Human Resources Specialist

Salary

$ $41.79 Hourly

Location

Owatonna, MN

Job Type

Full-time

Job Number

HR Specialist

Department

Human Resources

Opening Date

11/10/2025

Closing Date

11/30/2025 11:59 PM Central

FLSA

Non-Exempt

Bargaining Unit

NA

THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE:

The City of Owatonna is a growing community strategically placed at the crossroads of I-35 and two major US highways, approximately one hour south of the Twin Cities metro area. The community has a commitment to growth, access to services, and quality of life for its 26,000 residents.

Click the link below to learn more about the community this position would have the opportunity to be part of and serve.

ABOUT THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT:

DEPARTMENT PURPOSE:

We believe that healthy and effective organizations start with people. The Human Resources Department creates a better tomorrow by partnering with and supporting each City department and its employees to attract, develop, reward, and retain a high-performing municipal workforce.

As an organization, our Purpose is to create a better tomorrow. We are guided in that work by our organization's 3 Core Values: Better Together, Community Stewardship, and Pride in Our Work.

In our department, the City's values look and sound like

BETTER TOGETHER:

• Being available and responsive to the needs of our employees
  Building and maintaining relationships across all City departments- -any employee should feel comfortable coming to HR
• Working with compassion for and attention towards the person in front of us
• Listening with openness to other's perspectives and ideas

COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP:

• Getting the right people in the right positions to provide the best service for our community
• Balancing the needs of employees and the needs of the city
• Taking care of our employees so they can take care of our community
• Ensuring that staffing levels align with the City's growth and needs

PRIDE IN OUR WORK:

• Exceeding expectations in the quality of our work
• Paying attention to the details and asking clarifying questions so we can get it right
• Being consistent in our processes and behaviors
• Maintaining trust by conducting ourselves professionally
• Practicing confidentiality and acting with discretion as appropriate to the situation
• Holding ourselves and others accountable

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

Perform responsibilities in some or all the following functional areas of: employee relations, compensation, benefits, performance management, workers' compensation, recruiting and hiring, training, labor relations, legal compliance, and record keeping. Assist the Human Resources Director with general Human Resources duties as needed.

Specifically, as the Human Resources Specialist you will...

• Assist with administering Benefit Programs such as FMLA, workers' compensation, COBRA, health, life, disability, and other benefit programs. Monitors, maintains and administers new employee orientation and benefits program and annual open enrollment.
• Assist the Human Resources Director with compliance with all appropriate state and federal laws and regulations and maintains related records.
• Assist with the City's labor relations program. Which may include assisting in developing union contract provisions, establishing and implementing new policies, planning programs in the collective bargaining process; researches and surveys salary and benefit trends in other communities, developing contract language and costing out contract proposals.
• Support and coordinates recruitment and interview process for City vacancies including preparing job descriptions, job announcements, preparing, organizing and scheduling interviews, tests and screenings.
• Provide excellent customer service to City staff, the public and others.
• Audit all Human Resource related accounts payable and prepares expense vouchers.
• Perform other duties of a similar nature or level.

ABOUT YOU:

A successful candidate will have some or all of the following ...

An associate degree in Human Resources or related field; 3 years of relevant work experience is required; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

Licensing in:

• None

Knowledge of:

• State and federal employment law and the principles of human resource management;
• Customer service principles;
• Basic principles and practices in assigned area of responsibility;
• Office procedures, methods, and equipment;
• Filing and recordkeeping principles;
• English language, grammar, and punctuation;
• Data review techniques;
• Computers and related software applications;
• Applicable regulations and policies.

Skills in:

• Maintains confidentiality and security of all personnel data, documents and files.
• Composing routine correspondence, memos, forms, and/or other related information;
• Maintaining files;
• Providing customer service;
• Proofreading and editing documents;
• Utilizing modern office equipment;
• Processing and reviewing data;
• Prioritizing and assigning work;
• Using a computer and related software applications;
• Communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with subordinates, coworkers, supervisor, the general public, etc. sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.

• This is a full-time position. Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Flexibility is important to us and our employees, schedule may vary based on needs.
• To view the full job description including position specifications and physical demands click here.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Employer

City of Owatonna

Address

540 West Hills Circle

Owatonna, Minnesota, 55060

Phone