The Specialty Services Operations Manager 1 is accountable for leading and developing high-performing HRSC teams that deliver exceptional service quality, compliance, and operational excellence. This leader combines operational rigor with a culture of engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement, partnering across HR functions and stakeholders to ensure a consistent and positive employee experience. This position is located in Irving, TX.
Area of Focus — Leave of Absence & Workforce Transitions
This position leads two specialized HRSC teams. The Leave of Absence team owns the end-to-end military and personal leave process — intake, eligibility determination, documentation, tracking, and return-to-work coordination — in compliance with USERRA, FMLA, and applicable state and company policies. The Workforce Transitions team administers reduction in force (RIF) actions and one-time severance payouts, from planning support, documentation, and notifications through payout processing and post-action reporting. Both service lines are highly sensitive, time-critical, and subject to strict regulatory and confidentiality requirements, calling for close partnership with Legal, Payroll, Benefits, and business leaders, and for sound judgment in high-stakes situations.
Core Leadership Responsibilities:
Service Delivery & Operational Performance
Own end-to-end service delivery for assigned HR service lines, ensuring service levels, quality, and compliance standards are consistently met or exceeded.
Monitor team workload and capacity, adjusting staffing and work assignments to sustain performance through volume fluctuations.
Establish and enforce standard operating procedures, quality assurance routines, and documentation discipline; lead resolution of complex or high-risk escalations before they become service failures.
People Leadership & Development
Lead, coach, and develop multiple HRSC teams — setting clear performance expectations and conducting regular one-on-one coaching, quality reviews, and career development planning.
Foster a positive, accountable, and engaged culture that sustains high-volume operational demands; recognize strong contributions and address underperformance fairly and directly in partnership with HR partners.
Lead workforce planning — hiring, onboarding, cross-training, and surge staffing — building bench strength that eliminates single points of failure.
Cross-Functional Partnership & Influence
Partner with HR Centers of Excellence, Payroll, Legal, IT, Knowledge Management, and vendors to align operational execution with broader organizational goals and maintain current process documentation.
Communicate team performance, risks, and strategic updates to senior HR leaders; represent the service center in governance forums, translating corporate policy into operational process.
Influence stakeholders and teams without direct authority to drive shared outcomes and continuous improvement.
Compliance & Risk Management
Champion compliance with federal and state regulations and internal policies, ensuring audit readiness and maintaining strict confidentiality standards.
Own process control frameworks, root cause analyses, and corrective actions; lead response to audit findings and proactively identify regulatory risk.
Continuous Improvement & Change Leadership
Challenge existing processes and deliver automation and workflow simplification that reduce errors and cycle times.
Use data-driven insight to prioritize initiatives that optimize service delivery without defaulting to increased headcount.
Lead the team through changes in volume, policy, systems, and organizational priorities, driving adoption of technology enhancements that increase operational effectiveness.
Key Leadership Competencies
Operational discipline • People development • Judgment and discretion • Compliance orientation • Continuous improvement mindset • Influence without authority • Effective communication • Adaptability
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree and 6 years of experience OR Master's degree and 4 years of experience.
Progressive experience in HR operations, shared services, or contact center management.
Formal people management experience, including coaching, performance management, and team development in a high-volume, customer-centric environment.
Demonstrated success managing service levels, quality, and compliance in transactional or shared services settings.
Strong analytical skills using HRIS, case management, or similar platforms, with familiarity across employee lifecycle processes such as leave administration, workforce transitions, payroll, and benefits.
Proven discretion handling confidential employee information, with excellent communication skills and experience collaborating with senior HR leaders and cross-functional partners.
Preferred Qualification:
Span of control of 10 or more in a shared services or contact center environment.
Proficiency with enterprise HR technologies such as Workday, SAP, ServiceNow, or UKG for case and workforce management.
HR certification (PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP) or process improvement certification (Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent).
Track record driving process improvement, automation, and cross-functional programs; experience managing vendor relationships and SLAs in outsourced shared service environments.