Human Resources Manager

This position will be based in our Director's Office, located in Columbia, Missouri.

About the Role

The Missouri State Public Defender System (MSPD) is seeking to hire a Human Resources Manager. This position provides leadership and oversight of the agency’s human resource functions. With more than 720 employees in 52 offices across the State of Missouri and an annual payroll budget over $50 million, MSPD is a complex and mission-driven agency dedicated to providing quality legal representation to poor individuals charged with criminal offenses.

The Human Resources Manager oversees the comprehensive administration of the agency’s human resources functions, including recruitment, benefits administration, classification and compensation, performance management, employee relations, policy development, and HR compliance. The role ensures consistent and legally compliant HR practices across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the daily operations and performance of four HR staff members, fostering a productive and collaborative HR environment.
• Oversee the application processing workflow to ensure submissions are accurately entered and correctly assigned to appropriate job openings.
• Address supervisor questions or concerns related to the interview process and provide guidance on recruitment procedures and candidate considerations.
• Assist in addressing benefit-related inquiries and issues, including medical leaves of absence such as FMLA and shareleave.
• Manage ADA accommodation requests and ensure compliance with FMLA, ADA, USERRA, and related laws.
• Review and approve semi-monthly payroll entries, assist with payroll administration issues, deductions, and compliance.
• Maintain the classification structure through audits, job description updates, and pay structure revisions, ensuring compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws.
• Maintain consistent employee evaluation systems and support managers in addressing performance issues, disciplinary actions, and creation of employee improvement plans.
• Address employee complaints in coordination with leadership and legal counsel, conduct workplace investigations as needed, and support responses to discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC, DOL, or MCHR.
• Maintain and update HR policies and procedures, review and revise the Employee Handbook, and ensure compliance with federal and state HR regulations.
• Interpret policies to ensure consistency across the agency.
• Attend management-level meetings as needed.
• Serve as HCM Lead in the State of Missouri conversion from SAM II to MOVERS for all HR-related areas.

Requirements

• Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible, relevant HR experience.
• Supervisory experience in an HR setting is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in state government human resources operations is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with statewide HR systems, including SAM II and MOVERS, is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state HR regulations, including FMLA, ADA, USERRA, and wage and hour law.
• Familiarity with all HR functional areas, including recruitment, benefits administration, payroll review, performance management, and employee relations.
• Ability to conduct investigations and collaborate with legal and executive leadership.

Lack of post-secondary education will not be used as the sole basis for denying consideration to any applicant.

Benefits

The State of Missouri offers an excellent benefits package that includes:

• A defined pension plan.
• Generous amounts of leave and holiday time.
• Eligibility for health insurance coverage.

Your total compensation is more than the dollars you receive in your paycheck. To help demonstrate the value of working for the State of Missouri, we have created an interactive Total Compensation Calculator.

Human.Resources@mspd.mo.gov