Director of Human Resources

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Classification: Exempt, Full-Time, In-Person

Effective: November 2026

About GHS Federal Credit Union

GHS Federal Credit Union is a not for profit, member owned cooperative committed to financial wellbeing for all. We exist to make banking feel human again by providing practical, accessible financial solutions that support stability today and opportunity for tomorrow. Guided by our core values of Integrity, Accountability, Innovation, Member Service, and Inclusion, we serve our members and communities with transparency, empathy, and purpose.

 Overview:

The Director of Human Resources is a builder. This role reports to the President and CEO and owns the people function at GHS, from identifying a staffing need through recruiting, onboarding, performance management, employee relations, compensation, benefits, payroll, and separation. GHS does not have an established HR function today, and this person will create one by setting the standards, writing the procedures, selecting and configuring the tools, and becoming the trusted resource that leaders, managers, and employees turn to for guidance.

This is not an administrative role. The Director sets the direction for how GHS hires, develops, supports, and retains its people, gives managers clear and credible guidance, and takes responsibility for moving people initiatives and employee matters forward. As GHS grows across its expanded charter, this role makes sure our people practices grow with it.

We are looking for someone who has built or rebuilt an HR function before, is comfortable doing the hands on work while thinking strategically and sees things through to completion without needing to be prompted. The right person takes ownership, earns trust quickly, and leaves things better than they found them.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Leadership and Strategy

• Serve as the credit union’s subject matter expert and decision owner for people practices, with clearly defined accountability across the full employee lifecycle.
• Partner with the CEO and leadership team on workforce planning, organizational structure, and a people strategy that supports the credit union’s strategic plan.
• Develop, recommend, and maintain HR policies that are clear, consistently applied, and compliant with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Provide timely and credible guidance to leaders and managers so employee matters are handled with confidence and consistency, and advise leadership on employee relations risk, including when outside counsel should be involved.
• Establish service expectations for HR responsiveness, follow through, documentation, and communication, and hold the function accountable to them.
• Gather and act on employee feedback through surveys and other channels, and partner with leadership on initiatives that support engagement, retention, internal communication, and the credit union’s culture.
• Coordinate with Compliance, Accounting, IT, Marketing, and Operations on matters that cross departmental lines while keeping HR the owner of people processes.

Talent and Employee Relations

• Lead recruiting from the identification of a workforce need through sourcing, interviewing, selection, and offer, using consistent processes and clear communication with hiring managers and candidates.
• Manage pre-employment screening, including background checks, credit checks, and drug screening, in compliance with applicable regulations.
• Build and run a consistent onboarding program so every new employee has a clear and well organized first day, first week, and first ninety days.
• Own the performance management program, including review cycles, goal setting, and the tools and training managers need to give regular feedback.
• Maintain a clear corrective action and performance improvement framework and guide managers through each step with appropriate documentation.
• Investigate employee concerns and complaints promptly and objectively, recommend resolutions, and document outcomes.
• Administer leaves of absence and workplace accommodations in compliance with FMLA, ADA, New York Paid Family Leave, and related requirements.
• Manage separations, including exit processes, final pay, benefits continuation, and documentation.

Compensation, Benefits, and Payroll

• Process payroll accurately and on time in Paylocity, including year-end review and finalization.
• Develop and maintain a compensation structure based on market research and pay surveys, and present recommendations to the leadership team and the Board of Directors for review and approval.
• Administer employee benefit programs, including enrollment, changes, terminations, COBRA, and premium reconciliation with accounting.
• Evaluate benefit and retirement plan offerings regularly to ensure they remain competitive and deliver value to employees and the credit union.

HR Operations and Systems

• Create and maintain written standard operating procedures for core HR processes that identify ownership, required documentation, approval checkpoints, and record retention.
• Develop and maintain an HR owned library of approved templates for recruiting, onboarding, employee changes, leave, performance, corrective action, employee relations, and separations.
• Maintain a centralized and secure HR record structure that separates employee records from policies and working documents, with defined access permissions and version control.
• Serve as the system owner for the HRIS, managing configuration, data integrity, reporting, and employee and manager self-service.
• Evaluate HR systems and vendors against the credit union’s needs, and recommend whether each should be better configured, consolidated, or replaced.
• Manage relationships with HR, benefits, retirement plan, screening, and other people related vendors, and hold them accountable for service and cost.
• Produce HR reports and metrics, including turnover, hiring, and compensation data, for leadership and the Board.
• Ensure required training, including regulatory and compliance training, is assigned, tracked, and completed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Key Competencies:

Builder Mindset

• Takes HR from informal practice to a working, documented function. Prefers building and improving over maintaining the status quo, and measures success by what gets put in place and used.

Drive and Ownership

• Takes ownership of people matters from start to finish. 

HR Expertise and Judgment

• Brings deep knowledge of employment law and HR practice, applies it with practical judgment, and gives managers clear answers they can act on.

Process Discipline

• Builds consistent, documented processes so similar situations are handled the same way and designs them to scale as GHS grows.

Trust and Integrity

• Handles confidential employee and member information with discretion, treats people fairly and consistently, and holds a high standard for compliance.

Leadership and Influence

• Earns the confidence of leaders, managers, and employees, coaches managers through difficult conversations, and leads change by bringing people along with it.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field required; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Five or more years of progressive HR experience with responsibility across the full employee lifecycle, including experience as the lead or sole HR professional for an organization.

Track record of building HR policies, processes, and procedures where few existed.

Payroll processing experience required; experience with Paylocity preferred.

Working knowledge of employment law and regulations, including FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, and New York State requirements.

SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification preferred.

Experience in financial services or credit unions strongly preferred.

Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and HRIS platforms.

Physical Demands:

Regularly required to sit or stand, use hands to handle or feel, reach with arms, and communicate clearly.

Occasionally required to stoop, kneel, or lift/move objects up to 20 pounds.

Specific vision abilities include close vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

Contribute to a positive work environment aligned with GHS's core values of Integrity, Accountability, Innovation, Member Service, and Inclusion. Demonstrate professionalism and respect while maintaining a strong focus on service to members and teammates. This is a full time, in person role. Occasional after hours work is required for meetings, trainings, events, and time-sensitive employee matters.

This job description is intended to be a guide and may not be all encompassing or may amend/modify as business needs change.

GHS is an equal opportunity employer. At GHS, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. GHS believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

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