HR Lead

At Validus, we help clients understand and manage their financial risks, through hands-on advice, trade execution and award-winning technology. Our clients include some of the most respected names in private equity, private debt, institutional investment and corporates.

This is a genuinely exciting time to join us. We're growing fast, and we need someone to help us do it well.

The Role

This is a HR Lead position based in our Midtown Manhattan office and it's as much about building something as it is about running it.

You'll be the HR lead for our NYC team (currently 9–11 people and growing), with responsibility extending across our Toronto office too. Day to day you'll report into our UK based HR Director and work closely with our global HR and Talent teams.

It's a proper generalist role, you'll be across the full employee lifecycle, handling real employee relations work, keeping us compliant across federal, New York State and NYC employment law, and making sure our people feel supported and set up to do their best work.

But it's also more than that.

You'll take ownership of the office itself, the kind of role where you'll find yourself sorting out a payroll query in the morning, advising a manager on a tricky conversation in the afternoon, and making sure the office feels like somewhere people actually want to be. That might mean coordinating open enrolment, leading onboarding for a new hire, or making sure Pancake Day doesn't pass by unnoticed.

What You'll Be Doing

• Acting as the main HR point of contact for NYC and Toronto - the person people come to when they need help, guidance or just a straight answer.
• Owning US HR compliance - federal, New York State and NYC and making sure our contracts, policies, documentation and employment visas stay accurate and up to date.
• Managing the full employee lifecycle, from offer to off boarding, with everything in between handled properly.
• Coordinating US payroll and benefits, including open enrollment.
• Handling employee relations matters - investigations, disciplinaries, performance conversations, with fairness and good judgement.
• Supporting and coaching managers so they're equipped to lead their teams well.
• Partnering with Talent Acquisition on hiring as we grow.
• Keeping a close eye on trends and risks before they become problems.
• Taking real ownership of the Midtown office, making sure it's a productive, welcoming environment where people feel part of something.

Requirements

• 5–8+ years of HR experience in a generalist capacity, ideally in a growing business.
• Strong, working knowledge of US employment law, federal, New York State and NYC.
• Someone who's comfortable being the most senior HR person in the room and can make confident, independent calls.
• Experience handling employee relations properly, not just theoretically.
• Good judgement, discretion and the ability to build trust quickly with people at all levels.
• Able to work as part of a dispersed, international team without needing a lot of hand-holding.
• Useful but not essential: SHRM qualification or equivalent; experience in financial or professional services; HiBob familiarity.

The Kind of Person You Are

• You're practical. You get things done. You don't overcomplicate things and you don't disappear behind process when someone needs a real answer.
• You're comfortable with ambiguity, happy to roll your sleeves up, and you understand that in a business like ours, being a brilliant HR professional and being a decent, grounded human being go hand in hand.

What We Offer

Competitive salary and a strong US benefits package. Hybrid working, three days in the office. Real ownership of your remit. Direct exposure to senior leadership. And the opportunity to genuinely shape what HR looks like in our US business as we grow.

Benefits

About the Company:

Validus Risk Management is an independent technology-enabled advisory firm specialising in the management of FX, interest rate and other market risks. We work with institutional investors, fund managers, and portfolio companies to design and implement strategies to measure, manage and monitor financial market risk, using a market-tested combination of specialist consulting services, trade execution and innovative risk technology.

Working at Validus can offer an exciting opportunity for both personal development and professional growth. Share in our mission to become the largest and most respected specialist provider of financial market risk services in the world. Notable benefits include a competitive remuneration package (salary + bonus), health care, retirement plans, and financial support towards professional qualifications.

Validus assesses market data to ensure a competitive compensation package for our employees. The base salary for this position is expected to be between $80,000 and $100,000 per year at the commencement of employment. However, base salary if hired will be determined on an individualised basis, including as to experience and market location, and is only part of the Validus total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include, generous bonus, and Company-sponsored benefit programs.

Our core company values are;

• Accountability – Getting it done and owning the result.
• Teamwork – We succeed by helping others succeed.
• Integrity – We serve our clients; the responsibility is sacrosanct. 
• Diversity – Diversity boosts creativity – creativity is our edge.
• Kaizen – Strive to do things better. Innovation kills complacency.

Validus is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

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