Director, HR Operations & Compliance

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process of law were stifled by widespread state-sponsored racial inequality. From that era to the present, LDF’s mission has been transformative — to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

LDF’s litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education programs in the substantive areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education, and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system. LDF continues to make an impact in the area of public service and was recognized by Fast Company as one of its 2023 Brands That Matter under its public service category.

The Director, HR Operations & Compliance, is responsible for institutionalizing and implementing Human Resources processes and protocols, ensuring a fully compliant HR function and a people-focused staff experience that reflects the full scope of staff roles and teams. The Director, HR Operations & Compliance brings a focus on systems, best practices, and effective and efficient operations to effectuate these needs. This role partners with the Head of People & Culture and other HR staff to set and implement an actionable plan to achieve and maintain the objectives of this role.

The Director, HR Operations and Compliance, reports to the Head of People & Culture.

LDF operates in a hybrid work environment where employees are expected to be in the office a minimum of two days per week, unless otherwise indicated.

Responsibilities:

Implement strong HR operations:

• Manage critical functions across the entire employee lifecycle, including but not limited to onboarding and offboarding, employee classifications, workers compensation issues, promotions, employee leaves, accommodation requests, total rewards, and similar issues.

• Develop and provide service-oriented HR operations to support the entire employee lifecycle.

• Identify opportunities to modernize HR operations, including through technology, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.

• Draft and continuously update HR standard operating procedures.

• Work with the HRIS Administrator to ensure optimized use of the Human Resources Information System (HRIS, currently UKG).

• Partner with Finance to continuously improve implementation of payroll.

• Ensure union requirements are consistently taken into account when developing operations, policies, and procedures.

• Work with the other staff on the team to ensure compliant handling of employee relations matters and to support professional development, health and wellness, and other employee learning and growth initiatives.

• Counsel and advise managers and staff on HR issues as they arise; address and resolve day-to-day employee inquiries on HR processes.

• Oversee responses to queries to the HR inbox, ensuring responses meet SLAs.

• Actively build trust in the HR function through people-focused HR operations.

Maintain compliance in HR issues:

• Ensure strict adherence to federal, state, and local labor and employment laws.

• Oversee the collection, accuracy, storage, and retention of employee documentation, including I-9s, background checks (as applicable), time-keeping, job history, personnel files, and other records.

• Ensure continued compliance and consistent application of compliance practices across all HR functions, including but not limited to maintaining ongoing compliance with employment laws, regulations, and internal policies; ensuring HRIS data integrity; partnering with Payroll (housed in Finance) to deliver an accurate, on-time payroll; and overseeing accurate employee classifications.

• Lead HR compliance audits, working with the Risk & Compliance team.

• Partner with the Risk & Compliance team on compliance initiatives, updates, and trainings.

• With the Head of People & Culture and the General Counsel’s Office, maintain and update employee handbooks, policies, and procedures to align with legal and regulatory requirements and internal practices; ensure organizational policies are consistently implemented and communicated across the organization.
• Support the Head of People & Culture and the General Counsel’s Office when appropriate in addressing employee concerns and grievances and conducting investigations.
• With the General Counsel’s Office and the Risk & Compliance function, ensure employee data is handled securely and in compliance with data protection laws.

Manage an effective team:

• Manage direct reports to deliver on their responsibilities in a timely, effective, and employee-focused manner

• Execute exceptional management practices to drive accountability and goal attainment.

• Set and monitor goals for all team members and KPIs for the function; report on progress to goals, KPIs, and other critical metrics.

• Ensure direct reports meet service standards and deliver responsive, high-quality internal client service.

Be part of a best-in-class team:

• Maintain a service-oriented approach to meet staff needs.
• Contribute to the collective success of the team by continuously improving processes and supporting colleagues as requested.
• Set and meet goals and KPIs aligned to LDF’s organizational objectives and team goals.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required; degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field preferred
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in human resources or related functions
• Background working in human resources at a law firm, legal or professional services organization, and/or a non-profit strongly preferred
• Professional in Human Resources (PHR), SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), or SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) strongly preferred
• Commitment to the racial justice mission of LDF
• Experience implementing high-performing, compliant HR operations throughout the full employee lifecycle that are aligned with HR best practices and use a data-driven approach to continuous improvement
• Deep knowledge of employment law and compliance requirements in LDF’s jurisdictions;
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Proficient in general office technologies
• Experience with HRIS and other HR technology systems
• Experience operating in complex, matrixed environments, particularly in legal or advocacy settings, with the ability to support indirect management structures and cross functional teams
• Based in New York, NY or Washington, DC or willing to relocate there required
• Willing and able to travel on occasion for work, including to LDF offices in New York, NY, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta

The salary range for this position is:

New York: $129,600 - $178,200

Washington, D.C.: $124,000 - $170,500

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements, or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. This description does not constitute a contract of employment, and LDF may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

LDF offers all eligible employees a generous benefits package. To learn more, click the following link: 2026 Benefits Overview.

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