At cleverbridge, we believe in people. When our founders established the company back in 2005, they envisioned a different kind of company, where relationships truly mattered and a culture that encouraged developing talent from within rather than hiring outside “experts” to tell us what to do. Nearly 15 years later, we continue our proud tradition of developing people from within and empowering people to reach their full potential. As part of a global team of dedicated and fun HR professionals, the Manager of Human Resources must demonstrate strong commitment to this mission. This role leads all aspects of HR for the US business and is part of a global team of dedicated and fun HR professionals. This role has one direct report – an HR generalist – who will be a close partner with you in managing HR for 110+ employees in the US.

In this role, a typical day might start with meetings with colleagues in Germany followed by a bi-weekly check-in with a local manager on an employee relations issue. In the afternoon, you might spend an hour or two working on one of cleverbridge’s Empowering Leadership initiatives. And at the end of the day, you might issue an offer letter to an external candidate. Each day will be different, but you get to set the pace and structure of your work, while ensuring alignment with our global HR priorities and business strategy. 

Here are the core responsibilities of the role:

• Provide expert business partnering support to assigned local and global functional leaders, including guidance on employee relations; advice on annual headcount planning; recommendations related to employee morale/engagement; and many other related duties
• Partner with HR generalist to manage all talent acquisition for US business – approximately 15-20 hires per year – including direct sourcing, agency relationship management, and job fairs / recruiting events
• As part of global HR team, develop and execute project plans for key strategic HR initiatives, such as leadership development, training/employee development, compensation, culture & values, and other topics as defined by cleverbridge Leadership Team
• Provide excellent counsel and guidance on US employment practices to managers based in Germany (or other global locations) that have direct reports in the US business
• Manage all aspects of benefits administration, including open enrollment, benefits education, and broker relationship management
• Partners with General Counsel and outside counsel to ensure all people-related processes, procedures, and policies comply with local, state, and federal guidelines
• Manage one direct report, providing on-going feedback and supporting their professional development
• Conduct confidential investigations, as needed, based on reports of Code of Conduct violations and other related matters; ensure proper reporting and documentation
• Maintains HR information in HR systems and partner with Finance related to budget planning, compensation changes, and other financial matters
• Ensures compliance with annual federal reporting requirements, such as EEO-1 and others

The successful candidate for this role will be resilient and flexible, able to balance a diverse set of priorities without getting frazzled. You must be an influencer capable of collaborating with employees at all levels. You must have a strong knowledge of core generalist topics such as benefits administration, talent acquisition, employee relations, and compliance. As a strategist and internal consultant, you should be passionate about projects on diverse topics from leadership development to compensation to organizational structure. You will also work closely across all our People Operations functions – HR, IT, Office Operations, and Employee Experience – to implement initiatives designed to ensure that every cleverbridge employee is able to be productive, engaged, and successful. 

You should also meet the following qualifications:

• BA/BS degree or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in human resources; 2+ years managerial experience
• Technology company experience a plus; global experience highly desired
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, including ability to skillfully navigate and interact with all levels of staff and diverse styles
• Strong ability to influence and challenge leaders and managers across the company with respect to matters of culture, values, employee development, and accountability
• Highly curious and willingness to learn from mistakes and give/receive – sometimes challenging - feedback while role modeling respect and integrity
• Organized self-starter that can effectively balance competing priorities and manage expectations of internal stakeholders
• Inclusive leader who thrives in a collaborative, cross-team, cross-cultural environment
• Ability and willingness to travel to our company headquarters in Cologne, Germany, typically two times per year