HR/Payroll Manager

What is American Communities?: American Communities is a family-owned real estate company that focuses on revitalizing apartment communities and transforming them into homes. Our unique recipe for refreshing properties creates vibrant, comfortable, and excellently managed communities.

What this Position Does: The HR/Payroll Manager is primarily responsible for administering and managing human resources functions, payroll processing, and ensuring compliance with company policies and legal regulations. This position will oversee all HR and payroll activities for hourly, salaried, and 1099 employees.

The Day-to-Day Responsibilities This Person will be Overseeing:

• Represents the company on unemployment claims and manages related communications and hearings.
• Advises on labor relations and provides counsel on personnel issues, including conflict resolution and compliance with labor laws.
• Develops, recommends, and implements HR policies and procedures in alignment with legal requirements and company goals.
• Manages benefits administration, including enrollment, changes during open enrollment periods, claims resolution, and reporting.
• Coordinates and delivers training for management on topics such as interviewing, hiring, terminations, promotions, performance reviews, safety, and sexual harassment prevention.
• Prepares and maintains the employee handbook, ensuring policies and procedures are current and legally compliant.
• Oversees payroll for all employees (hourly, salaried, 1099 contractors):
• For hourly employees, review and approve timesheets, monitor overtime, ensure PTO is tracked accurately, and address any discrepancies.
• For salaried employees, ensure compliance with pay schedules, bonus structures, and other compensation programs.
• For 1099 contractors, manage payment schedules and ensure compliance with tax laws, ensuring proper documentation and reporting to the IRS.
• Collaborate with the finance team to ensure taxes, benefits deductions, and other withholdings are accurate and timely.
• Ensures compliance with labor laws and tracks all HR-related metrics, such as turnover rates, hiring timelines, and payroll accuracy.
• Recruits, interviews, tests, and selects employees for vacant positions, ensuring a good fit with both the role and the company culture.
• Manages the affirmative action program to ensure equal employment opportunities and compliance with applicable regulations.
• Maintains employee records and ensures that all HR documents, such as contracts, performance reviews, and training records, are accurate and up-to-date.
• Prepares employee separation notices and conducts exit interviews to determine reasons for separations and potential areas for organizational improvement.
• Monitors employee performance evaluations and provides feedback and support to management regarding performance management processes.
• Coordinates new employee orientations and ensures a smooth onboarding process for new hires.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. 

What Education and/or Experience You Will Bring to the Table: Four-year college or university degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field; or a combination of education and experience in human resources and payroll.

At least 3-5 years of experience in human resources, with a strong emphasis on payroll management, ideally in a leadership or managerial capacity.

COMPUTER SKILLS/OFFICE EQUIPMENT: To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of:

HRIS (Human Resource Information Systems) software; Payroll systems (experience with ADP is preferred); Database software; Spreadsheet software (e.g., Microsoft Excel); Word Processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word)

Communication Skills Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

Problem Solving Skills: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. 

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

Corporate Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

American Communities Values: All employees in all positions are expected to always act professionally, including but not limited to treating others with respect, valuing diversity, supporting team/community goals, and following company policies and procedures. For more details on what professional behaviors are expected, please refer to the Employee handbook and AC policies and procedures.