Director of Human Resources

The Director of Human Resources leads people operations for HAVERHILL and builds the programs that help our factory and team scale with the business: attendance and leave, skills and cross-training, supervisor development, benefits, and employee relations.

About HAVERHILL

HAVERHILL makes personalized solid 14k gold jewelry to order in our own factory in Warren, Rhode Island, and sells direct to customers across the country. We are about forty-five people in one building, roughly 75% manufacturing and 25% admin, marketing and eCommerce, with a seasonal workforce that grows each holiday. We are profitable and growing.

About the role

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Director of Human Resources leads people operations for HAVERHILL. We are adding this role to build on our foundation and scale our people programs with the business. This is a hands-on leadership role: you will design the programs, run them on the floor, and work closely with our VP Production and production supervisors.

First 90 days

• Update and roll out our attendance and leave policies, in English and Spanish, with signed acknowledgments and consistent records in Gusto.
• Extend our production skills matrices to every station and put a backup plan in place for every critical role, reviewed weekly with the VP Production.
• Launch a cross-training program with clear sign-offs and weekly coverage reporting.
• Partner with our staffing agency and the VP Production on the seasonal staffing plan ahead of peak.

What you will own

Workforce planning and skills development

• Own the skills matrix, backup coverage and cross-training programs across production, partnering with the VP Production and supervisors, who own the technical content and sign-offs.
• Bring structure and regularity to performance reviews and skills certifications: consistent timing, consistent instruments, and documentation good enough to rely on.
• Produce headcount, turnover, absence and coverage reporting for leadership on a set cadence.

Supervisor development

• Equip our production leads to set expectations, give feedback, and handle attendance and performance conversations consistently and with confidence.
• Coach supervisors through progressive discipline so steps are taken in order and documented well.

Employee relations

• Be the first point of contact for employee concerns across the office and the floor. Investigate, document, recommend, and know when to involve outside counsel.
• Conduct stay and exit conversations and route what they surface to the people who can act on it.

Benefits, leave and claims

• Own benefits administration end to end, including open enrollment delivered in person, shift by shift, in both languages, and the day-to-day broker relationship and annual renewal.
• Administer leave and accommodation across Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York, including paid sick and safe leave, RI TDI and TCI, and the interactive process.
• Own unemployment claims and coordinate workers' compensation with Finance.

Hiring, onboarding and seasonal staffing

• Run a consistent, compliant hiring process around our hiring managers, plus onboarding and offboarding.
• Own the temporary staffing agency relationship and hold the agency to the plan: fill rate, time to fill and early attrition.

Compliance, systems and safety

• Own employment compliance, required notices and postings in both languages, job descriptions and FLSA classifications, and a functional employee handbook.
• Serve as HR administrator of Gusto, our payroll and HRIS platform, as the system of record for employee data, time off and attendance.
• Partner with our operations team on the safety program, OSHA recordkeeping and training documentation.

Engagement

• Own the morale, recognition and peak-season support program for an hourly workforce.

What success looks like at 12 months

• A backup plan in place for every critical role.
• Clear and consistent attendance and time-off records.
• A peak season staffed on plan.
• Supervisors confidently running attendance and performance conversations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including 3+ years as the senior HR leader at a manufacturing or hourly-workforce company of 40 to 300 people.
• A skills matrix, cross-training or attendance program you built yourself and can walk us through, including the results it produced.
• Has personally owned open enrollment and handled employee relations matters through to resolution, including investigations and separations.
• Working knowledge of Rhode Island employment law, including leave and wage-hour practice; Connecticut and New York a plus.
• Experience managing a staffing agency relationship.
• Spanish strongly preferred. Experience supporting a multilingual workforce required.
• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR or SPHR welcome but not required. Degree welcome but not required.

Compensation & Benefits

This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position with a base salary range of $120,000 to $135,000 annually, commensurate with experience. The position is also eligible for an annual bonus of up to 15% of base salary under the company bonus plan.

Full-time employees, defined as 30 or more hours per week, are eligible for:

• Medical coverage through UnitedHealthcare, with multiple plan options and preventive care covered at 100% in network
• Dental coverage through Delta Dental of Rhode Island
• Vision coverage through VSP
• 401(k) through Guideline, with employer matching
• Employer-paid term life, AD&D, and long-term disability insurance through Unum
• A confidential Employee Assistance Program through Unum, covering mental health, financial, and legal support
• 50% employee discount on HAVERHILL jewelry, with payroll deduction available
• Optional voluntary coverage through Colonial Life and Pet Discount Plus at group rates

Full plan documents and coverage details are available during the interview process.

Location & Schedule

This is an on-site role based at HAVERHILL's production facility in Warren, Rhode Island. It is not a remote or hybrid position; the work depends on being present with both the office team and the manufacturing floor.

Physical Requirements

• Regularly moves throughout the office and production floor over the course of the day
• Sits or stands for extended periods; occasional bending, reaching, and light lifting (up to approximately 25 lbs) for event setup, filing, and supplies
• Manual dexterity for computer use and paperwork; visual acuity for reviewing records and documents
• Communicates clearly in person, by phone, and in writing
• May involve occasional exposure to typical manufacturing-floor conditions (noise, equipment, materials)
• Reasonable accommodations are available; see Equal Opportunity below

Equal Opportunity

A stone returns light because it's cut from many angles, not one. The same is true of a team.

HAVERHILL is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national or ancestral origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. This applies to every employment decision we make, including hiring, compensation, promotion, training, and termination.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, contact [email protected].