Portfolio HR Leader

Description

Position Summary

The Portfolio HR Leader is the senior people leader for ZT Automotive’s multi-brand, multi-state portfolio of franchised and luxury automotive dealerships. This role translates dealership business strategy into a practical people agenda that strengthens store leadership, attracts and retains dealership talent across the Sales, Fixed Operations (Service and Parts), and Finance & Insurance departments, improves the employee experience, and supports disciplined growth through acquisition. The leader serves as a trusted advisor to portfolio executives, market directors, general managers, controllers, and fixed-ops leadership while building consistent HR standards that remain responsive to each store’s brand, OEM requirements, and operating environment.

The successful candidate is a seasoned automotive HR leader who combines strategic judgment with hands-on execution in a dealership environment. They will establish scalable HR infrastructure, use dealership workforce data to guide decisions, lead employee relations and multi-state compliance, govern dealership pay plans and payroll, and support acquisition integration—all while maintaining visible, credible relationships in the stores.

Key Leadership Accountabilities

Business Partnership & People Strategy

· Partner with portfolio leadership and dealership operators to translate growth plans, operating priorities, and financial objectives into an integrated people strategy.

· Advise leaders on organization design, workforce planning, leadership effectiveness, succession, retention, compensation, and complex employee matters.

· Build strong relationships with general managers and market leaders through structured operating reviews, and timely follow-through.

· Balance portfolio-wide consistency with appropriate local flexibility across brands, markets, and dealership functions.

Talent Acquisition, Workforce Planning & Retention

· Develop a proactive talent strategy for high-volume and hard-to-fill dealership roles across Sales, Service (including flat-rate and skilled technicians), Parts, Finance & Insurance, Accounting, and support functions, accounting for the industry’s high turnover and technician shortage.

· Strengthen recruiting discipline, candidate experience, selection quality, onboarding, and early-tenure follow-up in partnership with dealership leaders.

· Use headcount, productivity, vacancy, turnover, and labor-cost data to identify workforce risks and recommend action.

Leadership, Performance & Culture

· Build manager capability through clear expectations, coaching, performance management, progressive discipline, and leadership development.

· Create succession and talent-review practices for critical dealership and portfolio roles, with clear development actions and accountability.

· Promote a high-performance culture grounded in integrity, accountability, customer service, safety, inclusion, and respect.

· Strengthen employee communications, recognition, engagement, and listening mechanisms across geographically dispersed locations.

Employee Relations, Compliance & Risk

· Provide sound, timely guidance on investigations, corrective action, workplace conduct, attendance, leave, accommodations, wage-and-hour matters, and separations.

· Ensure HR practices comply with applicable federal, state, and local employment requirements across the portfolio’s operating markets.

· Maintain consistent policies, documentation standards, recordkeeping, and audit readiness while partnering with Legal and other advisors as appropriate.

Pay Plans, Payroll Governance & HR Operations

· Provide strategic oversight of dealership pay-plan governance, benefits, retirement programs, paid time off, and related employee communications.

· Partner with Finance, Payroll, and dealership leadership to strengthen pay accuracy, controls, approval practices, issue resolution, and compliance for hourly, salaried, commission, draw, and flat-rate populations.

· Standardize core employee lifecycle processes—including hiring, onboarding, transfers, status changes, leaves, and terminations—through clear ownership, service levels, and controls.

· Advance effective use of HR technology (Paylocity), reporting, self-service, workflow automation, and data quality to improve service and reduce administrative friction.

M&A Integration & Organizational Growth

· Lead HR due diligence and post-close integration planning for dealership acquisitions, including workforce data, compliance, compensation and benefits, payroll, systems, communications, and retention risk.

· Deliver a structured employee transition experience that preserves business continuity, establishes trust, and drives adoption of ZT Automotive practices.

· Create repeatable integration playbooks, milestones, risk tracking, and leadership reporting to support continued portfolio expansion.

HR Team Leadership & Governance

· Lead, coach, and develop the HR team; establish clear roles, priorities, service standards, escalation paths, and performance expectations.

· Build an operating model that positions HR close to the business while maintaining appropriate governance, subject-matter expertise, and process discipline.

· Manage external partners and vendors with clear expectations for service, compliance, cost, and outcomes.

Measures of Success

· Reliable payroll and HR operations, accurate workforce data, effective controls, and responsive employee service.

· Consistent policy execution, timely employee-relations resolution, and reduced compliance and workforce risk.

· Disciplined, employee-centered integration of newly acquired dealerships.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.

· 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 3 years leading an HR function, major business unit, or complex multi-site organization.

· Demonstrated experience advising senior executives and operational leaders in a fast-paced, decentralized environment.

· Strong command of employee relations, employment law, talent management, compensation, benefits, payroll governance, and HR operations.

· Automotive dealership or dealer-group HR experience is required, including direct exposure to franchised store operations (Sales, Fixed Operations, and F&I) and OEM/manufacturer workforce requirements.

· Hands-on experience administering and governing dealership pay plans—hourly, salaried, commission, draw, and flat-rate technician compensation—and multi-store payroll controls.

· Familiarity with dealership management systems (e.g., CDK) and dealership-grade payroll/HRIS platforms (e.g., Paylocity), including multi-store, multi-entity payroll processing.

· Experience building scalable processes, leading change, and using workforce analytics to influence business decisions.

Preferred Qualifications

· Multi-rooftop, multi-state dealer-group experience spanning import, domestic, and luxury OEM franchises.

· Experience supporting acquisitions, integrations, rapid growth, or private-equity-backed portfolio operations.

· HR certification such as SPHR, SHRM-SCP, or GPHR.

· Experience with dealership management systems (CDK), HRIS/payroll platforms (Paylocity), applicant tracking systems, and dashboard reporting.