HR Risk Operations Compliance Manager

The HR Risk Operations Compliance Manager serves as a key member of the National Employee Relations and Risk Operations team, partnering across People Experience, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Payroll, Finance, HRIS, and business leadership to strengthen HR risk management, regulatory compliance, and operational effectiveness. This role is responsible for translating complex employment, workplace conduct, and operational requirements into practical programs, policies, controls, and guidance that support the Firm’s people strategy while mitigating risk. The Manager leads high-priority initiatives across compliance monitoring, policy governance, workforce risk analysis, health and safety, employee communications, and process improvement, while ensuring work is executed with strong judgment, discretion, and attention to detail.

This position requires a proactive, business-minded leader who can manage multiple workstreams, assess emerging risks, develop defensible processes, and deliver clear, audience-appropriate communications and training. The HR Risk Operations Compliance Manager plays a critical role in supporting firmwide compliance initiatives, advising on complex people-related operational matters, and building scalable tools, reporting, and governance practices that promote consistency, accountability, and a culture of compliance across the organization.

 

The HR Risk Operations & Compliance Manager serves as a key member of the People & Culture team in support of firm-wide goals and objectives.  This role will report to the Associate Director of HR Risk Operations. 

 

 

Key responsibilities:

• HR Regulatory Program Manager

  • Track new labor and employment laws which may impact Firm policies; drive development of processes and procedures related to legal and business changes

  • Design, build and implement risk management monitoring programs and adjust risk controls to align with risk appetite 

  • Lead the development and execution of new programs, identifying areas of potential vulnerability and recommend innovative solutions 

  • Oversee firmwide Affirmative Action program, including OFCCP audit response and vendor management

  • Serve as HR Program Manager for firmwide compliance programs, trainings and employment policies 

  • Understand and communicate cross-functional impacts to new/refined operational processes

     

     

• HR Risk Operations

  • Partner with Global HR teams to drive HR compliance risk controls and framework in line with firm risk appetite 

  • Large scale HR Program Management to include new multinational firms

  • Responsible for ensuring that the firm’s HR risk monitoring framework is robust, effective, and responsive to regulatory changes and business needs

  • Develop and maintain standard operating procedures and research white papers related to Risk Operations and emerging HR trends

  • Serve as key member in firmwide compliance projects, including workforce analysis, Respect in the Workplace training, Compliance Questionnaire and other high priority/confidential projects, in collaboration with P&C/Legal stakeholders

  • Draft and deliver employee-facing communications, frequently asked questions and intranet pages related to personnel policies and procedures

  • Develop and deliver training for People Experience team on regulatory, risk mitigation, and performance management best practices

  • Lead adverse impact analysis for business optimization exercises 

  • Develop technical tools for utilization across P&C 

  • Project manage business optimization exercises, including project plan, daily standups, and risk analysis calls

  • Lead Risk Management strategic priorities and provide short/long term solutions to solve for complex business challenges

  • Act as SME for policy escalations from P&C and cross-functional teams 

  • Collaborate with other ICS functions, including Finance & Payroll, to drive synergies, ensure cohesion in firmwide policies, while leading risk management priorities

  • Act as escalation point for client-related onboarding and background investigation matters, as well as contract review 

  • Provide day to day work instruction/ direction for global data analytics team member

    
    
• Policy Governance

  • Own the development and maintenance of employment policies.

  • Partner with Legal and Compliance to ensure global policy alignment.

  • Drive policy harmonization across multinational firms and acquired entities.

     

• Training & Operational Excellence 

  • Leads the development of internal training to address identified areas of potential vulnerability with creative solutions, fostering culture of compliance and risk mitigation throughout multinational firm

  • Program Management of firmwide HR compliance trainings

  • Support leadership in executing P&C strategic plan in relation to operational excellence consistent with industry standards

  • Recommends remediation actions and process improvements based on quality audit and monitoring findings

  • Define and implement HR compliance strategies, set monitoring controls, and drive synergies to address high-risk areas. 

  • Identifies emerging trends and risk, recommending improvement/action plans for universal HR compliance standards 

  • Manage AI-related risks in HR by following firm and regulatory governance, monitoring compliance, and refining guidelines

    
    

• HR Workforce Analytics, Risk Strategy & Workforce Management 

  • Partner with Global HR teams, drive high priority merger and acquisition integration workstreams related to HR Risk Operations

  • Identify opportunities for automation and reporting enhancements for Risk Operations focus areas, leveraging Power Automation, Power Queries and PowerBI

  •  Conduct adverse impact analyses across hiring, promotions, terminations, and other employment decisions to present leadership.

  •  Perform statistical analysis to determine whether differences between demographic groups and present executive summaries to stakeholders 

  • Build and maintain automated tracking tools that interface with multiple data sources and existing trackers, streamlining workflows, improving data integrity, and enabling real-time reporting and insights

  • Provides regular and ad hoc reports with heat map of trends, and emerging risks and dashboards

• Health & Safety

  • Oversee management of health and safety procedures and policies, including infectious disease and workplace violence safety programs

  • Monitor ongoing regulatory updates including OSHA standards, injury and illness prevention programs and government contractor compliance

  • Assist with real-time response during crisis matters such as natural disasters, including drafting employee-facing communications and compiling resources for impacted employees 

 

 

The ideal candidate will be:

• A business‑minded HR Risk &Compliance professional who excels at statistical workplaceanalysis, internal/external HR compliance and process management with impeccable planning, coordination, and follow‑through.
• Operationally rigorous, detail‑accurate, and deadline‑reliable in a fast‑moving, matrixed environment.
• Analytical, comfortable with metrics and translating data into clear executive summaries , timelines, and stakeholder guidance.
• A concise, audience‑aware communicator who can write, edit, and sequence communications that drive clarity and action.
• A strong collaborator across Legal/Compliance, People & Culture, Technology/HRIS, People Experience and Inclusion teams; adept at role clarity and RACI management.
• Comfortable and integrity driven professional with experience in handling highly confidential information, sound judgment, and executive‑facing professionalism.

The Ideal Candidate Will Possess:

• 6–8 years of progressive experience in Compliance, HR program management, PMO/operations, or organizational effectiveness (professional services experience a plus).
• Hands‑on experience building and managing complex program plans (e.g., Smartsheet), SOPs, and process documentation.
• Advanced data and reporting skills (Excel/Power BI or similar) and experience supporting various systems
• Proficiency with MS Office, SharePoint/Teams, and content maintenance on intranet site.
• Strong written and verbal communication; experience drafting broad‑reach communications, policies, FAQs, research papers and leader talking points and briefings.
• Regulatory reporting experience
• People management experience preferred.

The base salary range for this position is between $112,000 and $160,000. Placement within the pay range is at Grant Thornton’s discretion, and it is based on multiple factors, including but not limited to, job -related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, progression within the role, geographic location, and internal equity. At Grant Thornton, compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

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