Title:  People & Culture Associate

Department: People & Culture 

Location: Raleigh, NC

Reporting to: People & Culture Director USA

Role: Permanent

People & Culture Associate, USA

About the Role 

This role is required to provide support on various People & Culture (P&C) projects/ programs/ activities, involving a wide range of internal and external communications, to contribute to an efficient execution of business operations. This includes (but not limited to) being responsible for handling employee onboarding/ offboarding processes, P&C systems and platforms, P&C vendors management, participating in drafting/ updating P&C policies, preparing P&C communication, and providing support on Learning & Development activities.

This role reports to People & Culture Business Partner and allows to acquire and develop People & Culture extensive knowledge and skill set. Additionally, this role allows a high level of interaction with different stakeholders, in a dynamic environment including Leaf, Ready-Made Cigarettes Manufacturing & Market operations.
 

What you will do

Talent Management, including Learning & Development

• Support with Local Talent Calibration and Local Succession Planning processes, if and as needed
• Assist in preparing necessary trainings/ webinars on talent management awareness
• Track the progress of the annual Performance Appraisal process at different stages, including the Development Planning cycle
• Provide full support on Learning & Development activities, including annual training needs analysis, tracking L&D plans and progress, coordinating the submission of global L&D programs, updating L&D internal/ local platforms (i.e. Brainshark), in addition to providing necessary guidance to employees and Line Managers, as needed (i.e. answer random questions, awareness webinars etc.)

Onboarding & Offboarding

• Handle different steps of the onboarding process; this includes, but not limited to:
  • Participating in developing and updating the onboarding program
  • Partnering with new hire and respective functional lead for an overall business/ functional induction
  • Ensuring the delivery of welcome kit to the new hire
  • Arranging for a quarterly “new hire” celebration, and ensuring an up-to-date Onboarding presentation
  • Engaging with new hire(s) to provide necessary and useful information

• Perform all required onboarding and offboarding technical and admin processes working with Global Business Support (GBS) and via Payroll platform. This includes:
  • Initiating new hire paperwork and background check
  • Launching the “e-verify” tool to ensure new hire has legal to work, and track expiration/ renewal of Employment Authorization Card/ Work Visas etc. Perform employment verification upon request
  • Collecting and filing all required acknowledgement letters as per JTI guidelines
  • Ensuring notifications about employees joining/ leaving the Company are timely and correctly issued by GBS
  • Coordinating with GBS and Line Managers to ensure new hire/ appointment announcements are posted on JTI internal social media (i.e. Workplace)
  • Maintaining proper communications flow among all different stakeholders in the process (Line manager, GBS, Nee Hire, P&C etc.

• Be the point of contact with the Global Mobility vendor to initiate and track the relocation and immigration processes of employees arriving the U.S.A. Head Office (local or international assignees). This includes immigration (i.e. work visas & green cards) and relocation (i.e. local support for house hunting, schooling, social security, bank account etc.). 

Employer Branding and Talent Acquisition

• Participate in implementing JTI's Employer Branding activities to attract talent and increase external visibility of JTI as employer of Choice (i.e. career fairs & events)
• Support the implementation of Make It Bright (MIB) Program and/ or other programs in the USA, building JTI brand equity

P&C Systems and Platforms

• Oversee the maintenance of employee data and records to ensure information is up-to-date, organized and compliant with relevant regulations and policies
• Verify data correctness in SAP and Payroll systems and perform regular systems' reconciliation for all USA entities. Perform regular data quality checks & corrections, as needed, including global requests
• Track and follow up on employees’ requests, working closely with GBS through the various JTI systems (i.e. SAP, MyJTI, SuccessFactors etc.)
• Extract and analyze various reports on monthly, quarterly, annual, and ad-hoc basis
• Handle the JTI Service Award procedure to ensure Line Manager provides employee with certificate and post Workplace announcements
• Periodical audit of systems, folders, information administration and controls to guarantee information accuracy, process updates, data custody and any kind of improvement on time

General Support

• Assist, as needed, in the implementation of various global People & Culture projects/ initiatives at local level
• Participate in implementing local People & Culture projects and initiatives in the USA, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) activities
• Support reviewing and drafting People & Culture related policies and handbooks, if and as necessary
• Work closely with the People & Culture Business Partner/ or People & Culture Director to support on preparing presentations, reports, leadership meetings etc., in addition to proactively sharing ideas, as needed
• Create P&C related communication to employees, in coordination with Communications team, in addition to assisting employees with their different enquiries and ensure providing necessary guidance
• Provide ad-hoc support to the local Rewards team, when and as necessary. This includes participating in developing Rewards projects & policies, and assisting in day-to-day operations (i.e. compensation scenarios, letters, reports)

Who We Are Looking For

A dynamic, passionate, and result-oriented person, with:

• 1-2 years of general HR experience
• Experience in working with GBS on various HR activities 
• Excellent working knowledge of HR systems (i.e. SAP, SuccessFactors)
• Proficient skills in Microsoft Office applications (i.e. PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook)
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with proven experience of cross-functional collaboration
• Experience demonstrating the ability to communicate efficiently across the organization
• Demonstrated organization, planning and time management skills
• Fluency in English language
• High integrity and sense of responsibility
• Proven project-management experience is advantageous
• Proven experience of effective working in a culturally diverse environment

What We Offer 

In JTI USA, we are proud to be recognized as Top Employer and awarded the Global Equality Standards certificate as we continue our dedication to equal pay and equal opportunities. 

Our culture is what makes JTI USA a fun and exciting environment to work in. We value integrity, trust, empowerment, and freedom - freedom of choice, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom to be yourself. 

We ask for accountability, ownership, results, and collaboration. 

And we care for our people's well-being - In addition to the salary, you might want to enjoy the following: 

• Annual Performance-based Bonus
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
• Personal Development 
• Medical/ Dental & Vision Plan for employees & family members.
• Life insurance
• Matching 401(K)
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Family Leave of 20 Weeks
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability 
• Education/ Tuition Assistance
• Flexible Dress Code
• Hybrid Work Setup 
• Snacks & Drinks
• Office Parties 
• Volunteering Activities 
• Employee Assistance Program - counseling, for employees & family members. 

In addition to other perks & benefits (i.e. fitness/ wellbeing activities, employee discounts, service awards, recognition program, etc.)