Position Summary 

The Senior Human Resources Manager (Sr. HR Manager) serves as the senior HR presence within an assigned college or division and leads the unit’s embedded HR team. Reporting to a Senior HRBP with a dotted line to the dean or VP, this role is the strategic interface between enterprise HR and the embedded units by advising leadership on workforce decisions, connecting the unit to the Centers of Expertise (COEs) and Shared Services, and ensuring enterprise standards are applied with appropriate local context. The Sr. HR Manager translates institutional HR strategy into unit-level action.  

At Colorado State University, the Division of Human Resources supports employees and leaders across the university throughout the employee experience. Our work helps CSU attract, develop, engage, and retain the people who advance the university’s mission of teaching, research, service, and extension. We are continuing to strengthen how HR works across CSU by building a more connected HR experience, creating greater clarity and consistency, growing our HR community, and evolving how we work to meet the university’s future needs. Learn more about the Division of Human Resources, our work, and the values that guide how we serve CSU at: https://hr.colostate.edu/about-hr/our-values/. 

Roles hired through this pool may primarily serve a unit or college and will have the opportunity to support additional campus human resources teams. Positions will be onsite with possibility for hybrid work.  

Job Duties 

Strategic Advisory & Leadership Partnership  

• Serve as the primary HR advisor to the dean/VP and unit leadership team on workforce strategy, organizational design, talent risks, employee relations, and leadership effectiveness within a shared governance environment 

• Translate enterprise HR strategy and institutional priorities into unit-relevant actions, processes, and clear decision guidance for leaders. 

• Coach leaders and managers through change, restructuring, difficult conversations, and complex or high-risk people decisions  

• Participate in the unit’s strategic and workforce planning in alignment with enterprise HR strategy  

Team Leadership & Development   

• Lead, coach, and develop the unit’s embedded HR staff; set clear role expectations and hold the team accountable to enterprise service and escalation standards  

• Manage workload distribution and coverage across the team based on unit size, complexity, and risk; ensure consistent service through peak cycles  

Operational Alignment   

• Act as the connector between the unit and the COEs, ensuring COE-designed solutions are applied consistently and effectively within the unit in areas of talent acquisition, talent management, total rewards, employee relations, time and labor, absence, data management, and payroll functions  

• Provide initial employee relations consultation and guidance including coaching managers and facilitating conflict resolution 

• Steward complex, high-risk, cross-unit, repeat, or strategic matters to the Senior HRBP, COEs, or Shared Services through proper escalation paths.  

Workforce Strategy & Organizational Health  

• Support unit-specific workforce planning, performance management, talent strategy, succession considerations, and organizational effectiveness in partnership with the Senior HRBP  

• Use workforce and people data to surface risks and trends and to inform unit leadership decisions; translate analytics into actionable insight for non-HR leaders  

• Steward enterprise standards while balancing unit nuances.  

• Monitor unit workforce outcomes and partner with leaders to act on them  

Conditions of Employment 

• Pre-employment Background Check 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, business, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience  

• 5+ years of progressive HR experience, including business partner or generalist work with leadership-facing responsibility  

• Demonstrated working knowledge of federal and state employment laws, regulations, and HR practices, with the ability to advise leaders in their application to workforce matters.   

• Demonstrated experience managing employee relations matters and advising leaders on performance management, workforce planning, organizational design, and organizational effectiveness  

Preferred Qualifications 

• Higher education or other shared-governance / faculty-relations experience  

• Experience leading or maturing an HRBP function during organizational change  

• Familiarity with Workday and data-informed HR practice  

• Experience with labor relations, talent management, talent acquisition, training, and total rewards.  

• Experience leading, coaching, and developing staff 

Salary Range 

$100,000-$130,000 

Application Instructions 

To apply, please upload a Resume and a Cover Letter. This is an evergreen posting. Applications will be reviewed as hiring needs arise, and qualified applicants may be contacted if a suitable opportunity becomes available.