Principal HR Consultant (Senior HR Business Partner)

About Positively Partners

Positively Partners delivers integrated, people-centered consulting services to social impact organizations. Our services include recruitment, HR outsourcing, and consulting on people practices related to compensation, employee engagement, and inclusion.

Founded by nonprofit leaders in 2016, we help social sector organizations access high-quality, inclusion-focused HR services essential to achieving their missions. We’re a team of learners, HR professionals, and equity practitioners committed to helping employees thrive in support of their organization’s mission. Our home bases are in Boston, MA and Washington, DC, with a remote team across the United States, allowing us to deliver services through a mix of in-person and virtual channels.

You can learn more about Positively Partners and our service offerings at positivelypartners.org.

About PositivelyHR

PositivelyHR is our outsourced HR service, providing mission-driven organizations with comprehensive, high-quality HR solutions. We function as an extension of our clients’ teams, offering expert support in compliance, payroll and tax processing, benefits administration, policy development, and employee relations.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Principal HR Consultant to join the PositivelyHR team and serve as a strategic thought partner and trusted advisor to our nonprofit clients. In this senior-level role, you will lead client engagements focused on employee relations, performance management, accommodations, leave administration, and HR compliance—guiding people managers and organizational leaders through complex and sensitive personnel matters with empathy, clarity, and confidence.

This role is ideal for an HR professional with deep expertise in employment law and HR best practices, a coaching mindset, and a strong orientation toward practical problem-solving that balances policy, risk, and values. You’ll work closely with a diverse range of leaders—from first-time supervisors to executive teams—helping them navigate challenges, strengthen management capabilities, and foster inclusive, people-centered practices. As a core member of the PositivelyHR team, you’ll also contribute to process development, team learning, and the continued evolution of our services.

Key Responsibilities

Client Advisory & Case Management

• Serve as the primary advisor to people managers and organizational leaders on a wide range of employee relations matters, including performance concerns, interpersonal conflicts, accommodations, and corrective actions
• Provide real-time guidance and problem-solving on employee issues, while scaffolding and equipping managers and leaders with long-term strategies for sustainable resolution
• Partner with people managers to implement performance improvement plans and manage progressive discipline practices, balancing legal compliance alongside equitable and strengths-based practices
• Investigate and support resolution of employee complaints, escalating appropriately and ensuring alignment with legal obligations and organizational values
• Deliver “push in” conflict resolution support, including meditations and facilitated conversations
• Lead and manage leave of absence cases, ensuring compliance with applicable federal and state laws, consistent application of organizational policies, and accurate payroll processing through clear direction and handoffs
• Help organizations assess and mitigate risk by ensuring alignment with employment law, internal policies, and best practices
• Provide clear, actionable recommendations and documentation that supports compliance and effective management
• Collaborate with legal counsel and PositivelyHR leadership to address high-level, high-risk, or highly complex issues

Coaching & Capacity Building

• Coach managers and leaders through sensitive personnel decisions, building their people management skill and confidence when navigating sensitive employee matters
• Support the rollout of HR policies and people practices by helping managers apply them in practical, values-aligned ways
• Facilitate manager learning opportunities–including office hours and workshops–on performance management topics such as goal-setting, leading performance conversations, etc.
• Help managers and leaders build internal muscle for handling employee issues by modeling effective conversations, documentation, and strategic thinking
• Partner closely with other members of the PositivelyHR team to ensure coordinated, high-quality service and support to each client

Documentation & Practice Standards

• Maintain strong documentation of casework, interventions, and client communications in alignment with internal protocols
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of internal tools and processes including workflows, templates, and guidance materials to necessary to support the scaling of high-quality PositivelyHR services
• May support the development or refinement of related employee handbook policies
• Stay current on employment law developments, HR best practices, and contribute to internal learning and development efforts

Qualifications

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We review each application to better know you and the unique strengths you will bring to work. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below:

• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, including substantial experience advising managers on performance management, leaves (including state statutory leaves), and employee relations
• In-depth knowledge of employment laws and HR compliance practices, particularly related to accommodations, FMLA, wage & hour, and disciplinary actions
• Demonstrated success guiding and coaching supervisors through difficult personnel issues with a strengths-based, equity-focused lens
• Strong judgment and the ability to assess and respond to risk in real time
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate legal and technical guidance into practical, values-aligned advice
• Experience working with senior leaders across departments in either an internal HR leadership role or client-facing HR consultancy. Preference for individuals with experience working in or with non-profit organizations
• Skilled at balancing care for individual employees with the needs and responsibilities of the broader organization
• High emotional intelligence and a calm, professional approach under pressure
• Strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and people-centered HR practices
• Preference for individuals with a professional certification (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR)
• Must be located in the United States and willing to work eastern timezone hours to accommodate Positively Partners’ primarily east coast clients

Strengths & Interests

At Positively Partners, we believe great work comes from alignment with strengths. We believe that you’ll like this role if you:

• Feel energized by helping people work through hard moments with clarity and care
• Embrace complexity by breaking down complex problems and offering strategic, realistic solutions
• Bring structure and calm to situations that feel high-stakes, urgent or ambiguous
• Feel at home supporting people across levels of seniority, from individuals contributors to executive leaders
• Committed to a standard of excellence
• Have a bias for action and a desire to help others build skill and confidence
• Are motivated by fairness, clear communication, and continuous learning
• Effectively foster spaces that are inclusive of people’s identities and encourage participants to speak in full and authentic voice.

Compensation & Benefits

Positively Partners offers staff a robust compensation and benefits package including access to high-quality, inclusive health benefits that prioritize employee agency and an opportunity for an end of year discretionary bonus calculated in equal measure based on individual, team, and organizational performance.

The salary range for this role is $105,000 to $140,000 with a potential for up to 10% annual, performance-based bonus. Positively Partners is committed to supporting employee growth in our field, including providing training and support on an ongoing basis.

Location / Work Expectations

This is a remote position, open to candidates based in the United States. To best serve our primarily East Coast clients, candidates must be available to work Eastern Time Zone hours. While the role is primarily remote, it includes occasional in-person meetings with clients and team members. As such, candidates must be located in DMV area or the broader Northeast region who are within a reasonable commuting distance for these engagements.

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