Human Resources Generalist (Englewood Cliffs)
About ESU At ESU, we believe every piece of fruit has a story—but the most important part of that story is the people behind it. The growers who rise before sunrise, the teams who carefully harvest and pack each piece of fruit, the logistics professionals who guide it across states and oceans, and the partners who dedicate themselves to delivering quality every step of the way. Their hard work, pride, and passion are what transform a simple piece of fruit into something worth sharing. Our mission is to bring their stories to life by connecting the world's finest produce with family tables everywhere. We are a leader in the fresh produce industry, specializing in citrus, pomegranates, berries, grapes, ginger, pineapples, and other key categories sourced from premier growing regions around the world. Behind every successful shipment, every customer relationship, and every piece of fruit is a team of dedicated professionals who bring expertise, creativity, and commitment to everything they do. At ESU, we work hard, support one another, and take pride in building meaningful relationships across the global produce community. We believe the best results come from people who care deeply about their work and the impact it has on others. If you're looking for an opportunity to grow, make a difference, and help bring the world's best flavors to families every day, you'll find a home at ESU. We are seeking a highly organized, dependable, and people-oriented Human Resources Generalist to support the full employee lifecycle and the company’s day-to-day HR operations. The HR Associate will assist with recruiting, onboarding, employee records, payroll and benefits coordination, leave administration, performance-management processes, policy implementation, and employment compliance. This position will serve as an accessible first point of contact for routine employee questions while ensuring that sensitive or complex matters are properly documented and escalated. The ideal candidate is professional, discreet, detail-oriented, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, growing business. This is a hands-on position for someone who can balance employee support with strong administrative follow-through. Key Responsibilities Recruiting and Hiring Prepare and post job advertisements on approved recruiting platforms. Review applications, conduct initial candidate screenings, and identify qualified candidates. Coordinate interviews between candidates and department directors. Maintain accurate candidate records and provide timely updates throughout the hiring process. Prepare offer letters, background-check requests, and other pre-employment documents. Coordinate with hiring managers to confirm job responsibilities, compensation, schedules, and start dates. Support the development and maintenance of job descriptions for company positions. Onboarding and Offboarding Coordinate the onboarding process for new employees in partnership with department directors. Collect and review required employment documentation, including Form I-9, tax forms, direct-deposit information, acknowledgments, and benefit elections. Coordinate system access, equipment, workspace, orientation schedules, and introductions with the appropriate departments. Ensure that onboarding tasks are completed accurately and on schedule. Conduct periodic check-ins with new employees and managers during the introductory period. Coordinate employee separations, including documentation, system-access removal, equipment return, final payroll information, benefits notices, and exit interviews. Maintain complete onboarding and offboarding checklists and records. Employee Records and HR Administration Create, maintain, and audit confidential employee personnel files. Process employee changes involving compensation, job titles, departments, schedules, addresses, tax information, and other employment details. Maintain HR databases, employee rosters, organizational charts, and reporting-line information. Track required employment documents, policy acknowledgments, licenses, certifications, and training records. Prepare employment-verification letters and other routine employee documentation. Maintain confidentiality and safeguard sensitive employee and company information. Payroll, Timekeeping, and Benefits Coordination Coordinate with employees, managers, accounting personnel, and payroll providers to support accurate and timely payroll processing. Review timekeeping records, paid-time-off requests, payroll changes, and supporting documentation. Track vacation, sick time, holidays, leaves, and other employee absences. Assist employees with benefit enrollment, qualifying-life-event changes, and routine benefits questions. Coordinate benefit enrollments and terminations with insurance brokers and benefit providers. Help investigate and resolve routine payroll, timekeeping, and benefits discrepancies. Maintain records of payroll and benefit changes and ensure that approvals are properly documented. Employee Support and Employee Relations Serve as an approachable first point of contact for routine HR questions. Provide employees with accurate information regarding company policies, benefits, paid time off, attendance, and general HR procedures. Listen to employee concerns professionally and objectively. Document employee-relations matters and promptly escalate complaints, conflicts, legal concerns, harassment allegations, accommodation requests, or other sensitive matters to management. Assist managers with preparing appropriate documentation for attendance, performance, and conduct concerns. Help maintain consistent communication between employees, department directors, and management. Support a professional, respectful, and inclusive workplace. Leave and Accommodation Administration Assist employees with company leave procedures and required documentation. Track applicable company, federal, state, and insurance leave programs. Coordinate leave dates, employee notices, medical certifications, payroll status, benefit continuation, and return-to-work documentation. Maintain confidentiality of medical and leave-related information. Escalate requests involving disability accommodations, pregnancy accommodations, religious accommodations, or other legally protected matters for management or legal review. Policies, Compliance, and Documentation Assist with maintaining and updating the employee handbook, HR procedures, forms, templates, and standard operating procedures. Distribute policies and obtain required employee acknowledgments. Support compliance with Form I-9, E-Verify, workplace posting, record-retention, wage-and-hour, leave, and other employment requirements. Coordinate documentation and communications with outside employment counsel, payroll providers, benefit brokers, insurance representatives, and other HR vendors. Assist with workers’ compensation claims, unemployment claims, employment audits, and requests for employment records. Help coordinate required employee training, including harassment prevention, workplace safety, and company policy training. Monitor HR deadlines and follow up with employees and managers to ensure timely completion. Performance Management and Employee Development Coordinate introductory-period and annual performance-review schedules. Notify department directors of upcoming review dates and follow up on incomplete reviews. Maintain performance evaluations, goals, coaching documents, and related records. Assist management with employee-development plans and training coordination. Help ensure that performance expectations and employment decisions are documented clearly and consistently. Immigration and External Coordination Assist with the administrative coordination of employment-based immigration matters. Gather employee and company documents requested by immigration counsel. Maintain case calendars, filing deadlines, approval notices, and confidential immigration records. Communicate status updates to the appropriate employee and management representatives. Refer all legal determinations and immigration advice to the company’s authorized counsel. General HR Support Prepare HR reports, employee lists, turnover information, headcount data, and other workforce information requested by management. Assist with employee communications, recognition activities, meetings, and company events. Identify opportunities to improve HR workflows, forms, checklists, and internal controls. Provide additional administrative and operational support as assigned. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, psychology, communications, or a related field preferred. One to three years of experience in human resources, recruiting, payroll administration, office administration, or a related position preferred. Familiarity with
