Hello Mainland Human Resources Generalist Chicago, IL · Full time Company website

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About Mainland (Founded 2008) Mainland is not a traditional agency. We are a growth platform built for brands that need to win, not just show up. Since 2008, we’ve operated at the intersection of content, public relations, and digital, helping companies build momentum through a system we call the Conveyor Belt: create meaningful stories, amplify them through media, and convert that attention into real business outcomes. We work with ambitious brands, especially in franchising, that want more than activity. They want results. That means everything we do is tied to a clear definition of winning, measurable outputs, and consistent execution. We move fast. We expect accountability. And we care deeply about the work. We call it Give a Shit.

Human Resources Generalist

Location: Chicago, IL preferred

Employment Type: Full-Time

Reports To: CEO initially; eventually COO

About Hello Mainland

Hello Mainland is a growth agency built to help brands grow through strategic storytelling, media relations, content, digital marketing, and franchise development support. We are a fast-moving, entrepreneurial company with a strong culture of accountability, service, and execution. As we continue to grow, we are looking for an HR Generalist to help strengthen our people operations, recruiting, hiring, and employee experience.

Position Overview

The HR Generalist will play a key role in supporting and improving Hello Mainland’s people function. This person will manage recruiting coordination, interviewing and hiring support, onboarding and offboarding, employee documentation, HR administration, Gusto management, benefits support, and day-to-day employee needs.

This is a hands-on role for someone who is highly organized, proactive, people-oriented, and comfortable balancing administrative detail with employee communication. The right candidate will help take much of the day-to-day HR and recruiting workload off leadership while helping us build a stronger, more consistent people operation.

ResponsibilitiesRecruiting, Interviewing & Hiring

• Manage the recruiting process from job posting through offer stage
• Coordinate candidate communication, interview scheduling, and interview follow-up
• Partner with hiring managers to keep searches organized, timely, and efficient
• Assist with candidate screening and help assess alignment with role needs and company culture
• Help create consistency in interview process, candidate evaluations, and hiring follow-through
• Prepare offer materials and support pre-boarding logistics
• Help improve the company’s recruiting and hiring process over time

HR & People Operations

• Manage onboarding and offboarding processes across the company
• Maintain employee records, documentation, and internal HR files
• Serve as a point of contact for employee questions related to policies, time off, onboarding, benefits, and general HR matters
• Support employee relations conversations and ensure documentation is handled appropriately
• Assist with performance management process administration and manager follow-up
• Help maintain and improve policies, procedures, and internal people processes
• Support compliance with applicable employment requirements

Gusto Administration

• Own day-to-day administration of Gusto
• Manage employee profile updates, onboarding and offboarding tasks, and HR record accuracy in Gusto
• Support payroll-related administration, benefits administration, and time-off tracking
• Help leadership stay organized around employee changes, deadlines, and HR documentation

Employee Experience & Culture

• Help improve the employee experience through stronger communication, consistency, and follow-through
• Support internal culture initiatives, employee engagement efforts, and feedback processes
• Help create a professional, organized employee lifecycle from recruitment through exit

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of experience in HR, recruiting, people operations, or a related role
• Experience managing recruiting coordination, interviewing support, and hiring workflows
• Experience with onboarding, offboarding, employee administration, and HR documentation
• Experience with Gusto strongly preferred
• Strong communication skills and comfort handling sensitive employee matters professionally
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and dependable
• Ability to build process and create structure in a growing company
• Experience in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, or agency environment is a plus
• Multi-state employee administration experience is a plus

Compensation

Target salary range: $60,000–$80,000, depending on experience

Why This Role Matters

• This role is important to helping Hello Mainland scale with better structure, stronger hiring processes, and more consistent people operations. We are looking for someone who can help build a tighter, more organized, and more professional employee experience across the business.