Senior Human Resources Generalist Service Human Resources

Powell has always known that our employees are at the heart of our success. As a manufacturer, we recruit and hire experienced and knowledgeable applicants to ensure our product is engineered, fabricated, and assembled to customer specifications. Our culture is founded in our "can do" attitude—if we can imagine it, we can do it. We offer opportunity for advancement and promotion while maintaining work-life balance.

About the role

This is a dedicated project and labor compliance role focused on prevailing wage and related project compliance requirements. The position establishes centralized ownership of compliance obligations and ensures proactive management throughout the project lifecycle—from contract award and mobilization through payroll administration, ongoing monitoring, audit, and project closeout. The role requires close collaboration with HR, Payroll, Finance, Contracts, Legal, Procurement, Project Management, Field Operations, and project leadership.

Responsibilities

• Prevailing Wage Administration
  • Serve as the primary administrator and subject-matter expert for prevailing wage compliance across federal, state, commercial, and other applicable projects.
  • Review contracts, solicitations, wage determinations, project specifications, and contractual documents to identify applicable wage and labor requirements.
  • Determine appropriate wage determinations, labor classifications, fringe benefit requirements, and other compensation obligations.
  • Establish and maintain project-specific prevailing wage requirements within HR, payroll, and compliance systems.
  • Monitor changes to wage determinations and regulatory requirements.
  • Partner with Payroll and HR to ensure employees are paid correctly based on project assignment, classification, hours worked, and applicable prevailing wage requirements.
  • Review certified payroll and related payroll records for accuracy and compliance.
  • Identify and coordinate correction of underpayments, classification issues, missing fringe benefits, incorrect deductions, and other deficiencies.
  • Maintain documentation supporting prevailing wage determinations and compliance decisions.
  • Support internal and external audits and government or customer inquiries.
• Federal Contractor Compliance
  • Administer compliance requirements associated with federal projects, including DBA, SCA, FAR provisions, wage determinations, and apprenticeship requirements.
  • Work with Contracts and Legal to identify labor-related compliance obligations during contract review and project mobilization.
  • Maintain a centralized repository of federal project wage determinations, classifications, and requirements.
  • Monitor regulatory developments affecting prevailing wage administration.
  • Support responses to Department of Labor, contracting agency, customer, or governmental inquiries.
• Apprenticeship Compliance
  • Manage apprenticeship compliance requirements associated with federal, state, and other applicable projects.
  • Verify that apprentices are properly registered in qualifying apprenticeship programs where required.
  • Maintain records of apprenticeship registrations, classifications, wage progression, hours, ratios, and program requirements.
  • Monitor apprentice-to-journeyworker ratios and project-specific apprenticeship requirements.
  • Coordinate with HR, Payroll, Operations, and apprenticeship programs to ensure apprentices are appropriately classified and compensated.
  • Monitor applicable state and local apprenticeship requirements.
• OCIP / OSIP Compliance
  • Coordinate the Company's administrative responsibilities associated with Owner-Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIP), Owner-Supplied Insurance Programs (OSIP), and similar project-specific insurance arrangements.
  • Review project requirements and ensure applicable employees, subcontractors, and project activities are appropriately addressed.
  • Coordinate with Risk Management, Project Management, Procurement, HR, and insurance representatives regarding enrollment, reporting, claims, payroll exposure, and related requirements.
  • Maintain project records supporting insurance program compliance.
  • Assist with project audits, insurance reporting, payroll reconciliation, and closeout activities.
  • Identify and escalate potential gaps between project insurance requirements and actual project activity.
• Project Compliance Management
  • Establish compliance requirements during project mobilization.
  • Develop and maintain project-specific compliance checklists and tracking mechanisms.
  • Conduct periodic reviews of active projects to identify compliance risks.
  • Partner with Project Managers, Superintendents, Field Supervisors, HR, Payroll, and Finance to resolve issues.
  • Track corrective actions through completion.
  • Support project closeout, including final payroll reviews and compliance documentation.
• Auditing and Reporting
  • Conduct periodic internal compliance audits.
  • Review projects, employees, payroll records, classifications, wage determinations, apprenticeships, and supporting documentation.
  • Develop compliance reports and dashboards identifying project status, open issues, corrective actions, and emerging risks.
  • Establish controls to identify compliance issues proactively.
  • Analyze recurring issues and recommend process improvements.
  • Maintain audit-ready documentation.
• Training and Stakeholder Support
  • Provide guidance and training to HR, Payroll, Project Management, Operations, Procurement, Contracts, and other stakeholders.
  • Develop practical guidance, procedures, tools, and training materials.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for routine prevailing wage, apprenticeship, OCIP/OSIP, and project compliance questions.
  • Promote consistent application of compliance requirements across the organization.
• Compliance Governance and Continuous Improvement
  • Develop and continuously improve prevailing wage and project compliance processes.
  • Identify opportunities to automate compliance monitoring, reporting, and data validation.
  • Maintain compliance procedures, templates, checklists, and reference materials.
  • Stay current on applicable federal and state regulatory developments.
  • Escalate significant compliance risks to HR leadership, Legal, Contracts, or other appropriate stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Accounting, Finance, Construction Management, Compliance, or related discipline preferred, or 3–5+ years of experience in prevailing wage, government contracting, payroll compliance, construction/project compliance, labor compliance, or a related field.
• Practical knowledge of the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wage administration.
• Working knowledge of federal contracting requirements and applicable FAR provisions.
• Experience interpreting wage determinations and labor classifications.
• Understanding of apprenticeship requirements.
• Experience reviewing payroll and/or certified payroll records.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to interpret contractual and regulatory requirements and translate them into practical processes.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting a federal government contractor.
• Experience with the Service Contract Act.
• Experience with LCPtracker or similar labor compliance/certified payroll systems.
• Experience with OCIP, OSIP, or other controlled insurance programs.
• Experience with state prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.
• Experience in construction, engineering, manufacturing, field service, or industrial projects.
• Experience with HRIS, payroll, project management, or compliance systems.
• Relevant professional certification.

Skills

• Prevailing Wage Expertise
• Regulatory and Contract Interpretation
• Compliance Risk Management
• Data and Payroll Analysis
• Audit Readiness
• Attention to Detail
• Problem Solving
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Project Management
• Communication and Influencing
• Confidentiality and Professional Judgment
• Continuous Improvement

Key Performance Indicators

• Accuracy of prevailing wage determinations and employee classifications.
• Timely implementation of new or revised wage determinations.
• Reduction in payroll and prevailing wage compliance errors.
• Timely identification and resolution of compliance issues.
• Accuracy and completeness of certified payroll and supporting documentation.
• Apprenticeship compliance and documentation.
• OCIP/OSIP compliance and timely project administration.
• Audit results and resolution of audit findings.
• Completeness of compliance documentation across active projects.
• Timeliness of project mobilization and closeout compliance.
• Effectiveness of compliance reporting and risk identification.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance for you and your family.
• 401k savings plan.
• Annual bonus potential.
• Generous paid time off.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Company-sponsored wellness programs.
• Collaborative work environment.

Reports to: Global Human Resources Director / Federal Program Leader.