Human Resources Generalist

ABOUT HONOR THE EARTH

Honor the Earth (HTE) was established in 1993 by Winona LaDuke and Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. In nearly 30 years of operation, HTE has re-granted over two million dollars to over 200 Native American communities. HTE is the only Native organization that provides both financial support and organizing support to Native environmental initiatives. As a unique national Native initiative, Honor the Earth works to not just raise public awareness but also direct funds to grassroots Native environmental groups. Honor the Earth has grown dramatically over the last few years and we are now a family of organizations – interconnected and working together. In 2018, Honor the Earth launched a sister organization, Akiing. Akiing is a community development initiative working with Anishinaabe Agriculture Institute to develop local food systems and fiber hemp. Honor the Earth and Akiing together support 8th Fire Solar, an affiliate of Honor the Earth and solar thermal panel manufacturer. Together, our family of organizations are establishing a solid foundation for local food systems and sustainable energy, a new economy.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Honor the Earth grows in partnership with family organizations, we require the support of a Human Resources Generalist to foster our evolution and to help care for our organizational culture and structure as we fight for our communities.

This position will work to maintain employment records and to track employee performance. As a generalist, this position is responsible for overseeing all HR functions, including attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent. This position will support staff and ensure legal compliance with state and federal employment law. A critical aspect of this role will be to manage incidents, grievances, and staff conflict through coaching and mentorship. This position will work to ensure application of organizational personnel policies and procedures. In addition, this person will also help to foster ongoing coordination and communication among Honor’s family of organizations.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

● Staff Life Cycle: This position will oversee and care for the life cycle of HTE’s staff. This work includes the below responsibilities.

○ Attracting, hiring, onboarding, and retaining talented staff ○ Create a recruitment plan for HTE’s evolution and growth

○ Create official internal documents such as offer letters, salary slips, etc ○ Create onboarding plans and educating newly hired employees on HR policies, internal procedures, and regulations

○ Set and review pay structures

○ Develop, monitor, and implement HTE’s people management strategy

1 ● Staff Performance: This person will be responsible for promoting and evaluating staff performance. This may include the below items.

○ Monitor staff performance evaluations

○ Take appropriate disciplinary action against employees who violate rules and regulations

○ Monitor various aspects of an employee’s performance, such as attendance and sick leave

○ Evaluate employee performance and appraise their pay scale accordingly

○ Assess the need for training and then implementing training programs accordingly

○ Advise the Executive Director on handling conversations about performance management (coaching, providing feedback, career growth, corrective actions and performance improvement plans)

● Conflict Mediation + Grievances: This person will require high skills of conflict mediation and problem solving.

○ Address formal employee grievances

○ Provide support, advice, and guidance to staff and managers on navigating challenging interpersonal dynamics, especially across identity and positional authority

○ Address and resolve employee questions and problems with a service mindset, while always considering compliance.

● Organizational Procedures + Employment Compliance: This position will ensure implementation and compliance of organizational policies. ○ Ensure HTE’s procedures comply with federal and state employment regulations, including health care reform, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, and ERISA.

○ Develop and implement HTE’s policies and procedures (e.g. vacation, sick leave, sexual harassment, etc.)

○ Coach, support, and mentor the Executive Director and Board of Directors in the application of HR policies and practices.

● Benefits Coordination: This person will be responsible for organizational benefits programs.

○ Complete oversight and regulatory compliance for all employee group benefits plans

○ Develop employee communications and information regarding all group benefits and retirement programs

○ Evaluate benefit plan effectiveness, recommend new strategies and alternatives, and manage broker services, and external vendor services. ○ Provide guidance to staff regarding group benefits programs.

○ Oversee the annual group benefits contract renewal process. Ensures quality of services from outside vendors.

○ Provides day-to-day employee benefits coordination for all staff health and welfare benefits plans including enrollments, changes, and separations.

● General HR Coordination ○ Records Maintenance for employees (e.g. benefits, attendance records, etc)

○ Manage HTE’s annual HR budget ○ Reporting on the performance and progress of an HR matters to the Executive Director and Board of Directors

○ Update the Board of Directors on organizational culture and growth SKILLS AND AREAS OF EXPERTISE

● High levels of emotional intelligence and relational skills 2

● The ability to remain calm in stressful situations and deal well with conflict, including disciplinary actions or staff conflicts

● Generous knowledge of employment laws and practices

● Strong empathy and interpersonal skills

● Detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills

● Problem-solving skills and resourceful thinking

● Excellent communication skills, including the ability to listen and effectively verbalise ideas

● Solid ethics, morals and the ability to practice consistently sound judgement

● The ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality

● Excellent verbal and written communication skills

● Excellent organizational skills and the ability to multitask MUST HAVE

● Maintain Confidentiality: The ability to practice discretion and maintain confidentiality.

● HR Experience: 2 years of experience in human resources or a closely-related field.

● Employment Law: Knowledge of current state and Federal employment laws, and record-keeping requirements.

● Collaboration: A track record of collaboration and working across distance, culture, conflict, and uniquely complex situations.

● Trust-Builder + Relationships: A reputation for building influence, trust, and healthy relationships. You leverage influence without authority and seek to develop a healthy organizational culture.

● Emotionally Intelligent: A reputation for self-awareness and practicing self-reflection, intuition, and empathy. This position requires someone that is perceptive and flexible.

● Resourceful + Agile: This person must be a self-starter who comfortably operates in spaces of ambiguity or rapid change. This person must be a problem solver who takes initiative to manage complex responsibilities.

● Project Management: Experience in project management with the ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously.

● Conflict Management: A track record for managing teams through conflict.

● Committed to Improvement: This position requires someone that is committed to ongoing learning and improvement.

PREFERRED

● Mediation: A history of addressing conflict through peacemaking, mediation, and/or restorative justice.

● Education: Bachelor’s degree in human resources

● HR Experience: 5 years of experience in human resources or a closely-related field.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS This is a full-time position that must be located in the northern region of Minnesota, on or near the White Earth reservation. Indigenous people and women are highly encouraged to apply. Honor the Earth offers a salary package commensurate with skills and experience. The anticipated salary range for this position starts at $60,000 depending on experience, plus benefits, including Medical, Dental, Vision, basic life insurance, health savings account, paid time off, paid holidays . Honor the Earth is a 501(c)(3) organization.

To apply, send a resume and cover letter to jobs@honorearth.org with the subject line “APPLICATION FOR HIRE.” Positions will remain open until filled. Honor the Earth is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on identity. Indigenous people, people of color, Two-Spirit or LGBTQA+ people, and members of other marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply.