Director of HR Operations

Description

The Director of HR Operations is responsible for leading the execution, governance, and continuous optimization of core HR operational functions across the organization, with a primary focus on total compensation and rewards strategy, payroll integrity, HR governance, and HR technology. This role ensures that foundational HR processes are standardized, data-driven, and aligned with Wheeler’s operational needs.

A critical priority of this role is to design and manage market-competitive, internally equitable, and financially disciplined total rewards programs that enable Wheeler to attract, retain, and motivate talent while aligning labor cost structures with business performance.

Reporting to the Vice President of People, this role oversees critical HR infrastructure and service delivery in a multi-location, unionized environment, driving accuracy, compliance, and operational excellence across all employee touchpoints.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Operational Alignment

• Partner with the VP of People to translate people strategy into scalable HR operational systems and processes
• Align HR operations (payroll, compensation, systems, policies) with business objectives and workforce needs
• Provide insights on labor costs, compensation trends, and operational risks to support decision-making
• Serve as a key advisor on HR infrastructure, ensuring systems and processes enable business performance
• Anticipate operational and regulatory changes and position HR operations to respond proactively

Total Rewards (Compensation & Benefits)

• Own the design and governance of Wheeler’s total rewards philosophy, ensuring alignment with business strategy, labor market dynamics, and financial objectives
• Develop and maintain compensation architectures, including job structures, pay bands, grading frameworks, and geographic differentials
• Ensure internal equity and external competitiveness through market benchmarking, job evaluation methodologies, and periodic pay analysis
• Lead all compensation planning processes, including:
• Annual merit and adjustment cycles
• Incentive and bonus program design (aligned with GOST and business performance)
• Off-cycle adjustments, promotions, and market corrections
• Architect and manage variable pay and incentive programs that:
• Reinforce key operational metrics (e.g., PSQDC, productivity, safety)
• Align employee behavior with company performance and profitability
• Scale across union and non-union environments
• Partner with Finance to manage total labor cost structure, including:
• Compensation modeling and scenario analysis
• Headcount cost planning and forecasting inputs
• Cost-of-labor insights to support pricing, bidding, and operational decisions
• Oversee and optimize benefits strategy, including:
• Medical, retirement, and wellness programs
• Cost-sharing strategies and plan design
• Vendor negotiations and performance management
• Establish strong governance and controls around compensation decisions, including:
• Approval frameworks and escalation paths
• Pay transparency considerations
• Compliance with regulatory and union requirements
• Lead development of total rewards analytics and dashboards, including:
• Compensation competitiveness indices
• Pay equity analysis
• Benefits utilization and ROI
• Labor cost trends vs. productivity

Payroll Operations

• Ensure seamless integration between compensation strategy and payroll execution, maintaining alignment between approved pay structures and actual pay outcomes
• Implement rigorous controls to ensure compensation accuracy at scale, including incentive payouts, union provisions, and complex pay scenarios
• Partner with Total Rewards to ensure all changes (merit, incentives, adjustments) are accurately executed and auditable

Policies, Procedures & Compliance (Governance)

• Develop, implement, and maintain standardized HR policies, procedures, and workflows across the organization
• Ensure consistency and compliance with federal, state, local, and collective bargaining agreements
• Lead HR compliance audits, documentation standards, and risk mitigation efforts
• Establish clear governance models for HR decisions, approvals, and escalations
• Maintain and regularly update employee handbooks, policy manuals, and procedural documentation

HR Technology & Data (HRIS)

• Lead the strategy, implementation, and optimization of HR systems (HRIS, payroll, benefits platforms)
• Champion digital HR solutions that improve efficiency, scalability, and employee experience
• Develop an integrated Total Rewards data environment across HRIS, payroll, and benefits platforms
• Ensure data integrity, system integration, and reporting accuracy across HR platforms
• Develop dashboards and reporting capabilities to provide actionable workforce and operational insights
• Enable real-time visibility into labor cost, pay distribution, and incentive performance
• Partner with Digital to build advanced analytics capabilities, including predictive modeling for turnover, pay competitiveness, and cost optimization
• Ensure HR systems support scalable compensation planning workflows and governance controls

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, systems, and service delivery models
• Drive standardization and scalability across all HR operations
• Implement metrics and KPIs to monitor performance and drive accountability
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, efficiency, and service excellence within HR operations

Customer Service & Service Delivery

• Establish clear service delivery models and expectations for HR operational support
• Ensure a consistent, responsive, and professional employee and leader experience
• Gather feedback from stakeholders to improve HR operations and systems
• Build trust and credibility through reliability, accuracy, and transparency

Financial Oversight

• Develop and manage budgets related to payroll, benefits, and HR systems
• Ensure strong financial controls and cost discipline across HR operational programs
• Serve as the primary HR leader responsible for total labor cost governance, inclusive of compensation, incentives, and benefits
• Partner closely with Finance to align compensation strategy with EBITDA targets, margin profiles, and growth plans
• Provide executives with actionable insights on labor cost efficiency, return on compensation investment, and workforce cost trends
• Identify cost optimization opportunities within total rewards and HR operations

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, develop, and coach the HR operations team (payroll, compensation, HRIS, etc.)
• Build capability in analytical, systems, and process-oriented skill sets
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability
• Foster a culture of precision, ownership, and continuous improvement

Key Success Metrics (Illustrative):

• Compensation competitiveness (market position vs. benchmark)
• Internal pay equity and compression indicators
• Total labor cost as % of revenue / productivity metrics
• Incentive plan effectiveness (alignment to performance outcomes)
• Payroll accuracy and audit outcomes
• Benefits utilization and cost efficiency
• HR system uptime, adoption, and data accuracy
• Compliance/audit outcomes and risk mitigation

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required; Master’s preferred
• 8–12+ years of progressive HR leadership experience
• Experience in a unionized, multi-location environment required
• Strong expertise in compensation, payroll, HR compliance, and HRIS systems
• Analytical mindset with ability to translate data into actionable insights
• Experience in heavy equipment, construction, manufacturing, or dealership environments preferred
• Strong working knowledge of employment law, labor relations, and HR operations

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Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities  The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c).