HR Operations Manager

About Walbec Group 

Walbec produces high-quality construction materials and delivers unparalleled professional design, engineering and construction services at its six companies, including Payne and Dolan, Northeast Asphalt, Zenith Tech, Parisi, Premier Concrete, and Construction Resources Management. Whether building bridges, stabilizing shorelines, rehabilitating structures, or providing site engineering and construction solutions for solar, Walbec is your bridge to expertise in construction and engineering. 

With safety and ethics at the core of everything we do, our experienced professionals are hard at work on commercial and industrial sites throughout the Midwest.  

The Position: 

We are seeking a strategic, hands-on HR Operations leader to architect and elevate our HR function as we expand from a regional construction leader to one with national presence. This role is the operational backbone of HR—responsible for building scalable infrastructure, supporting our HR technology strategy, owning employee compliance, and transforming how we deliver people services across union and non-union workforces as we grow.

The HR Operations Manager will own the full spectrum of HR operations: from employee data integrity, HR service delivery, workforce reporting, and employee compliance. This is a rare opportunity for a builder, someone who can both set the strategy and roll up their sleeves to execute it.

Key Responsibilities:

Onboarding & Hire Process

• Own hiring-requirements documentation and Workday data capture for project-specific and local-hire programs (TERO, TLAC, NAHP, RPP, RWP, EEP, WHEDA/HUD)
• Oversee apprenticeship program management from post-hire through the employee lifecycle, including document collection, level progression, and journeyworker conversion
• Create processes and systems for new hire/rehire I-9 processing and audits, road-test/MVR requirements, and certification collection for new hires/rehires (CCO, OSHA 10/30, forklift, flagger, First Aid/CPR, competent person)

Employee Compliance

• Serve as DOT Designated Employer Representative (DER), owning the drug & alcohol testing program, including DOT/FMCSA requirements  
• Own MVR monitoring and the FMCSA Clearinghouse responsibilities
• Support prevailing wage/Davis-Bacon recordkeeping and compliance and internal/external union audit resolution
• Own regulatory reporting including for federal, state or internal requirements
• Manage VOEs, garnishments, unemployment insurance claims, and local/state job reporting (RWP, RPP, NAHP, EEP, HCST, ACPI, HUD/WHEDA Section 3)
• Manage MSHA credentialing, annual required safety & compliance training activities, and certification tracking (CDL, CCO, ACI, welding)
• Own HR policy interpretation, record retention, workplace poster compliance, and multi-state labor law monitoring as the company expands into new states

HR Technology & HRIS

• Serve as a Workday data steward, driving data integrity across the employee lifecycle
• Lead evaluation, selection, and implementation of HR compliance technology

HR Service Center

• Build and lead the HR Service Center (AskHR) as the single point of intake — email/phone triage, ticket management, SLAs, and a KBA/SOP knowledge library
• Own employee status and data-change processing for payroll-related processes, absence management, union rate maintenance  and additional federal programs

Vendor Management & Outsourcing

• Manage performance, SLAs, and contract renewals for compliance vendors supporting drug testing, background checks, and MVR/DOT administration
• Build a vendor governance framework with performance scorecards, and identify opportunities to outsource high-volume manual compliance work

Reporting & Workforce Intelligence

• Deliver workforce reporting for business partners (Insurance, Risk, Workers' Comp, Transportation, etc.) and support HR dashboards for key data points to drive HR decision-making
• Lead HR integration for M&A due diligence and execution, and build the playbook supporting multi-state work and national expansion

Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field; Master’s degree or MBA a plus
• 8+ years of progressive HR experience with at least 4 years in HR Operations, HRIS, or HR leadership role
• Strong background in HR compliance activities
• Proven experience in a multi-state or national company operating across U.S. regions; experience nationally a significant plus
• Hands-on Workday experience preferred—HCM, Benefits, Absence, Reporting, and/or Payroll modules strongly preferred
• Experience supporting both union and non-union workforces; working knowledge of collective bargaining and labor relations preferred
• Demonstrated experience managing HR service center operations, HR compliance programs, and vendor relationships
• Construction, field services, transportation, manufacturing or similarly regulated industry experience strongly preferred

Technical & Regulatory Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of federal and multi-state employment law (FMLA, ADA, FLSA, Title VII, NLRA, state-specific requirements)
• Familiarity with DOT/FMCSA regulations, including CDL requirements, drug & alcohol testing programs, and DER responsibilities
• Familiarity with OSHA, MSHA regulations and construction industry workforce requirements a strong plus
• Working knowledge of prevailing wage/Davis-Bacon compliance, EEO-1 and Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) reporting, I-9 processing, and local-hire/public-contract programs (RWP, RPP, TERO, HCST, WOTC)
• Strong data literacy; advanced Excel, Workday reporting, and/or BI tool experience (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) a plus

Leadership & Competencies

• Strategic thinker who can translate vision into operational execution; comfortable moving between high-level planning and hands-on work
• Proven ability to lead and develop HR teams in fast-paced, growth-oriented environments
• Exceptional project management skills; ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously
• High integrity; skilled at navigating sensitive employee matters and confidential information with discretion
• Change agent with a continuous improvement mindset; experience implementing process automation or HR shared services a plus

The Benefits:  

• Competitive compensation aligned with industry standards  
• Employer Paid Medical Plan with HRA contribution (eligibility requirements)  
• Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance  
• Flex Spending Account (FSA)  
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)  
• Company-paid short and long-term disability coverage  
• Paid parental leave  
• Generous PTO and paid holidays  
• Profit sharing  
• Robust training and professional development program  
• Ongoing career growth opportunities 

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action employer, and it is our practice to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants. In addition, it is the policy of the Company to comply with applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in each locality in which the Company has employees. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply!