Director of Human Resources (part-time)

Who We Are

The Water Project unlocks human potential by building and connecting global networks of local leaders, communities of generous supporters, and an informed public to provide sustainable water and sanitation programs to needlessly suffering communities in developing countries. We are committed to bringing people together to solve the problem of finding clean water. Whether it’s our local teams in the field, our international staff, our donors and fundraisers, or the communities we serve, we believe that people are the greatest solution to the water crisis.

At The Water Project, we prioritize the well-being of our team. We provide competitive salaries and excellent benefits, including fully covered medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) match, and a generous vacation policy.

What The Role Is

The Part-Time Director of Human Resources is The Water Project’s senior hands-on HR practitioner and the day-to-day point person for people-related matters. Working with a small, distributed, multi-state team, the Director owns the employee lifecycle, HR compliance, employee relations, performance processes, compensation support, and the effective use of the organization’s PEO.

This is an individual contributor role for an experienced HR professional who can provide sound advice while also completing the detailed work. The Director establishes a predictable weekly schedule and maintains sufficient flexibility to respond promptly to time-sensitive employee matters. 

Beyond technical HR expertise, we are looking for someone who recognizes the person behind every policy, process, and personnel decision. The successful candidate builds trust through thoughtful communication, consistent follow-through, and genuine care for the employee experience. They understand that supporting our people, strengthening our workplace, and ensuring fair and dependable HR practices are essential to advancing The Water Project's mission.

The role is focused on U.S. human resources and does not include ownership of the organization’s finance, general operations, or international employment compliance unless separately agreed.

This is a part-time position (~15-20 hrs/wk)and may be located anywhere in the United States.

How You Work

At The Water Project, how we accomplish our work matters just as much as what we accomplish. The successful candidate will:

• Put people at the center of the work. Recognize that every HR decision affects an individual. Listen with empathy, approach conversations without assumptions, and treat employees, candidates, and colleagues with dignity and respect.

• Build trust through consistent action. Honor commitments, communicate openly, follow through on responsibilities, and address concerns promptly. Be someone employees and leaders can depend on, especially when navigating difficult situations.

• Bring exceptional care to everyday interactions. Recognize that even routine HR processes can have a meaningful impact on someone's experience. Anticipate needs, pay attention to details, and look for opportunities to make people feel supported and valued.

• Keep the larger mission in focus. Approach decisions with the long-term health of the organization and its people in mind. Work collaboratively, support organizational priorities, and recognize that a healthy, effective team is essential to fulfilling The Water Project's mission.

• Lead with humility, fairness, and accountability. Welcome feedback, maintain appropriate professional boundaries, exercise sound judgment, and demonstrate a willingness to learn, adapt, and improve.

What You Will Own and Be Accountable For

HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee and manager questions regarding policies, benefits, leave, performance, workplace concerns, and other HR matters.

• Manage employee onboarding, job and status changes, leave coordination, and offboarding from an HR perspective, ensuring each transition is handled thoughtfully and with attention to the individual employee experience.

• Maintain complete, accurate, confidential personnel records and ensure required documents, acknowledgments, and notices are completed and retained.

• Administer and continually improve the employee handbook, HR policies, templates, checklists, and standard operating procedures, making information clear, accessible, and easy for employees and managers to navigate.

• Coordinate benefits and payroll-related employee information through Justworks or another PEO; Finance owns payroll funding, accounting, and reconciliation.

• Maintain an HR compliance calendar and ensure recurring filings, notices, training, and policy reviews are completed on schedule.

• Anticipate employee and organizational needs, proactively identifying opportunities to simplify processes, reduce confusion, and improve the overall HR experience.

Recruiting & Hiring

• Partner with hiring managers to define roles, draft job descriptions, establish hiring plans, and develop fair and consistent selection processes.

• Coordinate job postings, candidate screening, interviews, references, offers, background checks, and pre-employment documentation.

• Create a professional, welcoming, and respectful candidate experience through clear communication, timely follow-up, and thoughtful attention to each stage of the hiring process.

• Support thoughtful, compliant hiring decisions that consider both the qualifications of candidates and their ability to contribute positively to the organization's mission and working environment.  

• Maintain appropriate recruiting records and ensure candidates are treated consistently and fairly.

• Plan recruiting activity within the regular weekly schedule and identify in advance when an active search is likely to require a temporary increase in hours.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Advise the President & CEO and managers on employee relations, performance, conduct, accommodations, leave, and other personnel matters, balancing organizational responsibilities with respect and care for the individuals involved.

• Serve as a trusted, approachable resource for employees, creating space for employees to raise concerns and ensuring they feel heard, respected, and taken seriously.

• Receive and assess employee concerns, conduct or coordinate appropriate fact-finding, and ensure matters are handled fairly, consistently, confidentially, and with appropriate documentation.

• Approach difficult or sensitive situations with empathy, objectivity, sound judgment, and a commitment to fair and constructive outcomes.

• Maintain working knowledge of federal and applicable state employment requirements across the states in which the organization employs staff.

• Identify when outside employment counsel or specialized expertise is needed and coordinate timely escalation.

• Support appropriate manager training on interviewing, feedback, documentation, anti-harassment, leave, and other employment responsibilities.

• Communicate clearly about next steps, follow through on commitments, and ensure sensitive matters receive timely attention and appropriate resolution.

Performance, Compensation & Organizational Support

• Coordinate the performance-management cycle, including schedules, forms, manager guidance, calibration support, and completion tracking.

• Coach managers on setting expectations, providing constructive feedback, documenting performance, and navigating difficult conversations with both candor and care.

• Support compensation reviews, market benchmarking, job classification, salary-range development, and career-growth conversations.

• Partner with Finance to model compensation and benefits costs and with the President & CEO on workforce planning and organizational design.

• Maintain job descriptions and ensure roles, classifications, reporting relationships, and employment records remain current.

• Encourage performance practices that recognize contributions, support employee growth, and reinforce shared accountability.

• Help managers approach personnel decisions thoughtfully, recognizing the importance of both individual dignity and organizational effectiveness.

HR Systems, Reporting & Coordination

• Maintain accurate employee information in the PEO and other HR systems and protect access to confidential information.

• Track a small set of useful HR measures, such as headcount, turnover, recruiting activity, performance-cycle completion, and leave trends.

• Provide concise updates to the President & CEO on material employee matters, compliance risks, upcoming decisions, and workload priorities, while respecting appropriate confidentiality.

• Coordinate with Finance & Operations on payroll changes, benefits costs, systems access, equipment, and onboarding or offboarding tasks.

• Maintain clear documentation, ownership, and follow-through so employees and managers receive dependable support and important matters do not fall through the cracks.

• Identify opportunities to make HR systems and processes more efficient, accessible, and supportive of the people who use them.

Schedule & Availability

• Establish a predictable weekly schedule and regular availability for employees and managers.

• Respond promptly to time-sensitive employee-relations and compliance matters, generally within one business day.

• Communicate availability and expected response times clearly so employees and managers know when and how to access HR support.

• Plan recurring work so that core HR responsibilities can be completed within an average of approximately 15 hours per week.

• Obtain approval before materially exceeding the normal weekly schedule, except when immediate action is reasonably necessary to protect an employee or the organization.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Typically seven or more years of progressive, hands-on human-resources experience, including meaningful ownership of an HR function or broad generalist portfolio.

• Demonstrated experience handling employee relations, performance concerns, leave and accommodation questions, and sensitive personnel matters.

• Working knowledge of federal and multi-state employment requirements and the judgment to recognize when legal guidance is needed.

• Experience administering benefits, payroll inputs, policies, personnel records, and other HR operations, preferably through a PEO or HRIS.

• Experience supporting compensation reviews, performance-management processes, recruiting, and manager coaching.

• Strong judgment, discretion, empathy, organization, and follow-through; confidentiality is essential.

• Clear, practical written and verbal communication skills and comfort working independently in a remote environment.

• Ability to balance strategic advice with detailed administrative execution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as the sole or senior HR practitioner in a small nonprofit or similarly lean organization.

• Experience supporting a distributed workforce across several U.S. states.

• Familiarity with Justworks or a comparable PEO.

• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR, or another relevant credential.

• Experience developing compensation structures, manager resources, and scalable HR processes.

Measures of Success

• Employees and managers have a reliable, trusted, and approachable point of contact for HR guidance.

• Employees experience HR interactions as respectful, responsive, fair, and thoughtfully handled, including during challenging or sensitive situations.

• Employee lifecycle processes, personnel records, policies, and compliance obligations are accurate, timely, and well-documented.

• Employee-relations matters are addressed promptly, fairly, and with sound documentation and escalation.

• Performance, compensation, and recruiting processes are completed consistently and within agreed timelines.

• HR practices support a workplace where people are treated with dignity, commitments are honored, and individual contributions are connected to the organization's broader mission.

• HR priorities and workload remain transparent and appropriately scoped for a part-time role.