ABOUT THE NBPA
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is the union for professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Established in 1954, the NBPA’s mission is to protect and advance the rights of our players. They are the game.
The NBPA advocates on behalf of the best interests of all NBA players, including through negotiating collective bargaining agreements, filing grievances on behalf of players, and counseling players on benefits and educational and post-NBA career opportunities. Business opportunities for players are generated by THINK450, the group licensing and partnership engine of the NBPA. With more than 80 active partnerships, THINK450 is dedicated to uncovering shared interests between players and leading brands to build more engaging collaborations.
The NBPA Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of its members by supporting and assisting people, communities, and organizations worldwide. It spotlights and amplifies the global initiatives of professional basketball players, driving positive change through community building, charitable endeavors, and social entrepreneurship.
For more information, visit www.nbpa.com and follow @thenbpa on social.
POSITION OVERVIEW: The Associate Director, People & Culture is a hands-on HR practitioner responsible for executing and continuously improving people programs across the full employee lifecycle in a lean organization. Operating as an HR Business Partner for internal staff, this role provides practical HR support and sound judgment across core People & Culture processes.
This role leads the day-to-day execution of recruitment support, onboarding, performance management, engagement initiatives, employee relations, and provides backup support for payroll processing and benefits administration to ensure accuracy, continuity, and a strong employee experience.
The Associate Director plays a key role in operationalizing People & Culture programs, optimizing processes, and using data to drive improvements, while operating with a high degree of ownership and accountability.
The ideal candidate thrives in lean environments, enjoys building scalable solutions, and balances strong judgment with hands-on execution to deliver fair, consistent, and effective people practices.
DEPARTMENT: People & Culture
REPORTS TO: Chief People Officer
RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:
- Serve as a hands-on HR Business Partner, providing practical guidance and execution support across core talent processes.
- Execute and strengthen people programs across the employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding through development and off-boarding.
- Develop foundational HR standardized processes ensuring compliance, accuracy and consistency.
- Provide backup support for payroll processing and benefits administration, ensuring operational continuity and compliance.
- Maintain HR systems and workforce data, leveraging insights to improve processes and decision-making.
- Lead and support HR projects through planning, execution adoption and change to enhance consistency, efficiency, and employee experience in a lean environment.
- Manage HR projects and change initiatives from, including communication, rollout, and reinforcement of new practices.
- Support organizational change and growth by balancing strategic advisement with direct execution to meet evolving business needs.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
- Progressive experience in human resources, including experience in an HR Business Partner or senior HR generalist role.
- Experience operating in lean or small HR environments, balancing strategic advisement with hands-on execution.
- Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment laws, HR compliance, and best practices.
- Demonstrated ability to build and improve foundational HR programs, policies, and processes across the employee lifecycle.
- Proven ability to partner effectively with leaders and employees providing practical, solutions-oriented balanced guidance.
- Experience designing, implementing, and improving HR programs across the employee lifecycle.
- High degree of integrity and comfort handling sensitive and confidential information.
- Strong organizational, project management, and communication skills.
The NBPA will respond to those candidates whose qualifications are best aligned with the components of this job description and will continue to review resumes until the position is filled.
Salary will be commensurate with experience.
The NBPA offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid leave, medical, dental, and vision insurance, and a 401(k) plan with matching employer contributions.
The NBPA is an equal employment opportunity employer. The NBPA will consider all qualified applicants with no regard to the applicant’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, weight, disability, or any other status protected by New York or Federal anti-discrimination law.
