diverse range of consulting services to cities, counties, state and federal agencies, Tribes, non-profits, and private clients throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and western Canada.

For over 45 years, Herrera has cultivated a collaborative, caring, and values-driven culture that empowers our employee-owners to achieve excellence while ensuring we have fun along the way. By providing our employee-owners with the autonomy to pursue their professional interests and through encouraging them to grow, we benefit from high employee-owner retention that contributes to our longstanding partnerships with clients.

Our Values

• Treat everyone with respect and dignity, always.
• Insist on integrity, objectivity, and social and environmental ethics in our work.
• Act as stewards of the environment upon which we depend.
• Research and outreach, learn and teach.
• Employee owners, employee leaders.

In this role, you will serve as a trusted advisor who partners with employees and leaders to help people and the organization thrive. By strengthening leadership, developing talent, fostering employee engagement, and navigating complex people matters with care and sound judgment, you will help create an environment where employees can do their best work. Working collaboratively across the organization, you will balance business needs, employee experience, and organizational risk while helping the supportive, high-performing culture that defines Herrera. As the People & Culture team evolves and you demonstrate exceptional performance, there will be opportunities for growth and advancement.

In this role we will count on you to:

• Partner with leaders across the organization to strengthen leadership effectiveness, develop talent, and foster a positive employee experience through coaching, consultation, and strategic partnership.
• Lead key talent management initiatives, including performance management, leadership development, employee engagement, career development, and workforce planning.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on complex employee relations matters, workplace investigations, leave administration, and workplace accommodations, balancing employee experience, business needs, and legal compliance.
• Lead recruitment for assigned positions, partnering with hiring managers to attract, assess, and hire exceptional talent while ensuring an outstanding candidate experience.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the People & Culture function by leading projects, improving programs and processes, mentoring team members (potential for a people leadership role in the future), and partnering with the Director of People & Culture to advance organizational goals.
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive HR experience in recruitment, talent management (including performance management, professional development, and employee engagement), employee relations, benefits administration, leave administration, and workplace accommodations.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to develop clear and compelling policies, leadership recommendations, employee communications, and training materials, and to confidently facilitate discussions and presentation for audiences ranging from individual employees to company-wide meetings.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand organizational priorities and align people strategies with business objectives.
• Exceptional coaching and consulting skills, with the ability to influence, develop, and build trusted relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate complex employee relations matters, coach leaders through difficult workplace situations, and conduct fair, objective workplace investigations with professionalism and sound judgment.
• Comprehensive knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, with the ability to partner with leaders to make thoughtful, legally compliant, and values-aligned decisions.
• Experience supporting talent management initiatives, including performance management, leadership development, employee engagement, and career development.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a collaborative, hands‑on environment by seamlessly shifting between tactical execution andstrategic partnership to support team and business priorities.
• Demonstrated experience fostering inclusion, belonging, and psychological safety within the workplace.
• Experience with HRIS/HCM applications.
• Proficiency in all Microsoft 365 applications.

We are Herrera

Envision yourself at a growing, employee-owned company that inspires and empowers you to deliver your best performance while making a difference in the world.

We are Herrera, a science, planning, and design consulting firm dedicated to working with clients to develop holistic solutions that provide social and environmental benefit. We protect the environment every day by providing a diverse range of consulting services to cities, counties, state and federal agencies, Tribes, non-profits, and private clients throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and western Canada.

For over 45 years, Herrera has cultivated a collaborative, caring, and values-driven culture that empowers our employee-owners to achieve excellence while ensuring we have fun along the way. By providing our employee-owners with the autonomy to pursue their professional interests and through encouraging them to grow, we benefit from high employee-owner retention that contributes to our longstanding partnerships with clients.

Our Values

• Treat everyone with respect and dignity, always.
• Insist on integrity, objectivity, and social and environmental ethics in our work.
• Act as stewards of the environment upon which we depend.
• Research and outreach, learn and teach.
• Employee owners, employee leaders.

Your Opportunity

In this role, you will serve as a trusted advisor who partners with employees and leaders to help people and the organization thrive. By strengthening leadership, developing talent, fostering employee engagement, and navigating complex people matters with care and sound judgment, you will help create an environment where employees can do their best work. Working collaboratively across the organization, you will balance business needs, employee experience, and organizational risk while helping the supportive, high-performing culture that defines Herrera. As the People & Culture team evolves and you demonstrate exceptional performance, there will be opportunities for growth and advancement.

In this role we will count on you to:

• Partner with leaders across the organization to strengthen leadership effectiveness, develop talent, and foster a positive employee experience through coaching, consultation, and strategic partnership.
• Lead key talent management initiatives, including performance management, leadership development, employee engagement, career development, and workforce planning.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on complex employee relations matters, workplace investigations, leave administration, and workplace accommodations, balancing employee experience, business needs, and legal compliance.
• Lead recruitment for assigned positions, partnering with hiring managers to attract, assess, and hire exceptional talent while ensuring an outstanding candidate experience.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the People & Culture function by leading projects, improving programs and processes, mentoring team members (potential for a people leadership role in the future), and partnering with the Director of People & Culture to advance organizational goals.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive HR experience in recruitment, talent management (including performance management, professional development, and employee engagement), employee relations, benefits administration, leave administration, and workplace accommodations.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to develop clear and compelling policies, leadership recommendations, employee communications, and training materials, and to confidently facilitate discussions and presentation for audiences ranging from individual employees to company-wide meetings.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand organizational priorities and align people strategies with business objectives.
• Exceptional coaching and consulting skills, with the ability to influence, develop, and build trusted relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate complex employee relations matters, coach leaders through difficult workplace situations, and conduct fair, objective workplace investigations with professionalism and sound judgment.
• Comprehensive knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, with the ability to partner with leaders to make thoughtful, legally compliant, and values-aligned decisions.
• Experience supporting talent management initiatives, including performance management, leadership development, employee engagement, and career development.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a collaborative, hands‑on environment by seamlessly shifting between tactical execution andstrategic partnership to support team and business priorities.
• Demonstrated experience fostering inclusion, belonging, and psychological safety within the workplace.
• Experience with HRIS/HCM applications.
• Proficiency in all Microsoft 365 applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in aconsulting firm.
• Experience working in an A/E (architecture/engineering) firm.
• Experience working for a federal contractor.
• Proficiency with ADP Workforce Now.
• Demonstrated commitment tomentoring and/or supervising team members.
• Demonstrated ability to us AI to elevate performance.

Comprehensive job description available upon request.

We are proud to support our employee-owners by offering the following compensation and benefits.

• This position is salaried and exempt from overtime; the annual salary ranges is $92,700 - $113,300
• Flexible hybrid work culture; Tuesdays and Thursdays in-office in Seattle
• Medical/prescription drug/dental/vision insurance for employees and dependents; employees covered at no cost on base plan with buy-up options available; company contribution for dependents
• Section 125 flexible benefits plans – healthcare and dependent care
• Company-paid life insurance for employees; option to purchase additional life insurance for employees and dependents at employees’ expense
• Company-paid long term disability insurance for employees; option to purchase short-term disability insurance at employees’ expense
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid vacation accrued at 4.615 hours every two weeks (for a 40 hour/week employee, equivalent to 15 days per year)
• Paid sick time accrued at 3.077 hours every two weeks (for a 40 hour/week employee, equivalent to 10 days per year)
• Flexible paid holidays (10)
• Paid volunteer time (8 hours annually)
• Company-paid annual membership dues for one professional organization
• Professional development / continuing education allowance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Transit benefit

To learn more, please visit our website at: www.herrerainc.com.

Reliable internet service is required for remote work, with acceptable types including cable, DSL, or fiber and minimum speeds of 30 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. A wired Ethernet connection is strongly preferred. Dial-up, satellite, wireless bridges, range extenders, and outdated or weak Wi‑Fi connections are not supported.