Senior HR Generalist & Payroll

Who we are:

Red River Animal Emergency Hospital & Referral Center (RRAEH) is the region’s leading provider of advanced veterinary care, proudly serving ND/MN/SD since 2005. We’re North Dakota’s first and only 24/7 emergency hospital (since 2018) and, as of 2024, the state’s only 24/7 multi-specialty hospital, locally owned and operated by in-house and community veterinarians. With demand growing, we doubled our footprint in 2022 to add Oncology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery, and we remain committed to state-of-the-art medicine, education, community involvement, and a supportive workplace culture.

Who you are

We’re looking for a highly skilled and collaborative Senior HR Generalist & Payroll professional who shares our unwavering commitment to excellence, both in caring for our people and in the well-being of our hospital. As a cornerstone of our team, you bring not only depth in HR and payroll, but a passion for supporting the mission of providing exceptional care to every pet and family we serve.

You thrive in dynamic, 24/7 environments, possess an entrepreneurial mindset, and take ownership of people processes from recruiting to offboarding. You’re a forward-thinker who sees challenges as opportunities, whether that’s refining a biweekly payroll close, improving an onboarding journey, or coaching a leader through a complex, sensitive situation. Likewise, you understand that great HR is both heart and rigor: empathetic, confidential, and fair, backed by airtight documentation, compliance, and data.

This role is ideal for a seasoned HR generalist who’s eager to grow professionally. With a clear path to evolve into HR & Payroll Manager / People Operations Manager, you’ll influence culture, elevate manager capability, and help shape scalable systems for a hospital that never closes its doors. Experience with iSolved (or similar HRIS/payroll), multi-shift operations, and healthcare/veterinary settings is a strong plus.

If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact, building trusted relationships, and creating a supportive, high-performance workplace....we’d love to meet you.

Key responsibilities

Payroll

• Run end-to-end payroll on a biweekly cycle for hourly, salaried, and relief staff, including shift differentials, on-call, overtime, stipends, bonuses, and garnishments.
• Reconcile payroll, coordinate GL mapping with finance, manage year-end (W-2/1095-C), and oversee payroll tax filings/registrations.
• Maintain accurate timekeeping for 24/7 schedules: audit punches, PTO, and premium pay.
• Track and process approved employee expense reimbursements and allowances through payroll in coordination with accounting.

Talent Acquisition & Lifecycle

• Partner with managers to scope roles for DVMs, boarded specialists, licensed techs, and client service teams; manage postings, sourcing, screening, and offers.
• Review and approve all offer letters and employment agreements prior to issuance to ensure clarity, compliance, and alignment with compensation guidelines.
• Own onboarding/offboarding: I-9/E-Verify, background checks/drug screens, handbook & policy acknowledgement, HRIS setup, benefits enrollment, equipment access/returns, exit interviews.
• Coordinate and facilitate new-hire orientation sessions to ensure consistent cultural and policy onboarding.
• Track role-specific requirements (e.g., ND veterinary/tech licensure dates, DEA where applicable, CE reimbursement policies).

Employee Relations, Culture & Wellness

• Coach managers and employees on performance, documentation, and conflict resolution; conduct fair and timely investigations.
• Champion culture initiatives tailored to the veterinary space (24/7 ER and Specialty) (recognition, debriefs, compassion-fatigue resources, wellness programs).
• Support scheduling norms and attendance expectations suited to overnight/holiday work.

Benefits & Leaves

• Administer medical/dental/vision, 401(k), and ancillary plans; lead open enrollment and qualifying life events.
• Manage FMLA/ADA interactive process, ND leave/pay requirements, workers’ comp (including incident reporting for animal-related injuries/needle sticks), and return-to-work.

Policies, Compliance & Reporting

• Maintain and update the employee records, handbook, SOPs, and HR policies; ensure compliance with federal and ND laws (FLSA, FMLA, ADA, EEO, COBRA, OSHA/clinic safety policies).
• Prepare required filings (e.g., EEO-1) and support audits (payroll, I-9, benefits, workers’ comp).
• Develop and track annual compliance and professional training programs (e.g, sexual harassment prevention, safety protocols, continuing education). Utilize Isolved’s LMS or other tools to assign, monitor, and document completion.
• Partner with leadership on controlled-substance and radiation/clinic safety policy training ownership (content owners in Ops/Medicine; HR ensures policy acknowledgement & records).
• Maintain current job descriptions and wage ranges in partnership with leadership; ensure consistency, equity, and regulatory compliance.

HRIS, Data & Process

• Own HRIS/ATS/timekeeping (Isolved): security roles, data integrity, workflows, and integrations.
• Build and publish dashboards: headcount, time-to-fill, turnover, labor cost, overtime, premium pay, PTO liability.

Other (as needed)

• Support performance and compensation cycles; job architecture, market checks for DVMs/techs, and spot bonus programs.
• Manage vendor relationships (payroll, benefits, background checks, HR tech).

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years progressive HR generalist experience with 2+ years hands-on payroll; healthcare/veterinary and 24/7 operations experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of U.S. employment laws and ND wage & hour; comfort with multi-shift operations and premium pay rules.
• Proficiency with HRIS/ATS and spreadsheets (lookups, pivots).
• Excellent judgment, confidentiality, documentation, and communication skills.
• Preferred: SHRM-CP/PHR (or higher); FPC/CPP; experience supporting licensed clinicians (DVM/LVT) and credential tracking.

Compensation and Perks:

• Salary: $75,000 to $85,000
• Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8am to 5pm. Being 24/7 some flexibility is required.
• Relocation Allowance
• Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 401 (K) with Employer Matching
• Very generous CE Allowance
• PTO
• Licensing, membership fees paid for by RRAEH
• Short term and long-term disability coverage
• Pet discount, Employee Assistant Program and more!!

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $75,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person