Sr. HR Manager

Music & Arts; Frederick (MD); On-site; USD 115,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gig leave for musicians

Medical and dental

401(k) with company match

Mental health support

Tuition reimbursement options

Job summary

Music & Arts is seeking a Sr. HR Manager to serve as a strategic HR leader at their Frederick, MD headquarters. The role involves aligning HR strategies with operational objectives, managing employee relations, and facilitating talent development. A Bachelor's degree and 6+ years of progressive HR experience are required, preferably in high-volume operational environments. The position offers a salary range of $115,000 to $140,000 per year, depending on experience, along with robust benefits including medical, dental, and 401(k).

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in HR, ideally in fast-paced operational settings.
• Strong ability to coach and influence leadership effectively.
• Ability to work on-site at the Music and Arts HQ.

Responsibilities

• Align people strategies with operational goals and workforce needs.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on organizational effectiveness.
• Lead employee relations matters, ensuring fair outcomes.

Skills

Progressive HR experience

Employee relations experience

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Business acumen

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field

Job description

The Sr. HR Manager serves as the on-site HR leader for Music and Arts Corporate Office, acting as a strategic and hands‑on business partner to operations leadership. This role is responsible for aligning people strategies with operational priorities to support a safe, productive, engaged, and high‑performing workforce. The Sr. HR Manager partners closely with site leadership to drive organizational effectiveness, strengthen leadership capability, manage employee relations, and ensure HR practices support both day‑to‑day execution and long‑term business objectives.

This role plays a critical part in translating business needs into practical workforce solutions, while ensuring consistent application of company policies, employment practices, and leadership expectations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Partner with leadership to align people strategies with operational goals, workforce needs, and site priorities, ensuring HR is fully integrated into business decisions and daily execution.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders on organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, team structure, leadership capability, and change management in a fast‑paced environment.
• Lead employee relations matters for the site, including investigations, corrective action, conflict resolution, and risk assessment, ensuring fair and consistent outcomes.
• Coach leaders on performance management, accountability, communication, and associate development to strengthen leadership effectiveness and drive a high‑performance culture.
• Use workforce and operational data to identify trends in turnover, attendance, staffing, engagement, and employee relations, and recommend actions that improve retention, productivity, and organizational health.
• Partner with site leadership on staffing strategies, hiring plans, and onboarding processes to ensure the distribution center is equipped with the talent needed to meet operational demand.
• Support talent development and succession planning efforts for key hourly and salaried roles, helping build bench strength and internal growth opportunities across the site.
• Partner with shared services teams to ensure seamless delivery of HR programs, associate support, and people processes.
• Monitor and improve key HR processes, ensuring alignment with company policies, labor laws, wage and hour requirements, and documentation standards.
• Support a positive associate experience by helping leaders foster an environment of respect, accountability, safety, and engagement across the distribution center.

To join our band, you will need the following experience:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred in Human Resources, Business, or related field.
• 6+ years of progressive HR experience, ideally supporting distribution, warehouse, manufacturing, supply chain, or other high‑volume operational environments.
• Experience serving as an HR business partner to frontline and site leadership in a fast‑paced setting.
• Strong employee relations experience, including investigations, corrective action, and performance management.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and influence leaders while balancing associate advocacy with business needs.
• Strong business acumen and ability to connect people strategies to operational performance.
• Strong communication, judgment, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work on‑site at the Music and Arts HQ.

Why Guitar Center? Here’s just some of the rewards:

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave—take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.

Pay Rate:

$115,000 – $140,000/yr depending on background and experience.

This position is eligible to participate in the Guitar Center Company bonus program based on company performance.

The job posting is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee, which is always dependent on actual experience, education, and other factors. The pay range(s) listed are provided in compliance with state specific laws. Pay ranges may be different in other locations.

Guitar Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides fair and equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status prohibited under Federal, State, or local laws. All employment decisions are based on valid job‑related requirements.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website, you may request a reasonable accommodation to express interest in a specific opening. You can request reasonable accommodation by sending an email to [e-mail].