HR Business Partner

Join the Wisconsin Athletics HR team and support the people who make the Badgers' success possible. As part of the Badger Family, we serve more than 350 full-time staff and hundreds of students and part-time employees with a focus on collaboration, innovation, and service. Guided by our Customer Service Commitment, we provide timely, professional, and positive support that builds strong partnerships across the department. This position offers the opportunity to grow your HR career in a dynamic, high-impact environment while contributing to the mission of Wisconsin Athletics.

As an HR Business Partner, you will deliver frontline HR services across payroll, benefits, compensation, analytics, and engagement. You'll work closely with leaders and staff to streamline processes, provide data-driven insights, and shape a positive employee experience. If you enjoy problem-solving, building relationships, and making an impact through HR service, this is the place for you.

In this capacity, you'll take on a variety of responsibilities that ensure our employees receive timely and effective HR support, including:

• Payroll & Workday: Process bi-weekly payroll accurately and on time; support onboarding and offboarding.
• Benefits Administration: Administer benefits, life events, and open enrollment; ensure compliance and communication.
• Compensation & Data: Manage Athletics Compensation Reviews (ACRs), prepare HR data files, and provide reporting to leadership.
• Analytics & Reporting: Conduct HR, compensation, and market data analysis; deliver insights for informed decisions.
• Staff Engagement: Lead engagement survey processes, compile and analyze data, and support staff experience initiatives.
• Process Improvement: Create and update process documentation and identify improvements that drive consistency and efficiency.

• Serves as a consultative Human Resources resource and liaison. Interprets, advises on, applies and disseminates complex policies, procedures, and options to leadership and employees; and recommends best strategies according to established objectives and goals

• Facilitates and processes complex transactions and programs according to established policies and procedures

• Receives and responds to inquiries in-person, via email, and through various communication mediums and relays information to appropriate entities

• Audits human resources reports to ensure compliance with established policies and procedures

• Contributes to the development of strategic plans and directs staff implementation of initiatives in alignment with strategic goals

• Develops and implements processes and procedures for one or many various HR functions such as employee trainings, recruitments, compensation, and payroll

Athletics, Human Resources

The typical starting salary ranges from $60,000 to $80,000, depending on qualifications and experience.

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (formulas, pivot tables, data analysis, reporting)
• Analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and prepare reports for decision-making
• Knowledge of HR practices in payroll, benefits, or compensation
• High attention to detail, accuracy, and ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, with the ability to build effective partnerships
• Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities

• Experience with Workday
• Knowledge of compensation analysis, salary benchmarking, or HR data analytics
• Familiarity with employee engagement survey administration and reporting
• Process improvement mindset with ability to identify efficiencies
• Experience working in higher education, athletics, or a similarly complex organization

Bachelor's degree preferred

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, click here.

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