People Operations Generalist
About This Role
Aaron's Estate Sales is an estate sales and auction business operating across Michigan. We run 5–10 sales a week during peak season and employ about 25-40 people — a mix of sales managers, estate sale associates, specialty staff, and a core admin team. We're growing, we're investing in the business, and we need a People Operations Generalist who can own recruiting, onboarding, and the day-to-day human side of running a small business.
This is not a corporate HR role, and it is not a remote role. You'll be in our Michigan office five days a week, working alongside the COO and the team — posting jobs, screening candidates, running onboarding and training, sitting with employees when issues come up, and keeping the job allocation board current so we never walk into a sale understaffed. You'll own the recruiting function end-to-end and handle the HR administrative work that keeps a 25-person operation legal, organized, and well-run.
What You'll Do
Primary focus (60–70% of your time) — Talent & Workforce:
- Own full-cycle recruiting for every open role — sourcing, screening, interviewing, offer, close
- Manage our job allocation board: live visibility into every open seat, where candidates are in the pipeline, and where we have coverage gaps
- Partner with the COO on workforce planning — who's coming, who's leaving, who's being promoted, what gaps are forming
- Keep critical seats filled: Sales Managers, Senior Associates, Estate Sale Associates, specialty roles
- Design and run new-hire onboarding: first day, first week, first 30/60/90-day check-ins
- Build and deliver training for new hires — sale procedures, customer service standards, safety, tools and systems
- Handle offboarding cleanly: exit interviews, documentation, knowledge transfer
Secondary focus (30–40%) — HR Administration & Compliance:
- Weekly payroll support with our payroll provider — timesheets, new hires, terminations, pay changes
- Employee file management: I-9s, W-4s, tax forms, policy acknowledgments, performance docs
- Policy administration: handbook, PTO/sick leave (Michigan ESTA), benefits enrollment, terminations
- First-line employee relations: hear issues, help resolve, escalate to the COO when warranted
- Compliance: federal and Michigan employment law, OSHA basics, EEOC, FLSA classification, workers' comp
- Annual cycles: performance review coordination, benefits open enrollment, W-2 prep, required compliance postings
What We're Looking For
Required:
- 3+ years in a recruiting-heavy HR role, preferably at a small-to-mid business (under 100 employees)
- Full-cycle recruiting — you source your own candidates, you don't wait for resumes to show up
- Hands-on experience onboarding and training new hires (not just handing them a packet)
- Working knowledge of Michigan employment law, payroll processing, and general HR compliance
- Operationally organized — the job allocation board is a Kanban of humans, and you treat it like a system
- Strong communicator — comfortable with hard conversations (tough feedback, terminations, candidate rejections)
- Self-directed — you run your own week against clear priorities, you don't wait to be told what to do next
Nice to have:
· Background in high-turnover hourly industries: retail, hospitality, services, trades, events
· Experience with an ATS — Greenhouse, Lever, Workable, or even Indeed's native tools
· SHRM-CP, aPHR, or PHR credential
· Experience with Michigan ESTA compliance or multi-state paid leave law
Compensation & Schedule
$30.00 per hour, paid weekly. Non-exempt hourly with a seasonal schedule that flexes with the business rhythm of a semi-seasonal estate sales company.
- Peak season (March–October): 30–40 hours per week, flexing up when the workload is heavy and down when it's lighter
- Winter season (November–February): 25 hours per week, reflecting the slower rhythm of the business
- Typical annual earnings: $44,000–$54,000 depending on how peak-season hours land
- In-office at our Michigan headquarters, five days a week. This is not a hybrid or remote role — the job requires daily presence with the team. Core hours Monday–Friday with some flexibility within that.
Benefits
- Health insurance — company pays 50% of premium
- Dental and vision insurance available (employee-paid)
- Paid time off and sick leave per company policy (accrued at 1 hour per 30 hours worked, 72-hour annual use cap, 90-day waiting period)
- Eligibility for health benefits: first of the month following 60 days of employment
- You'll work directly with the COO and have visibility into the whole business — not just a function
How to Apply
- Send your resume and a short note (3–5 sentences is fine) explaining why this role — not just any HR role — caught your eye. Tell us about a hire you made that worked out, and one that didn't. Aaron@aaronsestatesales.com
