Associate HR Manager

Job Description

Position: Associate HR Manager

Reports to: Senior HR Director

Direct reports: HR Coordinator, HR Generalist, Senior HR Generalist

Location: NYC (hybrid)

Employment type: Full-time

The opportunity

The Associate HR Manager is a hands-on people manager responsible for delivering high-quality HR partnership and operations across the employee lifecycle. This role oversees and develops a three-person HR team, in partnership with the Senior HR Director, while serving as a trusted advisor to managers and employees on employee relations, performance management, policy interpretation, compliance, HR operations, and people programs.

The ideal candidate is a strong communicator who brings clarity to complex or sensitive situations, builds trust across all levels of the organization, and can translate HR policies and business needs into practical, consistent action. This is a role for an HR professional who is equally comfortable coaching a team, managing an employee-relations matter, improving a process, and presenting a clear recommendation to leadership.

What you’ll do

Lead and develop the HR team

- Set clear priorities, service expectations, and operating rhythms for the HR Coordinator, HR Generalist, and Senior HR Generalist.

- Develop team members through regular feedback, goal setting, performance

conversations, and career development planning.

- Allocate work thoughtfully, provide escalation support, and ensure consistent,

high-quality HR guidance across the team.

- Build a collaborative, accountable, service-oriented HR team that demonstrates sound judgment and follow-through.

Partner with managers and employees

- Act as a trusted HR advisor to managers and employees, building strong relationships across levels and functions.

- Coach managers through performance, conduct, documentation, feedback, and difficult conversations.

- Provide clear, timely, and practical guidance on HR policies, employee lifecycle

processes, and workplace concerns.

- Communicate complex or sensitive topics in a straightforward, respectful, and

audience-appropriate way.

Manage employee relations and performance

- Lead or support employee-relations matters, including workplace concerns, conflict resolution, investigations, corrective action, and exit processes.

- Apply policies consistently and fairly while maintaining confidentiality, professionalism, and appropriate documentation.

- Partner with senior Talent leadership and Legal when matters are complex, sensitive, or risk-bearing.

- Support performance-management cycles, including goal setting, reviews, feedback, development planning, and performance improvement plans.

- Promote a culture of continuous feedback, accountability, inclusion, and respectful communication.

Oversee core HR operations

- Ensure accurate execution of onboarding, offboarding, employee changes, benefits support, leave-related processes, and other employee lifecycle activities.

- Maintain accurate employee records and HR documentation in the HRIS and related systems.

- Partner with Global Talent, Payroll, Finance, IT, Legal, and other stakeholders to resolve issues and deliver joined-up employee support.

- Monitor HR data quality and use people metrics—such as headcount, turnover, attrition, engagement, and case trends—to identify risks and inform decisions.

- Support compliance with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws, company policies, and data-privacy requirements.

Improve programs and ways of working

- Lead or contribute to HR initiatives such as onboarding, open enrollment, performance cycles, engagement programs, policy updates, manager enablement, and HR system improvements.

- Identify recurring issues, process gaps, and opportunities to simplify or standardize HR delivery.

- Create practical guidance, templates, communications, and training materials that help managers and employees navigate HR processes.

- Stay current on HR trends, employment requirements, and emerging practices relevant to the business.

Communicate and collaborate

- Prepare concise updates, recommendations, and people insights for the Senior HR Director and business stakeholders.

- Deliver clear written and verbal communications across a range of audiences, from individual employees to senior leaders.

- Facilitate or support manager training and employee communications on HR policies, performance, compliance, and workplace practices.

- Represent the Talent team with professionalism, empathy, credibility, and sound

judgment.

What you’ll bring

- 4–6 years of progressive experience in human resources, with increasing responsibility across HR generalist, HR operations, HR business partnering, employee relations, or a related discipline.

- At least 1- 2 years of experience directly managing people within an HR or Talent

function.

- Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, and developing a team with multiple levels of HR capability.

- Strong employee-relations experience, including the ability to assess issues, conduct or support fact-finding, resolve conflict, and recommend appropriate next steps.

- Practical knowledge of performance management, employee lifecycle processes, HR policies, and employment-law fundamentals.

- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to listen actively, explain clearly, tailor messages to the audience, and handle difficult conversations with composure.

- Strong stakeholder-management and influencing skills, with the ability to build credibility and partnership without relying solely on formal authority.

- Sound judgment, discretion, empathy, and a high level of integrity when handling

confidential or sensitive information.

- Strong organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and shifting business needs.

- Experience with HRIS platforms; Workday experience is strongly preferred.

- Comfort using HR data, spreadsheets, and reporting tools to identify trends and support recommendations.

- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

- HR certification such as PHR, SHRM-CP, or equivalent is a plus.

What success looks like

- The HR Coordinator, HR Generalist, and Senior HR Generalist have clear priorities, strong development support, and consistent standards for HR delivery.

- Managers receive timely, practical, and well-communicated guidance on performance, employee relations, and HR processes.

- Employee-relations matters are handled fairly, confidentially, consistently, and with appropriate escalation.

- Core HR processes and employee data are accurate, compliant, and easy for

employees and managers to navigate.

- HR trends and recurring issues are surfaced early, with actionable recommendations and measurable process improvements.

- The Talent team is viewed as credible, responsive, thoughtful, and easy to partner with.

MiQ values

We look for people who bring Passion, Determination, Agility, Unity, and Courage to how they work—with a commitment to inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Pay Transparency
For individuals assigned and/or hired to work in New York, MiQ is required by law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This compensation range is specific to New York and takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At MiQ, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current base salary for this position is $120,000. This range may vary for positions outside of New York as it has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location where the position may be filled and does not take into account our bonus and commission structures.

Regardless of location, candidates can expect during the first few conversations with MiQ’s Talent team and Hiring Managers to share any approved budget and details on our competitive bonus and commission packages. Please take a moment to view the MiQ I.D.E.A. Report to learn more about our approach to creating equitable compensation for our people.

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