HR Manager (People Strategy Manager)

About MadTree Brewing

Founded in 2013, MadTree is an award-winning brewery that’s rooted in Cincinnati and planted in purpose. Driven to craft great beer - but more importantly - build a business dedicated to doing good, MadTree protects and celebrates nature while reducing impact on the environment. MadTree is a B Corp certified company and proud member of 1% for the Planet with a commitment to donate 1% of sales to local, sustainable nonprofits. MadTree strives to create warm and welcoming experiences, exceed expectations, and most importantly, plant a better community. They put purpose in every pour, and raise a glass to doing things differently.

We are MadTree. Rooted in Cincy. Planted in Purpose.

MadTree is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce that inspires madness while being rooted in purpose. We offer a competitive compensation package plus great benefits like subsidized health insurance, a retirement plan with a match, free mental health therapy visits, paid time off, and many other great perks.

HR Manager (People Strategy Manager)

TEAM: People Strategy Team

LOCATION: Cincinnati, OH (Oakley Office primary)

JOB TYPE: Full-Time

REPORTS TO: People Strategy Director

SALARY RANGE: $70,000 — $80,000 — $90,000

WHY JOIN MADTREE AS THE HR MANAGER?

At MadTree, HR isn’t back-office – it’s culture-building, problem-solving, and helping 320 humans thrive across our hospitality manufacturing workforce. We’re seeking a hands-on HR Manager to be the operational engine of our team - someone who cares deeply and wants to make a real impact.

• Build, don't just maintain – Design systems, frameworks, & tools that will serve MadTree for years
• Real complexity, real impact – Navigate the unique challenges of hospitality & manufacturing across a 320-person workforce
• Leadership opportunity – Supervise and develop while amplifying your impact
• Shape the function & grow – Partner directly with the People Strategy Director to define how HR operates here, setting us up for continued growth and more opportunities
• Purpose you can feel – Work for a B-Corp certified, 1% for the Planet company where doing good is built into the business
  
  

Total Rewards & Benefits

✓ Transparent salary range: $70K-$90K

✓ 401(k) with company match company-wide

✓ Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision)

✓ Paid Time Off

✓ 16 hours paid volunteer time annually company-wide Community Impact Day

✓ Enjoy what we create with regular gift cards for MadTree food, beverages, and merch

✓ Continued growth & learning opportunities

✓ Nature-inspired workspaces designed to connect people to nature and each other

✓ Face-to-face humanity—Real human connection, not screen isolation

✓ A team that gives a f*ck – People who are passionate and genuinely care

✓ Flexibility – work-from-home, life appointments, and personal commitments

Position Summary

• Manage core HR operations including benefits, leave administration, compliance, HR data integrity, employee relations support, and vendor/broker management.
• Operates initially as 65% practitioner / 35% systems builder, shifting toward a 50/50 model as infrastructure scales.
• Manage a part-time HR Coordinator and serve as the organization’s primary resource for HR compliance, benefits questions, and leave case management across hospitality, manufacturing, and corporate teams across multiple sites/locations.
• Be an avid MadTree ambassador living the behaviors – Connect, Grow, and Give a F*ck.
  
  

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Benefits, Compensation & Vendor Management

• Owns end-to-end benefits administration including enrollment, changes, terminations, and annual open enrollment execution.
• Serves as primary day-to-day contact for broker, carrier, and TPA relationships; monitors service levels and escalates issues; partners with PS Director on strategic vendor decisions, renewals, and plan design.
• Partners with PS Director on renewals, claim reviews, plan design recommendations, and benefits strategy.
• Monitors self-funded health plan performance (claims trends, utilization, cost drivers); coordinates on escalations and stop-loss notifications; ensures accurate eligibility and flags anomalies for review.
• Coordinates FSA, HSA, & voluntary benefit vendors for seamless employee experience.
• Supports compensation processes: maintains job descriptions, processes pay changes, provides market data, monitors pay equity, and ensures wage/hour compliance (tip credit, OT) in partnership with payroll.
  
  

Leave & Compliance Management

• Administers all leave and case management programs (FMLA, ADA, workers' comp, company policies) including complex scenarios like intermittent leave, overlapping leave types, and return-to-work across multiple locations.
• Partners with Operations on workplace safety, OSHA reporting, incident investigations, and workers' comp claims.
• Maintains compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws including wage/hour, tip pool regulations, and posting requirements; escalates complex compliance questions or risk areas to PS Director.
• Leads internal audits and supports external audits related to employment practices, benefits, & regulatory compliance.
• Maintains Team Member Handbook and location policies; coordinates annual reviews with PS Director; communicates updates across all locations.
  
  

Employee Relations, Performance & Manager Development

• Serves as first point of contact for routine employee relations (coaching support, attendance, performance concerns, ER conflicts employee, non-critical investigations; partners with managers for timely resolution.
• Supports managers with coaching conversations, corrective action, and PIPs; escalates to PS Director potential terminations, harassment/discrimination concerns, AGM leaders, and significant legal exposure to the PS Director.
• Coordinates semi-annual performance review cycles including timeline communication, manager training delivery, Rippling administration, and completion tracking.
• Delivers manager training on HR systems (Coaching App, Rippling), benefits, compliance topics, and people practices; curriculum aligned with PS Director's strategy.
• Escalates to PS Director: potential terminations, harassment/discrimination, AGM leaders, and significant legal exposure.
• Executes compliance training (harassment prevention, safety, onboarding); tracks completion and maintains audit readiness.
• Partners with the PS Director on strategic initiatives including the Manager Toolkit, manager capability gap analysis, and targeted learning solutions.
• Serves as an escalation point for managers on benefits, leave, and compliance questions.
  
  

HR Systems, Process Improvement & Change Management

• Designs workflows that reduce manual work and improve employee/manager experience.
• Creates process documentation for consistent execution, delegation, and scalability.
• Identifies automation opportunities; leverages HR tech to improve self-service capabilities.
• Maintains HRIS and dashboards with weekly/monthly metrics; provides HR analytics and reporting (headcount, turnover, time-to-fill, staffing) to PS Director and leadership.
• Owns required compliance reporting (ACA, EEO-1, OSHA) with accuracy and timeliness.
• Supports PS Director on engagement, recognition, and retention initiatives; fosters warm, welcoming, inclusive environment.
• Completes 16 hours of paid volunteering annually for MadTree Impact initiatives.
  
  

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Supports full-cycle recruiting processes in partnership with hiring managers & PS Director; ensures efficient, compliant recruiting operations.
• Maintains and optimizes ATS, candidate pipeline management, job postings, and applicant tracking.
• Coordinates screening, scheduling, offer letters, and pre-employment processes.
• Ensures consistent onboarding experience from orientation through the first 30 days.
• Tracks recruiting metrics, lifecycle survey data, and turnover patterns; provides data to PS Director for workforce planning.
  
  

Team Leadership

• Supervises part-time HR Coordinator; provides coaching, feedback, and performance management; manages workload distribution between HR and Impact responsibilities.
• Ensures HR Coordinator has clear priorities, training, and resources to execute operational tasks effectively.
  
  

Qualification Requirements

• BA in Human Resources, Business Administration, or equivalent experience
• 3–6 years progressive HR experience, with demonstrated strength in benefits administration, leave management, and HR compliance (HR generalist or HR operations background preferred
• Strong knowledge of FMLA, ADA, COBRA, ERISA, and federal/state employment laws
• Experience managing HR vendors (brokers, carriers, TPAs) and supporting a self-funded or complex benefits environment
• Proficiency with HRIS systems (Rippling preferred), benefits platforms, and Microsoft Office/Google Workspace; comfortable with HR reporting and workflow improvement
• Strong judgment, discretion, and the ability to support sensitive employee-relations issues
• Ability to travel between locations and occasionally work outside standard hours; must be 21
  
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (Helpful But Not Required)

• HR certification (PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP/SCP).
• Supervisory or team lead experience.
• Experience in hospitality or manufacturing environments, especially multi-unit restaurant/bar operations.
• Exposure to self-funded health plans (stop-loss, TPA management, claims analysis).
• Familiarity with tip pooling and wage/hour compliance.
  
  

Physical Requirements

• Ability to regularly sit, stand, and walk.
• Ability to frequently talk and hear.
• Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to frequently reach with hands and arms. Use hands to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls.
• Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
  
  

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• The work environment is usually that of an office, bar, restaurant, and brewery.
• The employee occasionally works near hazardous materials.
• The employee occasionally works on wet floors.
  
  

If you want your HR work to matter — to people, to community, and to purpose — we’d love to meet you!