People & Culture Senior Associate @Proteus Fund

About Proteus Fund

Proteus Fund connects philanthropy to the frontlines of social justice to advance, racial, gender, queer, and disability justice, and an inclusive, fully representative democracy. Our work identifies opportunities, gaps, and challenges facing movement organizations, especially at the state and local levels, and then mobilizes donor support and a range of non-grant tools to support these efforts. Our donor collaboratives are best-in-class models for bridging responsive philanthropy with cutting-edge social justice movements to create deep and long-lasting impact. Through fiscal sponsorship, Proteus Fund partners with emerging initiatives and innovative movement leaders — enabling them to focus on growing their substantive work and impact with the support of a trusted operational partner. 

To date, Proteus Fund, and its affiliated 501c4 organization, Proteus Action League, have distributed over $300 million in grants and provided other essential tools to support activists, advocates, networks, coalitions, and issue-specific campaigns at the local, state, and national level. Proteus Fund has offices in New York City and the metro Boston area. Our staff is based across the entire United States. 

Job Summary

The People and Culture Senior Associate is a trusted partner to staff and a central member of the People and Culture team, helping ensure that employees across both Core Proteus Fund and fiscally sponsored projects have a seamless and well-supported experience. This role is instrumental in shaping how people engage with the organization, supporting onboarding and orientation through technical execution and systems management, owning benefits administration, and supporting leave processes with care and consistency. 

Serving as the organization’s HRIS administrator, the Senior Associate ensures data integrity, compliance with applicable regulations, and accurate reporting that informs decision making. Working closely with and reporting to the Vice President of People and Culture, this role contributes to building a responsive, inclusive, and mission-aligned workplace where staff can thrive and do their best work.

Essential Functions

Core responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:  

Employee Benefits/Payroll

• Own end-to-end benefits administration, including open enrollment, plan reviews, vendor coordination, invoice reconciliation, COBRA, and required reporting. 
• Serve as the primary point of contact for brokers, insurance providers, and retirement plan partners, managing relationships and resolving issues as they arise. 
• Develop and deliver clear benefits communications so employees understand their options and can easily access and use their coverage. 
• Manage leave of absence processes by coordinating with external vendors, tracking documentation, supporting return to work transitions, and ensuring compliance with state reporting requirements. 
• Support employee wellness initiatives that promote wellbeing and work-life balance. 
• Partner closely with Payroll and Finance to ensure accurate and timely processing of employee changes, including hires, terminations, benefits updates, and paid time off tracking. 
• Lead the annual workers’ compensation audit and maintain all related records and documentation.

Compliance

• Support HR compliance across employment practices by monitoring and applying relevant federal, state, and local laws, including wage and hour requirements, leave regulations, and healthcare compliance.
• Coordinate required regulatory reporting and track changes in employment laws in partnership with the People and Culture team to ensure timely and accurate compliance. 
• Maintain and audit personnel records on a regular basis, ensuring files are complete, accurate, and up to date, and communicate any documented changes to employees such as compensation or role updates. 
• Develop and refine policies and procedures in collaboration with the Vice President of People and Culture, aligning them with legal requirements and organizational priorities. 
• Keep HR systems and internal resources current, including platforms such as Connect and payroll or benefits systems, ensuring staff have access to accurate and reliable information. 
• Coordinate and/or develop regular training sessions for employees on HR policies, procedures, and compliance matters.
• Manage annual People and Culture compliance training and systems administration.

Culture

• Partner with the Vice President of People and Culture to design and implement staff morale and recognition initiatives, both one-time and ongoing, aligned with employee needs and organizational priorities. 
• Coordinate employee engagement efforts in collaboration with the People and Culture team, helping to foster a positive, inclusive workplace culture. This includes developing and sharing internal communications that acknowledge and celebrate cultural holidays and moments of significance. 
• Support the planning and execution of in-person events that strengthen team cohesion, deepen engagement, and reinforce organizational culture.

Employee Lifecycle

• Oversees employee onboarding and offboarding, including day one preparations and conducting new hire trainings/orientations.
• Owns the technical execution of onboarding in HR systems, including adding employees and states to Checkwriters and other platforms ensuring data accuracy and system readiness.
• Manages benefits onboarding and enrollment setup, including facilitating the benefits orientation session and guiding employees through enrollment in all benefit programs.
• Maintains accurate and up to date employee records across staff changes throughout the employee lifecycle in HRIS and related systems.
• Manages employee offboarding at the systems and compliance level, including HRIS/payroll terminations, benefits termination, COBRA activation, final pay coordination, and ensuring all records are accurately updated.

Other

• Demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning by staying current on industry trends and best practices through remote and accessible professional development opportunities.
• Contribute to a strong team environment by collaborating across functions, sharing knowledge, and supporting collective goals. 
• Perform other duties as assigned, with flexibility to adapt to evolving team and organizational needs.

Competencies

Content Knowledge Expertise in Areas of Functional Oversight: Fluency in key areas of oversight; Ability to ask relevant lines of questioning to functional experts when personal content knowledge areas of expertise are not directly aligned.

Data Integrity, Accuracy, and Attention to Detail: Maintains a high degree of accuracy and detail orientation when working with data/ keeping data clean and up-to-date, data/ knowledge management, record keeping, etc.

Emotional Intelligence and Professional Discretion: Maintains high standards of confidentiality, ethical judgment, and self-awareness. Navigates sensitive conversations with humility, empathy, and fairness.

Personal Operations: Organization, Task Management, and Prioritization: Strategic management of daily tasks and related deliverables within a portfolio of work. Prioritizes support to actively mitigate risk and minimize bottlenecks when possible, keeping in mind the needs of other collaborators.  

Philosophical Alignment: Demonstrates strong commitment to the mission and values of Proteus Fund as a progressive, social justice organization, including a deep investment in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). 

Written, Verbal, and Interpersonal Communication: Communicates with clarity, cultural fluency, and integrity across sensitive or complex topics. Balances transparency, care, and discretion in all people-facing work. 

Education and Experience

While no one person will embody all the qualifications listed below, the ideal incumbent will possess many of the following: 

• 5-7 years experience working in human resources or people and culture department or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Significant experience in supporting complex non-profit organization with benefits and leave management. 
• Knowledge of best practices for People & Culture as well as legal knowledge of policies 
• Highly skilled in PC usage, Microsoft Office Platform (including Teams and SharePoint), zoom; Preferred knowledge in ATS systems like Checkwriters 
• Ability to work and adapt in a fast-paced environment and work efficiently in a virtual setting 
• Ability to work collaboratively with individuals and teams that are diverse through building inclusion and belonging 

Position Type & Schedule/Hours: This is a full-time position requiring a minimum of 40 hours per week. 

Candidates must be based in or able to work within Eastern or Central Time zones. Business hours are Monday through Friday, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. Additional hours are occasionally required.

Supervisory Responsibilities: This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Travel: This position requires a minimum of 2-3 overnight trips per year, including participation in Proteus Fund’s all-staff retreats and other job-related travel such as team meetings, donor convenings, or training opportunities. Most travel will be planned in advance and may involve overnight stays. 

Work Environment: This position works indoors and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers and phones. Most of the work will be performed remotely, which requires a dedicated work space.

Physical Requirements: This position is largely sedentary, with prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer; however, some movement may be required depending on the specific job duties. This position requires the ability to: operate a computer daily, as well as other home- or in-office devices such as a copier or printer as needed; communicate effectively with coworkers and external parties, including – for example – via email, phone, and/or video conferencing; and, occasionally, lift up to 25 lbs. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Benefits: 

Proteus Fund is committed to ensuring that its employees are supported holistically, from compensation, benefits and resources to an enriching work environment and collaborative culture. Proteus Fund leads the market in a number of its offerings, including a sector leading retirement plan contribution and robust benefits package. The recruitment team will share more information regarding this commitment and offerings. Medical and dental benefits for employee and eligible dependents beginning on the first day of work. 

• Retirement savings account (401k) with an organization contribution of 10% of annual salary 
• Three weeks’ paid vacation in the first year of work
• Fifteen sick days per year
• Three personal days per year
• Fifteen paid holidays
• Life Insurance
• Short-term and Long-Term disability
• Professional Development opportunities

Other Duties: This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Equity at Proteus: Proteus Fund believes that one of the greatest strengths of an organization is the rich diversity of its staff and board and is committed to providing equal employment and promotional opportunities based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, ethnicity, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under the law. Proteus Fund’s policies and practices are to reflect Proteus Fund’s commitment to nondiscrimination in all areas of employment. 

Accessibility: Proteus Fund is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Proteus will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact Human Resources at jobs@proteusfund.org.  Additionally, throughout this document, use of the pronoun “they” is intended to be inclusive of humans who identify as non-binary as well as those of gender expansive identities and experiences.