Established in 1915 with Helen Keller as a founding trustee, Helen Keller International (HKI) is dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Headquartered in New York City, HKI currently conducts programs in 21 countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States and has 1000+ staff and an annual cash operating budget of over $65 million.

HKI has grown significantly in recent years and is building its Human Resources (HR) function to keep pace with that growth. As a result, the NY office of HKI is seeking an articulate, organized individual to provide administrative support for all HR activities for our US-based staff of 80+ employees, international field staff of 55+ employees, plus an active pool of interns and volunteers.

Scope of the Position:

Reporting to the Senior Director, Human Resources, the Human Resources Assistant will work with the entire HR team in the areas of recruitment, benefits administration, training, and coordinating staff events in a highly collaborative, lively work environment.

Over the next year, we will be implementing new HR systems to make our work more efficient. The selected candidate will have the opportunity to serve on the implementation team and build an HR systems skills set.

Responsibilities:

Talent Acquisition & Development

Post new jobs, schedule interviews, and make travel arrangements.
Gather applications, required consent forms and conduct background checks, as needed.
Correspond with participants to track travel and book hotel reservations;
Prepare Welcome Kits;
Arrange catering;
Ensure smooth running of event during the NLO week; and
Prepare, administer and analyze feedback surveys; work with planning committee to document lessons learned.
Act as registrar for online learning platforms; administer surveys; prepare usage reports.
Track compliance with annual cycle of required trainings.

Coordinate logistics for all in-house trainings, presentations and orientation sessions in consultation with senior HR staff, Office Services & IT. For annual New Leaders Orientation, hosted at headquarters, this may include:

Benefits Administration

Process enrollments, changes and terminations; analyze and process invoices from benefits providers; and track all work.
Track allowances for US expatriate staff.
Work closely with Senior Manager, Benefits & Payroll to coordinate employee recognition programs, annual Holiday Party and other staff events.

HR Systems and Administration

Develop and maintain documentation of all departmental and intra-departmental work flows. Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve systems.
Input employee data into HR systems and create recurring and ad hoc reports for department and management use.
Participate in working groups to upgrade existing and/or add new database systems.
Maintain organizational charts for HQ and global staff.
Maintain and develop additional functionality for independent consultant database.
Prepare contracts, offer letters, TCN pay slips, memos documenting changes in employment status, employment verification letters, and other correspondence, as assigned.
Prepare departmental expense and credit card reports and process invoices.
Maintain employee files in accordance with all state and federal requirements and ensure documents are tracked and filed in a timely manner.

Requirements:

Minimum 2 years administrative experience plus a Bachelor’s degree required, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines, and work with teams to meet deadlines and goals.
Energetic, organized, detail-oriented with strong follow-through and problem-solving skills.
Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communications skills including ability to:
write business correspondence, internal memos, routine reports, and document procedures;
handle difficult situations with discretion and judgment; and
build collaborative relationships with employees from diverse backgrounds at all levels.
Highly computer literate:
proficient in using Excel spreadsheets and databases, including familiarity with reporting capabilities. Prior experience with an HRIS a strong plus.
ability to navigate new user interfaces to post jobs, etc.; and
eager to learn new platforms.
Ability to handle confidential matters with a high level of integrity and discretion.
Demonstrated interest in HR; knowledge of HR practices and employment laws and regulations, a strong plus.

Residence in or willingness to relocate to the NYC metro area.

How to apply

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to HKI.Recruitment@hki.org noting the job title in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.