About Us
Top Ten Liquors exists to responsibly deliver joy for all of life’s celebrations. We are a growing, values‑driven retail organization balancing operational excellence with genuine community connection. Our people are the heart of our business, and HR plays a critical role in building systems, leaders, and culture that allow both employees and the company to thrive.
Position Summary
The Human Resources Manager is a highly autonomous, hands-on leader responsible for owning the full employee lifecycle across the organization. This is a scrappy, roll-up-your-sleeves role for someone who understands the breadth of HR work and takes full accountability for getting it done—without waiting for perfect conditions, extra headcount, or step-by-step direction.
This role blends strategy, execution, compliance, and culture. The HR Manager is expected to independently identify gaps, build practical solutions, and drive work forward while serving as a trusted advisor to leaders and a steady, fair presence for employees.
This role requires strong judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to prioritize relentlessly in a fast-moving, multi-location retail environment.
Salary Range: $105,000-$115,000
Additional Details: In-office (Northeast Minneapolis) preferably four days/week, one day remote.
Core Responsibilities
Strategic HR Leadership
- Own and drive HR strategy aligned with company mission, vision, and core values—turning direction into action without excessive oversight.
- Translate business needs (growth, restructuring, e-commerce expansion) into practical, scalable people solutions.
- Build, refine, and maintain HR infrastructure that works for the business as it exists today, not just how it might look in the future
- Proactively identify gaps, risks, and efficiencies and take initiative to close, mitigate and rectify them.
- Serve as a thought partner on organizational design, role clarity, and workforce planning, with a bias toward action.
Employee Relations & Risk Management
- Serve as the primary owner of employee relations issues from intake through resolution.
- Independently manage investigations, corrective actions, performance documentation, and terminations with empathy, consistency, and strong judgment.
- Coach managers through difficult conversations while holding them accountable for timely follow-through.
- Assess and mitigate legal risk, with particular attention to protected classes, retaliation, consistency, and documentation.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state (MN), and local employment laws without slowing the business unnecessarily.
- Own, enforce, and continuously improve policies outlined in the Top Ten Employee Handbook, including discipline, open-door practices, and reporting processes.
Talent Acquisition & Onboarding
- Oversee recruiting strategy for corporate and store‑level roles, including leadership positions.
- Improve hiring processes to emphasize values alignment, leadership capability, and situational problem‑solving.
- Partner with leaders on interview design, candidate evaluation, and final selection.
- Ensure a consistent, welcoming, and effective onboarding experience across all roles.
Learning, Development & Leadership Growth
- Own and evolve leadership development programs, including the Manager‑in‑Training (MIT) program.
- Support manager capabilities in areas such as coaching, feedback, performance management, and decision‑making.
- Identify skill gaps and design practical training solutions that reflect the realities of retail leadership.
- Reinforce a culture of continuous improvement and personal growth.
Performance Management
- Oversee performance management philosophy and execution, ensuring it is clear, fair, and aligned with company values.
- Support leaders in setting expectations, delivering feedback, and conducting reviews.
- Partner with managers on performance improvement plans and development pathways.
Compensation, Benefits & Recognition
- Support compensation strategy, including role leveling, pay equity considerations, and wage adjustments.
- Administer and communicate employee benefits programs.
- Partner with leadership on recognition initiatives that reinforce learning, growth, and company values (e.g., education incentives).
Culture, Engagement & Values
- Act as a steward of Top Ten Liquors’ core values: Entrepreneurial Mindset, Service, Integrity, Community, and Organizational Excellence.
- Support engagement initiatives that build connection, inclusion, and trust across teams.
- Advise leadership during periods of change to ensure transparency, empathy, and alignment.
- Help leaders navigate sensitive cultural or values‑based conversations thoughtfully and responsibly.
HR Operations & Systems
- Own HR operations end-to-end, including systems, records, reporting, and compliance.
- Partner with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for administrative execution, while retaining full ownership of judgment, accountability, and people leadership—administration may be shared, responsibility is not.
- Design and maintain clear, usable processes for hiring, promotions, corrective actions, and exits.
- Balance structure with speed—knowing when precision matters and when progress matters more.
- Analyze people data and trends to inform leadership decisions, even when the data is imperfect.
Qualifications
Required
- 5+ years of progressive HR experience, including significant employee relations responsibility.
- Strong working knowledge of employment law and HR best practices.
- Proven experience coaching managers through complex people issues.
- Ability to balance empathy with accountability.
- Excellent judgment, discretion, and communication skills.
- Experience supporting multi‑location or operationally complex environments (retail, hospitality, operations‑heavy industries strongly preferred).
Preferred
- HR leadership experience in a growing or changing organization.
- Experience building or evolving leadership development programs.
- Familiarity with Minnesota employment law.
- SHRM‑CP, SHRM‑SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification.
Key Attributes for Success
- Scrappy and accountable: Takes full ownership of outcomes and doesn’t wait to be told what to do.
- Comfortable with ambiguity: Can prioritize, decide, and act with incomplete information.
- Business-minded: Understands how people decisions impact operations, profitability, and sustainability.
- Grounded and real: Understands that HR work is nuanced, emotional, and rarely clean-cut.
- Values-driven: Willing to uphold integrity and consistency even when it’s uncomfortable.
- Coach-oriented: Builds capable leaders rather than creating dependence.
- Detail-oriented with perspective: Knows when details matter deeply and when they shouldn’t slow progress.
Why This Role Matters
This role has meaningful influence on how Top Ten Liquors grows, how leaders lead, and how employees experience work every day. The HR Manager helps ensure that as the business evolves, the culture, systems, and people practices evolve with intention—not by accident.
- This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required.
