Central Washington University is recruiting an HR Partner (HR Consultant) to join our Human Resources team in Ellensburg, Washington. This role is an important member of our team as they serve essential functions to support the University's vision, mission, and the well being of its employees. The role is a campus-based position, which means you get to see the lives you are impacting. We're offering a salary, depending on experience, from $60,000 - $75,000 annually plus the awesome CWU benefits.

Who we are:

We are a team of individuals committed to Changing Students' Lives. No matter what job, each of us plays a part in supporting and empowering our students to fulfill their dreams.

Working in higher education provides career growth and career choice. Think of a university campus like a mini city, operating across 380 acres. You'll find diverse academics, libraries, athletics and sporting events, full service and quick serve dining, conferences and events from small to large, recreation centers, housing, health services, police and public safety for the campus population of ~10,000 students.

Central Washington University has been named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year. In addition, for the seventh time in eight years, CWU is a recipient of the prestigious Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Come join us on our journey to encourage, inspire, and create spaces where all identities thrive on campus.

Tour our campus in Ellensburg here.

What we offer:

Our investment in you begins the day you join our team, a healthy and successful future for you is important to us. We offer medical, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, tuition assistance for you and your dependents, discounts across town, an employee assistance program for individualized counseling, and a wellness incentive program. Learn more: Benefits, Perks, and Leave.

The Role:

The HR Partner serves as a skilled professional Human Resources (HR) expert performing HR generalist duties, provides administrative direction and counsel to management and employees on HR issues, and prioritizes and manages issues within designated area of responsibility. This position provides guidance and consultative services at all levels of the organization including employee relations, classification and compensation, performance management, recruitment, hiring and retention, and other functions relating to human resource management. All employees are expected to support CWU's commitment to diversity and to bring and support inclusion into the university environment. HR Partners directly affect the vision, mission and values of Central Washington University by providing clear and concise information, resources and coaching to employees and supervisors in all aspects of their work life. In this way, employees are well-prepared to serve students, employees, and the entire CWU community in the best way possible.

Specific responsibilities are dependent upon the needs of the client(s). Provide customer support in the full-range of human resources arena including but not limited to recruitment, classification, compensation, corrective and disciplinary action, training and development, labor relations, interpretation and application of laws, rules, policies and procedures, appeals, grievances or unemployment hearings, performance development plans, program or policy development, career counseling, organizational analysis or development, employee recognition or other functions relating to human resource management.

Technical Expert:
- Apply expertise in the full range of HR arena to support CWU's mission and business needs.
- Maintain in-depth knowledge of legal and administrative requirements related to day-to-day management of employees, reducing legal risks, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
- Use surveys and other tools to provide information to help create an effective and efficient work environment.
- Adapt information technology to HR management.

Employee Champion:
- Develop the talent of others to maximize potential.
- Mentor individuals to develop talent.
- Assess and balance competing values (for example, policies and mission).
- Build trust relationships.

Employer Representative:
- Provide interpretation and application information regarding Federal, State, and University compliance requirements to managers and supervisors thus ensuring institutional conformance to established standards.
- Serve as a consultant to administration on Human Resource related issues.
- Apply expertise in the full range of HR arena to serve as CWU representative for hearing, grievances, etc.

Strategic Partner:
- Interact with customers in a way that demonstrates customer concerns and problems are heard, builds confident and trust.
- Link HR policies and programs to CWU's mission, vision, and strategic plan as well as HR's vision for service.
- Apply organizational development principles.
- Adapt HR services to organizational culture.
- Design and/or carry out HR services that incorporate business system applications.
- Use HR principles that change business processes to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
- Use consensus and coalition building skills to improve overall communication.

Change Consultant:
- Assess the readiness for change and identify appropriate change strategies.
- Design and implement change processes.
- Apply innovative strategies; identify and recommend solutions to various HR issues.
- Uses consensus, consultation, and negotiation skills; Influence others to act.
- Practice and promote integrity and ethical behavior.
- Collaborate and work in teams.
- Communicate effectively.

- Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in human resources (ore related field)
• Experience applying employment-related HR laws and rules such as ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, etc.
• Broad-based professional HR experience
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Organizational and time-management skills which allow the incumbent to prioritize conflicting and demanding deadlines
• Experience working to support a specified client base (managers, administrators, supervisors, and employees)
• Demonstrated willingness and/or experience working with students and/or co-workers from a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and experiences
• OR applicable combination of education and/or experience which demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position

Preferred Qualifications

• Certification by HRCI (PHR/SPHR) or SHRM (SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP)
• Labor relations experience
• Experience with an HRIS system such as PeopleSoft
• HR experience with a Washington State agency or institution of higher education
• Life experiences that demonstrate an ability to contribute to CWU's commitment to inclusion and diversity
• Ability to incorporate multicultural perspectives and issues into everyday conversations

Competencies

• Accountability/Dependability: Accepts responsibility for quality of own work; acknowledges and corrects mistakes. Shows up on time, meets standards, deadlines and work schedules.
• Judgement: Makes timely, informed decisions. Analyzes options and determines appropriate course of action.
• Teamwork: Promotes cooperation and mutual support to achieve goals. Encourages participation and mutual support.
• Adaptability/Flexibility: Responds positively to changing business needs and responsibilities. Adapts approach and methods to achieve results; recovers quickly from setbacks and finds alternatives.
• Commitment to Diversity: Recognizes the value of diversity and helps create environment that supports and embraces diversity.

Don't meet every single requirement? At CWU we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. This may be the job for you!

Salary: This position has a minimum annual salary of $57,847 and maximum annual salary of $83,878. The Hiring Department's expected hiring range is $60,000 - $75,000. In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the hiring range is based on the candidate's current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position.

Schedule/Appointment: Monday - Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm (1 hour lunch)

Working Conditions: Work is performed in an indoor office setting with frequent in-person interactions. It is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods of time, perform extensive data entry and other computer-related tasks and create/maintain filing systems for departmental records. Some evening or weekend work and/or occasional travel may be required

Benefits: CWU offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical and dental insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, life and disability insurance, along with vacation and sick leave plans depending on employment classification. For additional information please visit Benefits, Perks, and Leave.

An employee of CWU may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program if the employee has student loans. To learn more, visit: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/public-service-loan-forgiveness-program.