HR Data & Operations Specialist

Position: HR Data and Operations Specialist

Job Summary:

The Human Resources Data and Operations Specialist supports the accuracy, consistency, security, and effective use of employee and position data across the University’s Human Resources systems. This position receives, reviews, tracks, and processes approved personnel and position documents, including Personnel Transaction Records (PTRs), Position Control Requests (PCRs), and documents completed through Docusign. The specialist enters and validates approved data in the University’s HRIS and related systems; performs recurring data audits and reconciliations; prepares workforce reports; develops and maintains dashboards and HR metrics; supports employment and position reporting; and documents operational processes. The position works closely with Human Resources, Payroll, Budget, Finance, Information Technology Services, and University departments to ensure approved actions are accurately and timely reflected in institutional systems and records.

Essential Job Functions:

• Receives, reviews, logs, and processes fully approved PTRs, PCRs, offer documents, employment changes, and other authorized HR documents completed through DocuSign or other approved workflows.
• Enters approved new hire, rehire, transfer, promotion, compensation, funding, position, supervisor, department, location, status, termination, and other employment data into ADP and assigned University systems.
• Verifies that source documentation is complete, approved, internally consistent, and supported before data entry; routes incomplete or conflicting transactions to the appropriate HR employee or approving office for resolution.
• Maintains transaction-control logs showing receipt date, effective date, approval status, data-entry status, exception status, completion date, and responsible follow-up.
• Performs post-entry verification to confirm that approved transactions are reflected accurately across the HRIS, payroll, ERP, applicant tracking, performance management, electronic workflow, document management, and related systems within assigned responsibility.
• Compares and reconciles employee, position, compensation, funding, department, supervisor, job title, FLSA, pay class, worker category, location, and employment-status data across ADP, Colleague, DocuSign, and other authorized sources.
• Conducts recurring HRIS data-integrity audits and exception reviews; identifies missing, duplicate, inconsistent, outdated, or conflicting records and coordinates corrections with HR, Payroll, Budget, Finance, ITS, and other responsible offices.
• Documents data discrepancies, research performed, source documents reviewed, corrective actions taken, approvals obtained, and final resolution to maintain an appropriate audit trail.
• Prepares scheduled and ad hoc workforce reports for authorized users, including headcount, vacancies, hires, separations, turnover, transfers, promotions, tenure, employee categories, department staffing, position status, recruitment activity, and other approved measures.
• Develops, updates, and maintains HR dashboards, scorecards, and metrics using approved reporting tools, Excel, and available HRIS reporting functionality.
• Establishes and maintains metric definitions, calculation logic, data sources, reporting periods, filters, and refresh schedules so recurring HR reports are consistent and available.
• Validates dashboard and report outputs against source systems before distribution; investigates material variances and documents known data limitations or corrections.
• Prepares data files, summaries, and supporting documentation for authorized audits, surveys, public-records responses, accreditation requests, compliance reporting, budget planning, workforce planning, and leadership review.
• Supports recruitment and position reporting by maintaining accurate requisition, vacancy, posting, applicant-flow, selection, hire, and time-to-fill data when assigned.
• Assists with the administration and continuous improvement of ADP and related HR technologies, including testing workflow or configuration changes, documenting results, and reporting issues to the appropriate system owner.
• Maintains secure electronic personnel, position, transaction, and reporting documentation within approved repositories in accordance with access, confidentiality, retention, and litigation-hold requirements.
• Applies role-based access, data-minimization, and secure-handling practices when working with personally identifiable information, compensation, benefits, demographic, and other confidential workforce data.
• Develops and maintains desk procedures, data dictionaries, report inventories, process maps, checklists, naming conventions, control logs, and standard operating procedures for assigned HR data and operations functions.
• Tracks recurring HR operational deadlines and reporting calendars; communicates missing information, unresolved exceptions, and approaching deadlines to the appropriate parties.
• Provides technical and procedural assistance to HR team members regarding approved data-entry standards, reports, dashboards, workflow status, and document retrieval.
• Identifies opportunities to automate manual reporting, reduce duplicate entry, improve workflow controls, strengthen data quality, and improve coordination among HR, Payroll, Budget, Finance, and ITS.
• Provides backup operational support for employee records, recruitment administration, onboarding documentation, HR reporting, or other HR functions as assigned to maintain continuity of service.
• Performs other duties and special projects as assigned that are reasonably related to HR data, systems, reporting, records, compliance, and operations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of Human Resources operations, employee and position transactions, records administration, data privacy, and HRIS data-quality practices.
• Ability to accurately interpret and process approved PTRs, PCRs, DocuSign documents, employment records, funding information, and position data.
• Ability to perform high-volume, detailed data entry while maintaining accuracy, confidentiality, documentation, and required processing deadlines.
• Ability to reconcile information across HRIS, payroll, ERP, applicant tracking, electronic workflow, and document-management systems.
• Ability to design and maintain recurring workforce reports, operational dashboards, scorecards, metric definitions, and supporting documentation.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas, XLOOKUP or comparable lookup functions, pivot tables, filters, conditional formatting, data validation, charts, and reconciliation techniques.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and the ability to learn ADP Workforce Now, Ellucian Colleague, DocuSign, dashboard tools, and other University enterprise systems.
• Ability to identify data abnormalities, investigate root causes, document findings, and coordinate corrective action without changing source data or approved actions without authorization.
• Ability to manage recurring deadlines, multiple transactions, report requests, and competing priorities with strong organization and follow-through.
• Ability to communicate data issues, reporting results, process requirements, and system concerns clearly to HR staff, supervisors, leadership, and technical partners.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment within established procedures and escalate policy, compensation, classification, employee-relations, payroll, legal, or security matters to the appropriate owner.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and safeguard employees compensation, demographic, and personally identifiable information.

Qualifications:

• Associate degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Public Administration, Information Systems, Data Analytics, or a related field required.
• Three years of progressively responsible experience in human resources, payroll, records management, reporting, data management, business operations, or a related administrative function.
• Demonstrated experience entering, auditing, reconciling, and reporting detailed information in an HRIS, payroll, ERP, database, or comparable enterprise system.
• An equivalent combination of education, specialized training, and directly related experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be considered.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Data Analytics, or a related field.
• Experience working in higher education, government, nonprofit, or another complex and regulated environment.
• Experience with ADP Workforce Now, Ellucian Colleague, Docusign, Power BI or comparable HRIS, ERP, electronic workflow, and dashboard platforms.
• Experience developing HR dashboards or reporting workforce measures such as headcount, vacancies, hires, separations, turnover, promotions, transfers, tenure, recruitment activity, or staffing trends.
• Experience preparing data for audits, public-records responses, compliance reports, workforce planning, budget planning, or executive reporting.

Physical Demands:

• Work is primarily performed in a professional office environment.
• The position requires prolonged periods of sitting, extensive computer and keyboard use, and sustained visual review of detailed data and electronic documents.
• The employee may occasionally be required to lift or move materials weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Additional hours may occasionally be required to meet reporting deadlines, system implementations, audits, or other operational needs.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of the position.

Lincoln University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and institutional needs. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process should contact the Office of Human Resources at 573-681-5018.