Location: Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College

Full/Part Time: Full Time

Employment Condition: Unlimited

Job Description:

Bemidji State University (BSU) and NORTHWEST TECHNICAL COLLEGE (NTC) invite qualified applicants to join our Human Resources (HR) team as a Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP).  The HR team serves both BSU and NTC, which are members of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities.  We are actively recruiting a dynamic Human Resources professional who has the ability to quickly detect workplace challenges as well as identify and drive appropriate resolutions. The HRBP will partner and create strong relationships with campus leaders along with their respective supervisor teams to develop and execute strategies that foster organizational and people effectiveness, success, and wellbeing. The HRBP serves as a liaison to assess the human resources needs in areas such as performance management, employee and labor relations, compensation, retention, staffing, and career and leadership development.  The HRBP will passionately engage with all employees to ensure they are safe, welcome and validated in the workplace through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens.  This is a challenging yet rewarding role that impacts hundreds of employees in their daily activities and broader personal and career goals!

The Human Resources team leads the campus communities to achieve workplace excellence by providing services that improve and support BSU and NTC employees. Services include benefits administration, recruiting, training and employee assessment. More than six hundred talented faculty, staff, and over eight hundred student employees with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds, support university and technical college operations every day.  The staff enjoy excellent benefits, a team environment, and challenging careers. As affirmative action/equal opportunity institutions, we are committed to supporting the continued growth of our diverse community.

The HRBP serves as a subject matter expert and provides advanced strategic HR leadership to administrators, faculty and staff in a wide range of HR management areas including employee/labor relations, talent management, classification, orientation and onboarding, and organizational development.  The HRBP ensures compliance with collective bargaining agreements, Minnesota State policies, and state and federal laws.  The role is responsible for effectively communicating university and college strategies and objectives to implement change initiatives designed to support both BSU and NTC. 

This position is considered confidential as defined by M.S. 179A.03 since it has access to and utilizes information pertaining to labor relations, it provides assistance and information for use in the development of a strike plan, and it will research/compile classification and compensation information to respond to equity proposals for salary ranges for classes under review in collective bargaining negotiations.

Responsibilities of the HRBP include:

• Employee and Labor Relations
  
  
  
  • Advising, interpreting, training and providing expertise for employees, supervisors, and administrators to ensure understanding of and compliance with State Department (Minnesota Management & Budget) Employee Relations rules, Minnesota State procedures and policies, along with state and federal laws and regulations, and local college and university policies and procedures. Understanding the 10 collective bargaining agreements and personnel plans and ensuring compliance by the campus leadership team.  Establishing and maintaining relationships with business units to stay abreast of current and future labor relations issues to assist with the prevention of potential labor relations problems.
  • Coordinating and/or collaborating with the Affirmative Action Officer and/or Campus Diversity Officer to address, investigate, and resolve employee or hiring issues or concerns.
  • Utilizing information, documents and data pertaining to labor relations information, maintaining confidential files containing collective bargaining proposals and strategies, cost information and other labor relations information as defined by M.S. 179A.03, providing assistance and information in the development of a strike plan, and attending grievance meetings with employees and union stewards, as needed.
•  Classification
  
  
  
  • Managing a comprehensive position analysis, classification and reallocation process for classified and unclassified positions to ensure consistent application of classification criteria, accurate position allocation decisions, and proper conveyance of information to the system office classification team. Advising and providing training to supervisors on updating position descriptions and position analysis questionnaires.  Consulting with directors/vice presidents regarding organizational design and impact of changes.  Advising hiring authorities on personnel laws, rules, and collective bargaining agreements and how they impact the classification system. Distinguishing the difference between employees and independent contractors and the criteria for determining bargaining unit designation. 
•  Orientation and Onboarding
  
  
  
  • Administering comprehensive orientation sessions and onboarding programs to ensure new employees receive necessary resources, direction, and training to be successful in their roles at BSU and NTC.  Ensuring new employees are familiar with their appointment, collective bargaining unit, and their rights and responsibilities as a State of Minnesota employee.  Advising supervisors on onboarding procedures and best practices. Providing resources on how to effectively plan and schedule regular employee/supervisor conversations to assist with successful onboarding.  Collecting and analyzing data to make recommendations for improvements to the orientation and onboarding processes.
  • Serving as the primary academic HR expert and resource for NTC Academic Affairs including salary placements, credentialing, Teaching and Learning Competency completion and Probationary Period assessment.  Independently researching and responding to complex inquiries from employees, supervisors, System Office and bargaining unit officials.
•  Organizational Development / Talent Management
  
  
  
  • Assisting with organizational development through planning and coordination of college-wide professional training and development activities, employee recognition events, engagement activities, and succession and retention planning.  Monitoring the compliance of required performance evaluations per Minnesota State guidelines and collective bargaining agreements.  Leading the university and college Staff Professional Development Committee at both BSU and NTC. Regularly advising and coaching supervisors and administrators on team building, organization development, change management, succession planning, and department structure.  Conducting onboarding and offboarding interviews of faculty, staff and administrators to assist with the development of retention strategies.  Analyzing aggregate turnover data to recommend process changes and supervisor training.

Required Qualifications:

Minimum qualifications for this position include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or a related field, plus two (2) years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.
• Experience providing work direction, coaching, motivating, and advising others.
• Experience conducting training and development, project management and conflict management.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively handle extremely sensitive, difficult, or volatile situations or individuals.
• Experience managing multiple priorities/projects and simultaneously delivering quality results on deadlines.
• Ability to work inclusively with diverse constituencies.

Preferred Qualifications:

Preferred qualifications include:

• Advanced degree in Human Resources, Public Administration, Labor Relations, Organizational Psychology, or a related field.
• Five (5) or more years of general human resources experience.
• Experience working in a multi-union or higher education environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to ongoing professional HR development.

To facilitate proper crediting, please ensure that your application and/or resume clearly demonstrate fulfillment of the qualifications.

Other Requirements:

Other considerations:

• All applicants must be able to lawfully accept employment in the United States at the time of an offer of employment.
• Official transcript(s) must be provided to Human Resources upon hire.
• Employment for this position is covered by the Commissioner’s Plan – see plan details.
  
  
  
  • The current wage range is $22.48 – $32.79 per hour.
• In accordance with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MinnState) Vehicle Fleet Safety Program, faculty and staff driving on college/university business, who use a rental or state vehicle, shall be required to complete a vehicle Use Agreement form and conform to MinnState’s vehicle use criteria and consent to a motor vehicle records check annually.
• BSU and NTC are tobacco free workplaces (see policy).

To apply:   

Apply for Vacancy Posting 43769, on the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) website:  http://mn.gov/mmb/careers/

If you are unable to apply online, please contact the job information line at 651.259.3637

For additional information about the application process, go to http://www.mn.gov/careers

Inquiries about the position:

Ashleigh Haugen, Human Resources Business Partner

Ashleigh.Haugen@bemidjistate.edu.

If you have general questions about this posting or submitting an application, contact Teresa Hanson at teresa.hanson@bemidjistate.edu.

About:

UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE / COMMUNITY

WHY BEMIDJI:

The greater Bemidji community has a population of 25,000 and serves as a regional center for education, commerce, recreation, health care, and the arts.

In this Northwoods setting, students, staff and faculty have a variety of activities at their fingertips. Possessing all the charm and character of a college town, Bemidji remains a tight-knit community of good neighbors and engaged citizens who always come out to cheer for the Bemidji State Beavers. While the city of Bemidji — named after the Ojibwe Chief Shaynowishkung (nicknamed Bemidji) — is home to a diverse population of more than 15,000 people, it serves a regional population of more than 100,000.

Located between three American Indian reservations – Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth – students at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College have the opportunity to experience a dynamic local culture and history. Bemidji also sits at the center of the legends of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The famous statues of Paul and Babe greet students as they drive in from the south along Lake Bemidji.

Though quaint and historic, the city offers the urban conveniences upon which college students rely. Bemidji State and Northwest Tech are both conveniently located minutes away from affordable restaurants, cozy coffee shops, grocery stores, city parks and more. Small, locally owned shops and art sculptures line the streets of downtown Bemidji, while national chains can be found in and around the Bemidji area, including an uptown selection of department stores and restaurants.

The thriving downtown community presents ample opportunities for engagement off-campus. Among other things, there are fine-dining restaurants, cafes, and a natural foods co-op in downtown Bemidji. The historic Paul Bunyan Playhouse has a calendar of classic shows; restaurants and lounges offer weekly live music performances; the First Friday Art Walk provides a tour of new monthly art exhibits; and annual events such as the Loop the Lake Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Blue Ox Marathon, Bemidji Winterfest, and The Minnesota Finlandia bring the community together.

For those who love the outdoors, there are wooded, multi-use trail systems within minutes of campus and community parks with walking trails, playgrounds and a skate park. Lake Bemidji State Park and its miles of navigable trails is located directly across the lake from BSU, and the Buena Vista Ski Area — just 12 miles north of campus — offers downhill skiing and campus-sponsored student transportation in the winter months. Further, the Mississippi River Headwaters is a mere 45 minutes from Bemidji.

For further information, visit our websites at: http://www.bemidjistate.edu and https://www.ntcmn.edu

Review a “special report on how this former lumber town has rebuilt itself as a high-speed, regional center of enterprise” at Bemidji 2.0

Benefits Info:

For information regarding benefits: https://www.bemidjistate.edu/offices/human-resources/current-employees/benefits-2/

This position is included in the Commissioner’s Plan.  A copy of the Plan can be found at:  https://mn.gov/mmb/employee-relations/labor-relations/labor/commissioners-plan.jsp