Human Resources Manager in Syracuse, New York at ZOOCEANARIUM GROUP LLC

Position Type & Salary

• Full Time Salaried
• Salary range $72k-$82k/year

Position Summary
This position is responsible for the day-to-day human resources operations of the Aquarium. Primary responsibilities include recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, payroll processing, benefits administration, compliance support, employee records, and maintaining a positive team approach across all departments.
The HR Manager will play a key role in supporting the Aquarium through preopening hiring, training, policy development, and the transition into full public operations. This position requires a high level of confidentiality, organization, professionalism, and the ability to support both employees and leadership in a fast-paced public attraction environment.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesPre-Opening / Commissioning Phase

• Assist with the development and implementation of human resources policies, procedures, forms, training programs, and employee documentation.
• Support the hiring and onboarding process for all preopening positions, including job postings, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, offer letters, background checks, and new hire paperwork.
• Coordinate employee onboarding and orientation prior to opening, including required trainings, policy acknowledgments, payroll setup, benefits enrollment, and employee file creation.
• Assist department leaders with recruitment planning, staffing timelines, and position tracking to ensure departments are appropriately staffed for opening.
• Coordinate with payroll, benefits, insurance, and HR service providers to establish effective systems prior to opening.
• Maintain accurate employee records, personnel files, training documentation, and compliance-related documentation.
• Assist in the development of employee handbook materials, workplace expectations, attendance policies, disciplinary processes, and other HR-related documents.
• Support the setup and administration of payroll, timekeeping, benefits, workers’ compensation, disability, paid family leave, and other employee-related programs.
• Help establish processes for employee communication, recognition, uniform coordination, and other team member support functions.

Operational Phase

• Manage day-to-day human resources functions to ensure the highest level of professionalism, responsiveness, confidentiality, and operational readiness.
• Serve as a resource to employees and department leaders regarding workplace policies, employee relations, attendance, performance documentation, coaching, corrective action, and general HR matters.
• Coordinate and process payroll-related information, including timekeeping review, employee changes, deductions, benefit elections, and other payroll inputs.
• Administer employee benefits, leave programs, workers’ compensation claims, disability, paid family leave, and related employee documentation.
• Maintain compliance with applicable local, state, and federal employment laws, regulations, reporting requirements, and company policies.
• Maintain accurate and confidential personnel records, employee files, training records, payroll records, and HR documentation.
• Serve as the central administrative point of contact for employee incident reporting, workers’ compensation coordination, return-to-work documentation, and related employee injury records.
• Maintain employee safety documentation, incident files, OSHA-related records, and required workplace postings in coordination with department leaders and applicable service providers.
• Coordinate with insurance carriers, payroll providers, medical providers, and leadership regarding workers’ compensation claims, disability leave, modified duty, and return-to-work processes.
• Support recruitment efforts for ongoing hiring needs, including job postings, applicant screening, interview coordination, offer letters, pre-employment requirements, and onboarding.
• Partner with department leaders to support performance management, employee development, documentation, and consistent application of policies
• Support the development of a positive workplace culture during startup and Year 1 operations through consistent communication, employee engagement initiatives, recognition programs, and team member feedback opportunities.
• Partner with department leaders to promote employee retention, morale, accountability, and consistent application of workplace expectations across all departments.
• Assist leadership in identifying employee communication needs, team engagement opportunities, and culture-building practices that support a collaborative and professional work environment.
• Assist in investigations, employee complaints, workplace concerns, and corrective action processes in coordination with leadership.
• Coordinate and/or lead required employee training, including safety, harassment prevention, emergency procedures, guest service standards, and other facility-specific training needs.
• Support employee engagement, recognition, communication, and retention initiatives.
• Monitor employee attendance, timekeeping trends, turnover, staffing needs, and other HR-related metrics.
• Coordinate offboarding, exit interviews, final pay information, return of company property, and employee file updates.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure payroll, benefit deductions, workers’ compensation, and employee-related expenses are properly supported and communicated.
• Maintain positive working relationships with outside vendors, payroll providers, benefits providers, insurance carriers, and other HR-related partners.
• Provide leadership with periodic updates and reports related to staffing, recruitment, payroll, benefits, turnover, employee relations, and compliance matters.
• Motivate and support team members through role modeling, professionalism, timely communication, respect, and a positive approach to problem solving.
• Other duties as assigned

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

• Five or more years of experience in human resources, payroll, benefits administration, or a closely related field required.
• Experience in hospitality, attractions, museums, zoos, aquariums, retail, food service, or another high-volume public-facing environment preferred.
• Experience supporting recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, payroll coordination, and benefits administration required.
• Working knowledge of employment practices, employee documentation, confidentiality requirements, payroll processes, benefits, workers’ compensation, disability, paid leave, and general HR compliance.
• Working knowledge of New York State employment requirements and policy compliance, including wage and hour practices, paid sick leave, disability benefits, paid family leave, workers’ compensation, required notices, and employee recordkeeping.
• Experience working with payroll, HRIS, timekeeping, or applicant tracking systems required.
• Competency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Must have strong teamwork, interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills conducive to a positive work environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong listening, discretion, judgment, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with professionalism.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing operational needs.
• Creative problem-solver who thrives when presented with a challenge.
• Energetic and eager to tackle new projects and ideas

Abilities
The individual must possess the following abilities to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some or a combination of the abilities.

• Ability to stand for long periods of time.
• Ability to read, listen and communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to access and accurately input information using a moderately complex computer system.
• Hearing and visual ability to observe and detect signs of emergency situations.
• Requires the ability to perform the physical, visual and hearing requirements in the working conditions below.
• Must be available for evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Other

• Upon employment all team members are required to comply with the standards, rules and regulations, which may be established by the Company and updated from time-to-time. Team members who violate property rules or have irregular attendance will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
• The leisure business functions seven days a week. Due to the seasonal nature of the industry, team members may be required to work varying schedules, weekends, holidays and overtime to reflect the business needs of the property. Team members may also be required to attend group and/or department meetings in addition to the work shift as necessary.
• This job description is not an exclusive or exhaustive list of all job functions that a team member in this position may be asked to perform.