Human Resources Specialist

Specialist strengthens departmental operations to foster a flourishing workplace dedicated to higher education in a Christ-centered community.

The successful candidate is a service-minded, detail-oriented administrator who effectively balances focused independent work with active team collaboration. He/she brings a high level of discretion, strong process discipline, and an eager aptitude to learn new systems and workflows while delivering affirmative, Christ-like customer service to the university community.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Functions:

Talent Acquisition & Application Processing

• Coordinate talent acquisition workflows by drafting job requisitions, posting vacancies across internal and external job boards, and processing incoming applications in the HRIS for baseline qualifications.
• Guide and train hiring managers on university recruitment and hiring workflows, job requisition approvals, applicant tracking, and candidate selection best practices.
• Maintain proactive communication with hiring managers and applicants throughout the application and selection process to ensure a positive candidate experience.
• Coordinate position setups, job requisitions, and Personnel Action Forms in collaboration with HR leadership, entering position details into all relevant systems.

Onboarding & Employee Lifecycle Management

• Serve as the primary onboarding coordinator for new hires and volunteers across all campus locations and divisions.
• Facilitate electronic onboarding workflows, background checks, employment verifications, and new employee orientation utilizing the HRIS (Paycom).
• Track onboarding milestones to ensure timely completion of pre-employment requirements and smooth integration into the university.
• Serve as the university’s Form I-9 Specialist, ensuring strict compliance with federal verification standards and reverification timelines.
• Process administrative lifecycle changes in the HRIS, including department transfers, promotions, and offboarding/terminations.

Benefits & Leave Operations

• Serve as the primary operational backup to the Benefits Manager for daily administration, open enrollment execution, and employee benefits inquiries.
• Process routine leave workflows (FMLA/disability), Workers’ Comp filings, and OSHA logging; assist with ACA compliance monitoring, escalating complex leave, benefit, or accommodation matters to HR leadership.
• Manage monthly benefits billing reconciliation by reviewing carrier invoices, verifying enrollment data, and resolving discrepancies directly with benefit vendors.
• Partner with Accounts Payable to process and submit timely premium payments to benefit providers.

HRIS, Records & Compliance Management

• Maintain accurate, confidential employee records in accordance with university policies, state regulations, and federal legal requirements.
• Administer electronic document workflows within Paycom and Laserfiche, executing regular file archiving, retention, name change updates, and annual record cleanup projects.
• Generate and run standard and custom HR data reports as requested by department leadership.
• Execute scheduled annual HR operational and compliance tasks as assigned.
• Respond to and process all official employment verification requests promptly.
• Serve as an initial point of contact for HR inquiries, interpreting university HR policies and procedures for employees and campus leadership.
• Participate in professional development opportunities and perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Southern Nazarene University is an expression of the Church of the Nazarene. According to SNU policy, all faculty and staff must profess faith in Jesus Christ, possess a strong personal Christian commitment and be committed to the SNU mission to make Christlike disciples through higher education in a Christ centered community.
• As an institution of the Church of the Nazarene, applicants must understand and embrace the biblical principle that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect, including a belief in equal opportunity to work, contribute, and flourish without discrimination.
• Education & Experience: Associate degree (or equivalent college coursework) combined with at least 2–3 years of professional administrative or human resources experience.
• Technical & Quantitative Aptitude: Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and strong quantitative aptitude, with the ability to learn Excel-based workflows, invoice auditing, numerical reconciliation, and discrepancy identification.
• Compliance & Confidentiality: Demonstrated capability to handle highly sensitive, confidential personnel records with discretion and adhere to legal and regulatory guidelines.
• Communication & Service: Strong verbal and written communication skills with a customer-service orientation, professional tact, and strong interpersonal skills.
• Detail Orientation: High level of accuracy in data entry and organizational skills to manage concurrent deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Experience: 3+ years of dedicated Human Resources experience; Experience in higher education.
• Systems Expertise: Hands-on experience using HRIS platforms (e.g., Paycom), higher education ERP systems (e.g., Ellucian), and electronic document management systems (e.g., Laserfiche).

Supervision Received:

Receives supervision and work assignments from Director of Human Resources and Benefits Manager.

Supervision Exercised:

None.

Apply Online for this position at Southern Nazarene Careers

Benefits

Generous benefit structure including family medical insurance plan (shared cost), HSA/FSA, dental, vision, disability, group/voluntary life, direct primary care, retirement matching, tuition remission, vacation, sick leave, personal days, and holidays.

Southern Nazarene University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university. It is an expression of the educational ministry of the Church of the Nazarene. Based at its main residential campus located just west of Oklahoma City, SNU serves students from around the world at multiple locations in Oklahoma and through online educational opportunities.

Founded in 1899, SNU grew out of several small evangelical colleges committed to training people for service to God and their fellow man. During the later part of the nineteenth century, settlers in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas founded these educational institutions to promote the optimistic message that the result of people fully aligning their lives with God’s work in the world would be personal holiness and compassionate service.

Southern Nazarene University values each person created in the image of God, therefore, we also desire to be a community that reflects representation of diversity. We care about inclusion and equity through the refining of our character, the way we create culture and the way we serve Christ. Our University values reconciliation through God’s love.

Southern Nazarene University policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, veterans status or any other legally protected class in the recruitment and admission of students, in all personnel actions or decisions including, but not necessarily limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, upgrading, promotion, demotion, termination and salary, and in the operation of all university programs, activities, and services.