Human Resources Manager

The Seattle City Attorney’s Office (CAO) is seeking an experienced human resources (HR) generalist for a management opportunity at 200-employee municipal law office. The CAO is headed by an independently elected City Attorney and functions as the City of Seattle’s in-house legal counsel and misdemeanor prosecutor’s office.

The Seattle City Attorney’s Office (CAO) plays a major role in nearly every aspect of the City of Seattle’s operation, charged under the City Charter with sole supervisory authority over all litigation for the City and its departments.
With more than 100 attorneys, the City's Law Department is the third-largest public law office in the state.

The Criminal Division plays a vital role in public safety and the criminal legal system with jurisdiction over misdemeanors in Seattle. The Civil Division represents the City in lawsuits and advises City officials to develop programs, projects, policies, and legislation. The Administration Division staff provide budgeting, accounting, human resource, clerical, and information technology services for the City Attorney's Office.

As part of the CAO’s Executive Leadership Team, and under the direction of the Deputy City Attorney, the HR Manager will be responsible for the administration and management of all HR activities for the department. The HR Manager will provide strategic leadership for a broad spectrum of issues concerning represented and non-represented attorneys and staff, help the CAO chart its long-term HR strategy, and manage two HR generalist employees

Job Responsibilities:

The work of the HR Manager leads the HR team with an innovative and strategically focused vision. This role is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the HR team and the delivery of HR services to the City Attorney’s Office

Here is more about what you will be doing:

• Champion racial equity. Apply race and social justice lens to all work and engage in CAO efforts to eliminate racial disparities and achieve racial equity in City government and the broader community.
• Serve as an expert HR consultant. Provides functional HR expertise and successfully executes on key HR projects and assigned HR functions. Leverages a deep understanding of City human resource practices and participates in solving business problems through an equity and talent lens. Research best practices and collaborates with City HR community to implement an essential HR business functions. Determines the applicability of rules, policies and guidelines, and impacts on diverse work groups and/or situations.
• Oversee delivery of HR service. Develop, evaluate, and implement HR programs, policies, and guidelines supporting organizational objectives of the Civil and Criminal Divisions. Ensure CAO’s recruitment and hiring processes attract, and result in the hiring of, diverse and talented individuals.
• Lead a collaborative team. Supervise and provide professional development support to team of 2-3 HR professionals. Ensure that workplans are aligned and drive toward the success of CAO and its employees.
• Support employee success. Provide coaching to leaders and employees, with the goal of making others successful. Conduct intakes to assess and handle employee complaints and concerns, making recommendations for actions as needed. Promote a culture that encourages open dialogue and communication and supports the work of the CAO.
• Provide employee and labor relations consultative services. Advise and partner with the City Attorney and senior leadership regarding complex and confidential HR issues. Function as the CAO’s labor relations representative administering four union contracts, partnering with the SDHR Labor Relations Division, and participating in grievance proceedings as necessary.
• Commit to teamwork and transparency. Seeks to solve problems and create innovative ideas through collaborative teamwork. Engages in a continuous and consistent flow of communication regarding the work of the department, among employees, and with City partners.
• Cultivate strong relationships. Facilitate partnerships and authentic relationships inspire trust and confidence. Partner with the SDHR and other City departments, and participate in Citywide committees, on HR related matters.
• Communicate with clarity. Ensure effective and timely reporting of program status and progress to the City Attorney and Deputy City Attorney. Support understanding of and compliance with applicable laws, rules, and policies.
• Promote program management excellence. Provides technical and administrative support to all business functions and compliance activities, including improving processes, streamlining reporting, and meaningfully engaging stakeholders to transform the system and improve outcomes.
• Inspire a culture of excellence. Establishes performance benchmarks, designs and implements quality controls, and cultivates leadership through systematic professional development for staff.

You will be prepared for this role if you have the following knowledge and skills:

• Expert level technical knowledge as an HR generalist.
• Thorough understanding of HR practices, systems and regulations.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Project management skills, including the ability to produce, track and manage multiple deliverables with overlapping deadlines in a high-performing environment.
• Facilitation, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills.

Your effectiveness in this role will depend on your ability to:

• Identify and implement HR solutions that are aligned with the City’s commitment to equity, citywide HR practices, and CAO business needs.
• Model racial equity in relationships with co-workers, colleagues, community, and others.
• Interact with people with a high level of empathy and emotional intelligence for the parties involved.
• Communicate to diverse audiences effectively through public speaking, group settings and one on one.
• Cultivate a work culture that embraces transparency and accountability.

Qualifications:

A successful applicant will have a career that reflects a commitment to creating fair and equitable outcomes. Their work must be centered in racial and social justice and demonstrate strong operational ability as well as an unwavering commitment to employee success. The ideal candidate has progressive career growth in managing groups of HR professionals responsible for delivering a wide variety of HR services and has experience delivering HR support in a represented environment. The candidate must have a reputation for exercising a high level of tact, good judgment, discretion, and diplomacy and have cooperative working relationships with diverse groups of people.

Additionally, the successful candidate must have the ability to:

• Manage complex agency, community, and political relationships.
• Effectively resolve conflicts to the benefit of all parties.
• Build strategic and trusted partnerships.
• Effectively apply human resource principles to support large change efforts.
• Contribute to a work culture that embraces transparency and accountability.

Success in the role requires technical expertise in talent acquisition, change management, employee and labor-relation; knowledge of project management principles; a professional practice grounded in anti-racist principles and experience working in the public sector.

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Additional Information:

This full-time position is currently under classification review. This position is not covered under the Civil Service System. This role may be required to work nights, evenings, weekends; or attend meetings at locations outside of the office. Most work is performed in a normal City work/office environment.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

To be considered you must include a resume and cover letter with your application. We encourage you to use your cover letter to discuss why you want to do this work and how you meet the qualifications for the position. Your resume should summarize the talent, experience, knowledge, and skills you bring to this work.

If you have questions, please contact Pam Inch, Senior Executive Recruiter at Pam.Inch@seattle.gov.

Who may apply: This position is open to all qualified candidates that meet the above qualifications. The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The City encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experience.