Senior Human Resources Manager

Trefethen Family Vineyards is a family-owned estate vineyard and winery in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. For over fifty years, we have been crafting distinguished estate grown wines that express the unique spirit of our land, vines, and people. Our core values include family, respect, sustainability, authenticity, learning and joy! With professional leadership and a dedicated team of employees handling every aspect of the operation, from the soil to the table, our business is truly thriving. 

Position Overview

The Senior Human Resources Manager, working under the direction of our President, is responsible for managing all aspects of the Human Resources department including: creating, maintaining, and implementing company policies and procedures; administering our benefits program, assisting with payroll activities; acquiring and retaining talent; handling employee relations; supporting health and safety programs. 

This position serves as a trusted resource for the entire organization, fostering open, honest communication across the organization, building relationships grounded in trust, respect, and integrity. This role also serves as a trusted business partner to the President and the Trefethen family, providing regular insight into people operations, offering positive and constructive feedback when appropriate. The Senior HR Manager guides employees and leaders through coaching, mentorship, and connection to appropriate resources, supporting teamwork, performance, and development at all levels. 

Responsibilities

The following reflects management’s definition of essential functions for this job but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. To perform this job successfully, an individual must have regular and reliable attendance and be able to perform each essential function from the list below satisfactorily, with or without accommodation.

Human Resources Leadership
•    Serve as the HR point of contact for employees and managers
•    Supports a “Manager first” culture that empower and enables managers to address employee questions and concerns, and escalating to HR when appropriate
•    Develop, implement, and maintain HR policies, procedures, and best practices
•    Advise leadership on employee relations, performance management, and organizational issues
•    Ensure HR practices align with company values and business objectives
•    Manage all HR vendor relationships including HRIS and benefits brokers
•    Provide information and feedback regularly to leadership in a timely and thoughtful manner
•    Cultivate employee engagement across the organization and solicit feedback using employee surveys and other tools
•    Create content for team communications such as flyers and communication boards
•    Manage company-wide employee appreciation programs and events
Employee Relations & Performance Management
•    Support managers with coaching, feedback, and corrective action processes
•    Lead employee investigations, documentation, and resolution of workplace issues
•    Oversee performance review processes and support development planning
•    Promote a positive, compliant, and respectful workplace culture
Payroll Administration & Compliance
•    Partner with Accounting and/or payroll vendors on payroll processing
•    Ensure payroll practices comply with wage and hour laws and internal controls
•    Oversee timely distribution of paychecks to employees
•    Train employees on payroll systems, time and attendance, and related tools
Benefits & Compensation
•    Manage and administer employee benefits programs, including enrollments, terminations, changes, and employee education
•    Partner with brokers and vendors to manage renewals and employee communications
•    Support compensation benchmarking and pay structure updates as needed
•    In collaboration with President and managers, support wage reviews and compensation decisions that ensure fairness and equity
Workers’ Compensation & Leave Management
•    Own Workers’ Compensation administration, claims management, and coordination with carriers
•    Support employee injury recovery by ensuring they are receiving timely and appropriate care, raising and managing any issues with adjuster
•    Facilitate communication from injured employees to respective managers
•    Partner with Facilities, which oversees safety programs and training, to ensure alignment and compliance
•    Manage employee leaves of absence, including FMLA, state leave programs, and the interactive process for reasonable accommodations
Compliance & Risk Management
•    Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws
•    Maintain employee records, files and HR systems in accordance with legal requirements
•    Support audits, reporting, and compliance-related inquiries
Talent & Workforce Support
•    Support recruiting and onboarding processes as needed
•    Oversee new hire orientation and HR-related onboarding activities
•    Partner with managers on workforce planning and retention strategies

Job Requirements
•    5+ years of Human Resources experience, at least 2 in an HR leadership role, and covering the full spectrum of the HR function
•    Spanish proficiency, both in written and verbal forms, is required
•    Agricultural workforce experience preferred
•    PHR/SPHR or SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP preferred
•    Excellent knowledge of current state and federal laws pertaining to human resources and agricultural labor
•    Ability to work with the highest levels of ethics, objectivity, and professionalism, maintaining confidentiality and safeguarding sensitive company and employee information
•    Ability to think strategically while also focusing on tactical and operational issues
•    Ability to build relationships and credibility across the organization
•    Ability to deal with conflict in a direct and timely manner
•    Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities with appropriate urgency
•    Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills
•    Demonstrated experience in promoting equality, inclusion, excellence, pride, and experience partnering with management in building a positive organizational culture
•    Highly organized and detail oriented with effective time management skills
•    Ability to work independently and execute job responsibilities with limited guidance and supervision
•    Ability to identify and escalate issues of importance to leadership
•    Ability to foster positive and trusting working relationships within all levels of employees
•    High emotional intelligence, judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and political acumen
•    Strong customer service orientation
•    Versatility, flexibility, dependability, and a willingness to work within changing priorities

Work Conditions
•    Work is performed within a general office environment, with standard office equipment
•    Occasional time is spent in other areas of the property, including vineyard, production and tasting room, resulting in exposure to varying temperatures, inclement weather, and noise levels
•    Work is sedentary in nature, but may require standing and walking for up to 20% of the time
•    Occasional overtime, weekend and/or evening work

Physical Requirements
•    Operate a desktop computer using keyboard and mouse, employing repetitive arm and wrist motions
•    Manual dexterity sufficient to reach/handle items and work with the fingers
•    Specific vision abilities require close and distance vision
•    Sit for long periods of time
•    Occasionally lift and/or move objects weighing up to 20 pounds.
•    Occasionally stand, walk, bend, twist, pull, push, carry, grasp, stoop, reach, kneel, crouch or climb stairs.
•    Occasionally lift and carry items up to 20 pounds.

Pay Transparency Disclosure: The annual salary range for this position is $118,000-138,000. This salary range represents what we reasonably expect to pay for this position. However, the actual pay rate will depend upon job-related factors such as overall qualifications, skills, experience, education, etc. The Company reserves the right to modify the range at any time.