HR Project Manager - Compensation

Position Description

Seattle Human Resources endeavors to promote an equitable and engaging work environment so employees can do their best work and make a difference for the people and communities we serve. The Department focuses on providing high-quality services to all City employees and departments and works collaboratively with department leaders to align policies, practices, and programs citywide to fulfill the vision of workforce equity and excellence.

As part of this mission, the Compensation & Classification unit administers the Citywide job classification and compensation programs for approximately 12,500 regular employees and more than 1,200 job classifications. This work champions internal and external equity by taking meaningful steps to ensure that similar bodies of work and levels of responsibility are paid similarly across all City departments, and that all positions are compensated fairly and competitively in the market.

We are looking for an HR Project Manager who will lead a complex portfolio of classification and compensation projects for the department, including projects that are multi-year in duration, interdepartmental in scope, result in development of significant City policy, and have a high degree of political sensitivity. You will also support project portfolio management functions for the City’s Compensation Program, including developing, implementing, evaluating, and maintaining the Program’s planning methodologies, processes, systems, tools, and reporting.

Job Responsibilities

The two main focus areas for this role will be:

Leading Seattle Human Resources Classification And Compensation Projects

• Matrix-Team Leadership: establishing and leading cross-functional matrix teams to ensure project success, including operations, department HR, compensation, classification, policy, legal, budget, labor relations, and IT subject-matter experts as necessary
• Consultant Contracting: collaborating with department partners and internal comp/class subject-matter experts to define Scopes of Work for external compensation and classification contractors, coordinating internal guidance to facilitate alignment of external consultant work with City program requirements, and overseeing the review of deliverables to accept or decline delivery of work products
• Project Initiation: drafting project charters, identifying and engaging partners, identifying goals and scope, forecasting start dates based on project demands and resource limitations, determining the appropriate planning methodology, and developing communication plans
• Project Planning: using technical expertise to develop work breakdown structures, defining scope of work and quality, developing project schedules (phases, milestones, timelines), setting expectations with project participants on required levels of effort, and developing risk registers
• Project Execution: applying predictive, agile, or hybrid methodologies, using functional subject-matter experts as necessary to drive project success, monitoring progress and adjust plans as necessary, removing blockers, and partnering with relevant subject-matter experts to review deliverables for adherence to project scope and quality. You may also develop deliverables to meet project targets
• Project Closeout and Evaluation: facilitating retrospective meetings with project teams and collaborators, performing root issue analyses and evaluating whether projects met stated goals, drafting project closeout documentation, and formally closing out projects with partners
  
  

Managing Project Portfolios

• Establishing, evaluating, and adjusting project management methodologies and tools used to deliver projects, including ensuring sustainable levels of effort, limiting work-in-progress, maintaining project backlogs to facilitate prioritization and project selection, and aligning project scheduling with City organizational cycles, including budgeting, legislative, and bargaining cycles
• Developing and maintaining procedures, practices, and templates to establish consistent expectations, create efficiencies, streamline work, and enhance scalability
• Advising on the selection of project planning, tracking, and document management tools, and setting up these tools to best meet the needs of City compensation and classification projects
• Identifying metrics and developing project reporting to effectively track progress, statuses, and risks, provide portfolio-wide updates to SHR leadership, and to analyze and communicate the impacts of projects towards larger organizational goals
  
  

You will be most successful in this role with a combination of the following:

Experience In

• Managing large and complex HR projects, particularly compensation projects, including experience with numerous collaborators, changing scopes, and large matrix teams
• Human resources
• Managing projects within a large and complex organization
• Planning and overseeing the work of external contractors
• Working in an organization with multiple professional fields, including union-represented positions
  
  

The Ability To

• Keep multiple simultaneous projects organized and on track, all with their own unique facts, partners, schedules, changing expectations and business needs, risks, and documentation
• Monitor project statuses, identify risks, and integrate continuous learning
• Set respectful and effective boundaries, communicate decisions, and deescalate tensions when needed
• Oversee matrixed project teams
• Effectively collaborate and build and maintain trust with senior leaders of an organization, understand operational challenges, and propose effective solutions
• Understand and account for broad implications of programmatic changes, including guiding and understanding the impacts to relevant collaborators and partners
  
  

Skills In

• Core compensation practices
• Predictive and agile project management methodologies
• Project analysis and evaluation
• Interpersonal, verbal, and presentation skills
• Conflict management
• Organizational skills and tools
• Understanding federal, state, and local compensation laws
  
  

Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• SHRM-CP/SCP or equivalent
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
  
  

Qualifications

In addition to the qualities mentioned above, you will need to possess the below required qualifications (or a combination of education, training or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class):

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management, Business or Public Administration, Social Sciences, or a related field
• Three years of experience in human resources, professional personnel administration, compensation and classification consulting, or other related experience
  
  

OR

• An Associate Degree in Human Resource Management, Business or Public Administration, Social Sciences, or a related field
• Four years of experience in human resources, professional personnel administration, compensation and classification consulting, or other related experience
  
  

OR

• Five years of experience in human resources, professional personnel administration, compensation and classification consulting, or other related experience
  
  

Additional Information

This civil-service position is FLSA-exempt (not eligible for overtime) and is classified as a Personnel Analyst Supervisor-Comp. The full pay range for this step-progression position is $62.02 - $71.99 per hour. New employees begin at Step 1 of the pay progression, which is $62.02 hourly. Current City employees’ starting rate of pay will be based on Personnel Rules regarding promotions.

First round interviews for this position are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 and/or Thursday, May 29, 2025. Second interviews are scheduled for Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact Lindsey King at Lindsey.King@seattle.gov to request accommodation.

This position offers the flexibility of a hybrid work schedule. Tuesdays are an in-office day for the team. Individual schedules will be based on agreement between the employee and their supervisor and are subject to change.

Individuals selected to fill this position may be eligible to receive Language Premium Pay (SMC 4.20.360), which provides a $200.00 monthly stipend to qualified bilingual employees who are properly evaluated and assigned to provide direct communication in-language, interpretation, or translation services to the public on behalf of the City of Seattle.

As this position has access to personal identity information, job offers are contingent on review of criminal history as well as verification of information provided by the applicant as part of the application process. In compliance with Seattle's Fair Chance Employment Ordinance, SMC 14.17, applicants will be provided an opportunity to explain or correct background information.

The City of Seattle recognizes every City employee must play a role in ending institutional and structural racism. Our culture is the result of our behavior, our personal commitments, and the ways we courageously share our perspectives and encourage others to do the same. To cultivate an antiracist culture, we seek employees who will engage in the Race and Social Justice Initiative by working to dismantle racist policies and procedures, unlearn the way things have always been done, and provide equitable processes and services.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits/employees-and-covered-family-members/most-employees-plans .

Application Process

Please submit your application at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/seattle/ no later than 4:00pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. To be considered for this position, in addition to completing your application fully, please attach:

• A PDF of your current resume which illustrates your related skills, experience, and abilities
• Cover Letter explaining your interest in this opportunity with Seattle Human Resources and identify specifically how the combination of your knowledge, skills, and interests align with our business needs and will contribute to your success in this role.
  
  

This position is open to all candidates who meet the minimum qualifications. The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, medical condition, or pregnancy. The Seattle Department of Human Resources encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences. If you have questions please contact Lindsey King at Lindsey.King@seattle.gov .