HR Assistant

Position Summary:

The HR Assistant plays a vital role in supporting the day‑to‑day operations of the Human Resources function, providing high‑touch administrative, coordination, and compliance support across the employee lifecycle. This role serves as a key partner to the HR team and reports directly to the Vice President of Human Resources, acting as a trusted administrative and operational extension of the function.

The HR Assistant contributes to a seamless employee experience by ensuring HR processes are executed accurately, confidentially, and efficiently, while helping maintain well‑organized systems, documentation, and workflows across the department. The HR Assistant will ideally be based in Chicago. There is an expectation of being in the office a minimum of one day a week.

Key Relationships:

Reports to: VP of HR

Other Key Relationships: Talent Partners, HR Generalists, HRBPs

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide dedicated administrative support to the Vice President of Human Resources, including proactive calendar management, meeting coordination, and scheduling across multiple stakeholders and time zones.

• Coordinate domestic and international travel arrangements for the VP of HR, including flights and accommodations.

• Prepare, submit, and track expense reports in a timely and accurate manner, ensuring compliance with company policies.

• Assist with prioritization and organization of the VP of HR’s administrative tasks, supporting efficiency and responsiveness.

• Support the scheduling of new hire onboarding sessions and coordination of onboarding meetings.

• Assist with preparation and maintenance of onboarding materials and decks.

• Support ongoing organization and maintenance of SharePoint and OneDrive folders, ensuring trackers, files, and shared folders remain accurate, current, and well‑organized.

• Upload and maintain HR documents in Workday, ensuring records are complete, accurate, and consistently maintained.

• Partner with the HR team to identify opportunities to improve document organization and workflow efficiency.

Ideal Experience:

• Prior experience in an HR, People Operations, Executive Assistant, or administrative support role, preferably within a professional services, consulting, or similarly fast‑paced environment.

• Experience supporting senior leadership, with demonstrated ability to manage complex calendars, travel arrangements, and expense reporting with a high degree of accuracy and discretion.

• Familiarity with HR processes across the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, compliance documentation, employment verifications, and background checks.

• Hands‑on experience working with HR systems and tools such as Workday (or similar HRIS), SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Outlook.

• Exposure to working with sensitive and confidential employee data, with a strong understanding of the importance of discretion and data integrity.

• Experience coordinating across regions or with international stakeholders (e.g., EMEA/APAC partners) is a plus.

• Minimum of 3-5 years of administrative experience in a professional environment.

Core Competencies:

• Exceptional organizational skills: Highly detail‑oriented with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and competing requests in a dynamic environment.

• Strong executive support presence: Professional, polished, and dependable, with the ability to anticipate needs and provide proactive administrative support to senior leadership.

• Discretion & confidentiality: Demonstrated judgment and professionalism when handling sensitive employee and company information.

• Clear and effective communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interact confidently with employees, leaders, and external partners.

• Process‑oriented mindset: Comfortable working within established HR processes while also helping maintain consistency, accuracy, and compliance across systems and documentation.

• Systems savvy: Comfortable navigating HR platforms and administrative tools, with the ability to learn new systems quickly and ensure data accuracy.

• Service‑oriented approach: Approachable, responsive, and committed to supporting a positive employee and stakeholder experience.

• Adaptability & initiative: Able to pivot as priorities shift, take ownership of tasks, and step in as support during peak periods or team absences.

• Collaborative team player: Works effectively with HR colleagues, leadership, and cross‑functional partners, contributing to a well‑functioning and supportive HR team environment.

Firm Values:

• Champion the Firm’s values, culture and Code of Conduct; engage, participate and collaborate with others. A successful Analyst, who people like working with, may over time also have a leadership role.

• Embrace diverse opinions and encourage teamwork.

• Promote inclusivity by bringing cultural awareness and sensitivity to every interaction with colleagues.

• Participate and contribute to internal activities; engage with office and practice.

• Represent Spencer Stuart well by speaking positively about the Firm and aligning your behavior with the Firm’s values.

• Conduct yourself in a manner that is consistent with the Firm’s values.

The base compensation range for this position is $70,000.00 per year. The actual base compensation offered within this range will be dependent on the individual’s skills, experiences, and qualifications. This position will be eligible to participate in our annual discretionary bonus program.

Spencer Stuart also offers a competitive benefits package, which includes:

• Retirement savings plan with discretionary profit sharing contribution and employer match;

• PTO (minimum 15 days per year, increases with tenure), paid sick time (10 days per year), company holidays (12 days per year), and paid leaves of absence when applicable;

• Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, and healthcare flexible spending account;

• Life Insurance, and short-term and long-term disability insurance;

• Wellness benefits, including an employee assistance program, virtual mental health program, and mindfulness program; and

• Voluntary benefit options, including supplemental life insurance, identity theft protection, and whole life insurance with long-term care and critical illness coverage.