Human Resources Generalist in Airway Heights, Washington at Zak Designs

The Human Resources (HR) Generalist at Zak Designs executes day-to-day HR operations across the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, benefits, HRIS and records management, compliance, employee engagement, career development, and workplace health and safety. Serving employees, managers, and HR leadership, this role ensures timely, accurate, and confidential HR support; coordinates company events and engagement activities; and improves process consistency, compliance, and efficiency. The ideal candidate is organized, detail-oriented, service-focused, and able to manage multiple priorities independently with sound judgment.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. The following is an overview of the main duties for this position and is not exhaustive of all tasks that may be performed in this role.

HR Operations, Systems, and Recordkeeping

• Maintain accurate HRIS data and personnel records; maintain standardized HR forms, templates, checklists, procedures, and access controls.
• Prepare reports and tracking tools for headcount, turnover, recruitment, onboarding, benefits, and other HR metrics.
• Respond to employee and manager questions and identify opportunities to improve workflows, data integrity, and administrative efficiency.

Benefits Administration

• Maintain benefits records and submit enrollment changes within required timelines.
• Reconcile enrollment data across HRIS, payroll, provider records, and invoices; resolve discrepancies.
• Support benefits reporting, audits, eligibility tracking, and required notices while protecting confidential information.

Recruitment and Onboarding Coordination

• Coordinate job postings, applicant tracking, interviews, candidate communications, and hire documentation in partnership with hiring managers and HR leadership.
• Track candidate progress and coordinate offers, pre-employment screenings, and other hiring requirements.
• Manage onboarding activities, including employment forms, policy acknowledgments, system access, and orientation.
• Coordinate offboarding documentation, exit interviews, status updates, and related administrative tasks.

HR Compliance and Documentation

• Maintain organized, confidential, and audit-ready HR documentation in accordance with company policies and applicable requirements.
• Track deadlines, policy acknowledgments, training records, employment eligibility documentation, and other compliance activities.
• Support documentation for leaves, accommodations, status changes, and other employment matters, escalating complex issues to HR leadership.
• Monitor relevant employment requirements and communicate potential impacts to HR leadership.

Employee Support and Engagement

• Serve as a reliable point of contact for employee questions about HR policies, benefits, procedures, and workplace programs.
• Coordinate engagement, recognition, retention, culture, feedback, and related employee communications.
• Support employee training and career development initiatives by coordinating learning activities, maintaining training resources and records, communicating development opportunities, and assisting employees and managers with related programs.
• Support routine employee relations documentation and follow-up, escalating sensitive or complex concerns.

Health, Safety, and Workplace Administration

• Coordinate workplace health and safety administration, including training schedules, communications, attendance, inspections, incident documentation, and follow-up.
• Maintain safety records and support injury reporting, workers' compensation documentation, and return-to-work coordination.
• Partner with management and designated safety personnel and escalate concerns, reporting gaps, or potential compliance issues.

Company Events and HR Program Coordination

• Coordinate company events, employee appreciation, team building, milestone celebrations, and other internal programs.
• Maintain an annual HR calendar for events, engagement initiatives, open enrollment, training, and recurring deadlines.
• Coordinate communications and administrative support for HR programs and employee initiatives.

Process Consistency and Continuous Improvement

• Follow established procedures and service standards to deliver timely, accurate, and consistent HR support.
• Support HR system and process improvements, including the implementation and responsible use of new tools, automation, and approved AI-enabled technologies to improve efficiency, accuracy, and employee service while protecting confidential information and following company policies.
• Collaborate with payroll, finance/accounting, IT, operations, and managers to maintain accurate data and complete cross-functional processes.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant experience may be considered. HR certification a plus.
• Five years of progressive HR generalist or operations experience, including HRIS and personnel records management, benefits administration, recruitment, onboarding, and employment documentation.
• Working knowledge of HR policies, employment practices, recordkeeping, and applicable compliance requirements.
• Experience coordinating workplace safety documentation, training records, and incident reporting a plus.
• Proficiency with HRIS and applicant tracking systems, spreadsheets, and Microsoft Office or comparable productivity tools. Paylocity preferred.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, with demonstrated discretion and professionalism when handling confidential information.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, talk, and hear. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and on some occasions lift to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: This role operates in a collaborative business environment and works closely with employees, managers, HR leadership, and external service providers. The position requires regular use of HR systems and administrative tools, careful handling of confidential information, and the ability to manage recurring deadlines while responding to changing business needs. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate, and employees work in an office setting with some interaction with machines such as copiers, printers, and/or other design-related machines.

This position offers a hybrid-remote work schedule, with an initial requirement of being on-site full-time, allowing for a transition to part-time remote after training has been completed successfully, typically up to 3 months after hire. The ability to work independently with minimal oversight by HR Leadership is a must.

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status.