Overview

Every person deserves a safe place to sleep and hope for a brighter tomorrow. For young people, homelessness interrupts progress towards adulthood and a future of independence and self-sufficiency. Covenant House Michigan (CHMI) provides youth facing homelessness with shelter, educational and vocational programs. We build a bridge to hope for young people facing homelessness and survivors of trafficking through unconditional love, absolute respect and relentless support.

Covenant House's doors are always open to all young people who need housing and help, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Our trauma-informed services help bridge the gap between potential and progress, and we also advocate for systemic change through public policy, while promoting awareness of critical issues related to youth homelessness. The Covenant House mission is centered and built on community, where youth, staff, volunteers, and partners love one another unconditionally, respect each other absolutely, and dedicate ourselves to a covenant of compassion and hope.

Read more about Covenant House Michigan.

About the Role

The Director of People & Culture (Director, P&C) is a strategic leader responsible for fostering a fair, inclusive, and legally compliant workplace culture at Covenant House Greater Michigan (CHMI). Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Office of CHMI, you will provide leadership and expert guidance to senior leadership, staff and the People & Culture Team in all matters relating to Human Resources/People & Culture. You will have the opportunity to help build organizational capability in HR strategy, employee relations/conflict resolution, performance management, benefits, learning and development, talent acquisition and HR compliance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Employee Relations & Investigations

  • Lead and oversee investigations into workplace concerns, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, and policy violations

  • Support Managers/Supervisors and other stakeholders with conflict resolution, providing constructive feedback, and the interpretation of people management policies

  • Build constructive relationships with critical stakeholders to share information and influence change

• Policy, Compliance & Governance

  • Manage the employee handbook, policies and procedures, ensuring timely revisions and communication to staff

  • Ensure compliance with Federal, State and Local labor laws

  • Keep the CEO abreast of day-to-day activities and recommend new initiatives, policies, and procedures as needed to support strategic growth

• HR Operations & Systems

  • Own the administration of HR processes and policies, including performance management, employee data management, reporting, organizational charts, policy updates and compliance tracking

  • Review and approve payroll before submission, serve as a backup for payroll, and manage payroll discrepancies

  • Talent Acquisition & Retention

  • Oversee, develop, and execute talent acquisition and retention strategies and plans based on the organization’s needs

  • Oversee People and Culture Generalist in the standardization and implementation of onboarding, offboarding, and related programs

• Employee Engagement & Experience

  • Oversee employee engagement activities such as employee surveys, recognition program, staff anniversaries, holiday party and other events

• Compensation & Benefits

  • Conduct compensation analysis regularly to ensure CHMI remains competitive

  • Own the administration of day-to-day benefits programs and annual benefits renewals, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 403(b), Flexible Spending Accounts, STD/LTD Plans, and Voluntary Plans

• Learning & Development / Talent Management

  • Develop training modules for all personnel to improve employees’ skill set and promote professional development

  • In partnership with the Senior Leadership, integrate talent management solutions that includes coaching, individual development planning, talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership development

• HR Strategy & Analytics

  • Collect and utilize data and analytics to measure People & Culture team effectiveness and inform strategic decisions

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated expertise building consensus on a cross-functional basis

• Able to independently juggle multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously

• Sound knowledge of local, state and federal employment law and regulation and its pragmatic application including FMLA in multiple states, ADA, COBRA and Workers’ Compensation

• Familiarity and understanding of leaves of absence, short- and long-term disability

• Excellent consultative, coaching, counseling and conflict resolution skills; ability to influence and articulate a variety of issues to different audiences, tailoring messages accordingly

• Proven track record of successfully navigating and leading complex employee relations matters, including conducting investigations, documentation and bringing to resolution

• Experience in creating and updating HR policies

• Knowledge of HRIS and ability to learn new technical systems, when necessary

• Commitment to the highest standards of excellence and personal integrity

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of progressive strategic human resource experience that includes HR strategy, employee relations/conflict resolution, performance management, benefits, learning and development, talent acquisition and HR compliance

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Qualifications

• HR certification such as PHR, SPHR, SHRM-SCP or SHRM-CP

• Bachelor's or master's degree in human resources or related field

• Prior experience working with our tools; Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office Suite, Culture Amp

• Bilingual in Spanish with strong written and verbal communication

Location Requirements

• This role is a majority onsite role at our Detroit location with some flexibility to work remotely

• Must be willing to travel to our other locations, including our Grand Rapids location as well as other off-site locations for hearings and/or other meetings as needed. Travel to Grand Rapids is typically day travel; overnights are generally not required

Our Community

Our critical mission demands that we have all voices at the table. A team of diverse people, perspectives, and experiences is smarter, stronger, and more effective for our young people. At Covenant House, every team member is valued, respected, heard, and supported, and we welcome honest and courageous self-reflection on any aspects of our work that are based on biased or outdated viewpoints. We deliberately create opportunities for our staff to grow and thrive.

Covenant House is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind: CH is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at CHI are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, family or parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. CH will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics and encourages all qualified applicants to apply.

If you have a disability or medical condition and need a reasonable accommodation, such as an ASL interpreter or a different interview format, or if you have physical accessibility needs, let us know. Contact us at 1-929-502-2521, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Time or email us at chipeopleandculture@covenanthouse.org.