Human Resource Director

About COTS

For 40 years, COTS (www.cotsdetroit.org) has been committed to serving the most vulnerable members of the Detroit community by providing emergency shelter, supportive housing, and wraparound services for more adults and children daily. COTS supports more than 1,000 heartbeats daily and is on a mission to create opportunities for families overcoming poverty to collaborate, thrive, and succeed in building strong and stable households, neighborhoods, and communities.

Human Resources Director job description

The Director of Human Resources is a strategic, forward-thinking leader responsible for designing and driving the organization’s people strategy while managing the full scope of HR operations in a one-person department.

This role requires an innovative, strategic, independent, collaborative, highly resourceful, and self-sufficient professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can manage multiple priorities simultaneously, and remains composed under pressure. The Director will partner with executive leadership to build a strong organizational culture, ensure regulatory compliance, policy creation, attract top talent, oversee benefits, training and development, build and maintain vendor relationships, and develop innovative HR strategies that strengthen the workforce and advance the mission of COTS.

Essential Functions

Strategic Leadership & HR Operations

• Lead the development and execution of HR strategies aligned with organizational goals that support sustainable growth, operational excellence, and staff engagement.
• Collaborate and identify opportunities to strengthen internal systems, policies, and practices that improve employee experience and organizational performance.
• Manage all HR functions independently, including recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, employee relations, and compliance.

 Organizational Culture & Employee Transitions

• Foster and build a positive organizational culture that supports employee engagement, inclusion, and mission alignment.
• Manage and conduct employee terminations in a professional and compliant manner.
• Write and review termination documentation to ensure clarity and legal compliance.
• Conduct exit interviews to gather feedback and identify opportunities for organizational improvement.
• Serve as a resource and advisor to leaders and employees on workplace challenges, conflict resolution, and professional development.

Talent Acquisition & Onboarding

• Oversee full-cycle recruitment and selection strategies.
• Design and implement onboarding programs that promote employee retention and cultural alignment.
• Implement, design and develop workforce development strategies that build leadership capacity and strengthen staff performance.

Employee Relations & Offboarding                                                     

• Foster a positive workplace culture through effective employee relations and conflict resolution.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to staff and leadership on sensitive personnel matters.
• Promote open communication and employee engagement across the organization.

Training & Development

• Design and deliver training programs to build leadership capacity and enhance staff skills.
• Support professional development initiatives for employees at all levels.
• Utilize learning work management system to track employee training progress.

Policy Development

• Develop, update, and enforce HR policies and procedures that align with organizational values and legal requirements.
• Maintain and update the employee handbook and policies and procedures manual.
• Recommend new approaches, policies, and procedures to improve departmental efficiency and service delivery.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws and regulations.
• Administer workers’ compensation and complete annual workers’ compensation audits.
• Maintain HRIS records and compile reports from the database to support decision-making and compliance.
• Participate in Cabinet meetings, administrative staff meetings, and attend relevant seminars and trainings.

Leave Administration

• Manage and oversee employee leave of absence programs, including FMLA, short-term disability, and organizational leave policies.
• Coordinate with the leave administrator to ensure accurate documentation, compliance with applicable laws, and timely communication with employees and supervisors.
• Monitor leave trends and ensure consistency in application across the organization.

Payroll Administration

• Ensuring compliance with wage and hour laws.
• Maintain payroll records and coordinate with finance and external vendors as needed.

Benefits Administration

• Administer employee benefits programs, including open enrollment, claims resolution, and vendor management.
• Evaluate and recommend compensation strategies to ensure market competitiveness and internal equity.

Systems & Project Management

• Identify and implement HR systems and tools that improve efficiency, data tracking, and employee experience streamlining processes and modernizing HR practices.
• Lead HR projects and initiatives that strengthen organizational infrastructure.
• Demonstrate agility in learning and implementing new technologies.

Vendor Relations

• Establish and maintain effective relationships with external vendors, including benefits providers, payroll services, and training consultants.

Essential Competencies

1. Extensive Human Resources Aptitude
2. Strategic Thinking & Organizational Insight
3. Project & Priority Management
4. Communication Proficiency
5. Ethical Leadership
6. Time Management
7. Customer Service Oriented
8. Innovation & Problem Solving
9. Strong Compliance & HR knowledge

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Human Services, Human Resources, or related area
• 5+ years of experience working in Human Resources
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Working knowledge of the Paycom payroll system preferred

Industry

• Human Services
• Reports to Chief Operating Officer, with a dotted line to Chief Financial Officer.

Employment Type

Salaried Exempt Full Time

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification is preferred. Candidate must be able to successfully pass a background check. 

Salary

Salary will be aligned with the candidate's experience, skills, and qualifications

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no direct supervisory responsibilities but does serve as a coach and mentor for other positions within the organization.

Work Environment

This job operates in a customer service labor-oriented environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, and fax machines.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. This is largely a sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand on a stool, as necessary.

Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time in person position. The days and hours of work are Monday through Friday. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

COTS is an equal opportunity employer that abides by all Federal, State, and local employment laws.

How to Apply

If you're interested in joining our team, please submit your resume and a cover letter describing your experience and interest in the position to creed@cotsdetroit.org. We look forward to hearing from you.