HR Generalist - Bilingual (English/Spanish)

Description

About Rocket Farms

Rocket Farms is a leading grower and marketer of premium potted plants and fresh culinary herbs, creating innovative live-goods programs for many of the nation's leading grocery, club, and mass retail customers. From colorful indoor plants and seasonal favorites to fresh culinary herbs, what we grow reaches consumers across the country.

With decades of horticultural expertise behind us, Rocket Farms continues to evolve bringing new ideas, programs, and energy to an industry we know and love. Behind everything we grow is a diverse team of people who make it happen, and that's where this role comes in.

About the Role

We're looking for a bilingual HR Generalist who enjoys being close to the people and operations they support. This is a hands-on role with broad exposure across HR - from employee relations and recruiting to benefits, leaves, HRIS, compliance, training, and workplace safety.

You'll work directly with employees and managers throughout the organization, helping solve day-to-day challenges while ensuring our HR practices are consistent, compliant, and supportive of the business.

This is a great opportunity for an HR professional who enjoys variety, wants meaningful ownership, and is comfortable working in an operational environment where no two days are exactly alike. Because you'll support our diverse workforce directly, fluency in both English and Spanish is required.

Work Location & Travel

This is an onsite position based in Salinas, California. Regular travel to Rocket Farms' Half Moon Bay location approximately 2–3 days per week is required. A pooled company vehicle may be available for approved business travel; therefore, the employee must maintain a valid California driver's license and meet company vehicle-insurance eligibility requirements.

When a personal vehicle is used for approved business travel, mileage will be reimbursed in accordance with company policy and applicable mileage reimbursement requirements.

Requirements

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted day-to-day HR resource for employees and managers, providing guidance on company policies, benefits, leaves, attendance, and other HR programs and processes.

• Manage employee relations matters, including workplace concerns, investigations, coaching, corrective action, performance management, and policy interpretation, escalating complex or sensitive matters as appropriate.

• Provide bilingual English/Spanish HR support, communicating HR information clearly and helping ensure employees understand company policies, programs, and processes.

• Manage recruiting activities for assigned positions, including partnering with hiring managers, posting positions, screening candidates, coordinating interviews, preparing offers, and supporting the hiring process.

• Coordinate and conduct new-hire onboarding and orientation, including employment eligibility verification, required documentation, HRIS enrollment, policy review, and required training.

• Support benefits and leave administration, answering employee questions, coordinating documentation, and partnering with internal and external resources as needed.

• Maintain accurate employee information within the HRIS and ensure personnel, medical, I-9, training, workers' compensation, and other HR records are accurate, confidential, and maintained in accordance with applicable requirements.

• Support payroll and timekeeping processes by reviewing employee data, researching discrepancies, resolving missed punches and PTO issues, and working with employees and managers to ensure accurate and timely information.

• Support workers' compensation administration, including incident documentation, employee communication, claim coordination, return-to-work processes, and required recordkeeping.

• Partner with Safety and operational leadership to support workplace safety programs, employee training, inspections, Safety Committee activities, documentation, and compliance efforts.

• Conduct or participate in HR and Safety audits and identify opportunities to strengthen processes, documentation, compliance, and employee support.

• Maintain current knowledge of applicable federal, California, and local employment laws and HR best practices, helping ensure company policies and employment practices remain compliant and consistently applied.

• Develop and deliver employee and manager training as needed and participate in HR projects and continuous improvement initiatives across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bilingual English/Spanish required, with the ability to communicate effectively with employees and managers both verbally and in writing.

• 3+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, preferably in a hands-on HR Generalist, HR Coordinator, or similar role.

• Working knowledge of California employment laws and HR compliance requirements.

• Experience across multiple HR functions, including employee relations, recruiting and onboarding, benefits or leaves, performance management, payroll/timekeeping, and HRIS processes.

• Experience supporting workplace safety, workers' compensation, OSHA compliance, or safety training preferred.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build trust and work effectively with employees and managers at all levels of the organization.

• Sound judgment and the ability to evaluate situations, solve problems, make appropriate decisions, and recognize when an issue should be escalated.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to balance multiple priorities and deadlines.

• Comfortable working in a hands-on operational environment and regularly spending time with employees and managers in offices, production areas, greenhouses, and other work locations.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; experience with Paylocity or another HRIS strongly preferred.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field preferred; an equivalent combination of education and relevant HR experience will be considered.

• SHRM-CP or PHR certification a plus.

• Valid California driver's license and acceptable driving record required.

• Must meet company vehicle-insurance eligibility requirements when applicable.

Physical Requirements

While performing the functions of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; frequently required to talk or hear; and occasionally required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities by this job include close distance and color vision. 

*This position description does not promise or imply that the functions listed in the Position Summary are the only duties to be performed or that the position may not change or be eliminated. Employees interested in learning more about the essential duties and responsibilities of this position should complete the Position Interest Form and submit it to the Human Resources Department.