Senior HR Generalist / Manager

Jennie Joiner with The Forum Group PNW is conducting a confidential search for a bilingual English/Spanish Sr. HR Generalist / HR Manager to join a well-established, growing food manufacturing organization in the Salem area. This is an exciting opportunity for an HR professional who wants to grow into a bigger leadership role and see firsthand how HR impacts the day-to-day operations of a business. This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports. You'll partner closely with leadership and the HR Director while staying hands-on, visible, and approachable for employees across three Salem-area locations.

What You'll Be Doing

• Serve as the primary HR resource for approximately 175 employees and local leadership.
• Lead recruiting, focusing on screening and assessing fit to hire people who will succeed and stay.
• Help launch a new ADP applicant tracking system and use pre-employment assessments in the hiring process.
• Facilitate new hire orientation and onboarding.
• Partner with managers on employee relations, performance management, coaching, and Oregon employment law. HR works alongside managers to facilitate the right conversations rather than owning every problem.
• Conduct employee relations and workplace safety investigations, and participate in disciplinary meetings and terminations.
• Process weekly payroll in ADP Workforce Now, including reviewing and approving timecards and importing payroll data. Payroll is well organized and typically takes less than an hour a week.
• Administer benefits and leave, including new hire enrollments and annual open enrollment.
• Maintain manual I-9 and E-Verify compliance.
• Support the established safety program by following up on monthly safety training, maintaining the OSHA log, and assisting with accident investigations.
• Support the annual performance review process.
• Be visible on the production floor and at the other Salem locations, including distributing paychecks and building relationships so employees feel seen, heard, and comfortable coming to HR.
• Attend operations and leadership meetings to learn how HR decisions affect production.
• Coordinate lunches and refreshments for customer visits about 3 to 4 times per month.
• Promote employee engagement, recognition, and a positive workplace culture.

What We're Looking For

• Bilingual English/Spanish is required. About 90% of the workforce is Spanish-speaking.
• Strong knowledge of Oregon and federal employment laws and HR best practices.
• Broad HR Generalist experience, including employee relations, investigations, and performance issues.
• Proven recruiting experience, ideally for hourly or production roles.
• Payroll experience, with ADP Workforce Now preferred.
• Benefits and leave administration experience.
• Experience with OSHA, safety programs, and compliance is preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.
• An honest, humble, and hungry-to-learn attitude. There's no "that's not my job" here.
• A positive, upbeat, "can-do" personality with strong judgment, integrity, and discretion.
• Experience is valued more than formal education. A degree and/or HR certification is a plus but not required. Personality and approach matter just as much as years of experience.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership and report to an HR Director who is not a micromanager and wants to give you room to take ownership.
• A structured onboarding: the HR Director will be onsite for your first few weeks, then visit monthly until you're ready to run on your own.
• Very low turnover, so your focus is on people, engagement, and operations rather than constant backfilling.
• Get real exposure to the business side through process improvement and strategic initiatives in a growing, private equity-backed company.
• A highly visible role where you'll make a meaningful impact on culture and HR processes.

Schedule and Details

• Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with flexibility after the 8:00 a.m. leadership meeting.
• Typical workweek is 40 to 45 hours, with an occasional 50-hour week.
• 100% onsite. Remote or hybrid work is not available.
• Business casual dress.
• Local travel only, between the three Salem-area buildings.

Benefits

• Kaiser Permanente medical, with employee-only coverage at $125 per month.
• Dental (with a buy-up option) and vision coverage.
• Company-paid basic life, AD&D, and long-term disability insurance.
• Voluntary life, short-term disability, accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance.
• 401(k) with a 4% company match, eligible the first of the month after 90 days.
• PTO negotiated at hire, plus sick time per Oregon law.

Offer is contingent on a background check and drug screen. The drug screen does not include THC.

If you're looking for a role where you can grow your HR career and make a real impact as a strategic partner, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to Jennie Joiner with The Forum Group PNW directly or apply online today!