HR Assistant

Scientific Research Company

Washington DC HYBRID

May allow remote

Needed ASAP

Contract

Must work on W2

No C2C

Human Resources Assistant

Position Summary

The Human Resources Assistant provides administrative and operational support across the employee lifecycle, with primary emphasis on onboarding, employment changes, and offboarding. The role helps ensure employee and workforce transactions are completed accurately, timely, confidentially, and in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Human Resources Assistant also supports general HR operations, employee record maintenance, service delivery, reporting, documentation, and routine employee and manager inquiries.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Employee Lifecycle Administration

Onboarding

Coordinate pre-employment and new hire onboarding activities from initiation through completion.

Prepare and distribute new hire communications, forms, checklists, orientation materials, and required documentation.

Monitor completion of new hire paperwork and follow up on missing, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

Coordinate orientation schedules, equipment and workspace requests, system access requests, and introductions to key stakeholders.

Create or update employee records in the human resources information system and related platforms.

Maintain onboarding trackers, communicate status updates, and escalate potential delays or process barriers.

Help deliver an organized, welcoming, and consistent new hire experience.

Employment Changes

Support employee changes such as transfers, promotions, manager updates, job changes, organizational changes, and work location updates.

Prepare, route, track, and retain supporting documentation and approvals for employee transactions.

Enter, verify, and audit employee data to ensure records remain complete and accurate.

Coordinate handoffs with Payroll, Benefits, Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, and other process owners, as appropriate.

Offboarding

Coordinate employee separation activities, including resignations, retirements, and other employment terminations.

Prepare offboarding communications, documentation, and checklists; track required actions through completion.

Coordinate return-of-property, system access removal, final documentation, and applicable stakeholder notifications.

Update employee records and maintain separation documentation according to retention and confidentiality requirements.

Escalate sensitive, unusual, incomplete, or policy-dependent matters to the appropriate HR partner.

General HR Operations Support

Maintain accurate, organized, and confidential electronic and personnel records.

Enter, update, validate, and audit employee information in HR systems, trackers, shared files, and service platforms.

Monitor assigned HR request queues, shared mailboxes, or case management systems and route requests to the appropriate owner.

Respond to routine employee and manager questions using approved resources, templates, and procedures.

Prepare, format, proofread, organize, and distribute HR correspondence, reports, presentations, forms, job aids, and standard communications.

Maintain HR calendars, trackers, distribution lists, document repositories, templates, and process documentation.

Support employment verification, document requests, data requests, audits, reporting, and other recurring HR activities.

Assist with HR meetings, events, project coordination, scheduling, notes, action-item tracking, and follow-up.

Identify recurring documentation errors, data gaps, unclear instructions, or employee confusion and share observations with the team.

Contribute to process improvement, standardization, cross-training, and knowledge management efforts.

Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Service, Compliance, and Confidentiality

Provide timely, professional, accurate, and employee-focused support.

Follow established HR procedures, service standards, internal controls, and escalation paths.

Protect confidential employee and organizational information and use appropriate discretion when handling sensitive matters.

Support audit readiness by maintaining complete documentation, accurate records, and clear transaction or case notes.

Escalate complex employee relations, legal, compliance, policy interpretation, or exception requests to the appropriate HR professional.

Required Qualifications

Associate degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

One to three years of administrative, customer service, human resources support, or HR operations experience.

Experience handling confidential information and maintaining accurate records.

Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and related productivity tools.

Strong written and verbal communication, organization, follow-through, and attention to detail.

Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, follow defined procedures, and recognize when escalation is needed.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience supporting onboarding, offboarding, employee records, or HR transactions.

Experience using an HRIS, case management platform, document management system, or service management tool.

Working knowledge of common HR practices, recordkeeping requirements, and employee service principles.

Core Competencies

Customer and employee service orientation

Accuracy and attention to detail

Planning, organization, and follow-through

Confidentiality and sound judgment

Clear written and verbal communication

Collaboration and relationship building

Digital fluency and data quality awareness

Process discipline and continuous improvement mindset

Adaptability and willingness to learn

Key Working Relationships

Employees and people managers

HR Operations and employee service teams

HR Business Partners and Employee Relations

Talent Acquisition, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation, and HRIS teams

Information Technology, Facilities, Security, and other operational partners