Director Human Resources Mississippi

PURPOSE OF POSITION

In August 2022, Viking will expand its destination-focused travel experiences with the launch of Mississippi River cruises. Its first 386-guests custom vessel, Viking Mississippi, will sail voyages on the Lower and Upper Mississippi, ranging from 8 – 15 days, between New Orleans and St. Paul. Viking’s arrival will bring modern river cruising to the Mississippi and will represent a major commitment to tourism and economic development in many communities along the river. The new state-of-the-art Viking Mississippi is inspired by Viking’s award-winning river and ocean ships and will feature clean Scandinavian design, as well as public spaces that are familiar to guests but that have been reimagined for Mississippi River voyages. Purpose-built for the Mississippi and currently under construction in Louisiana, the five-deck ship’s cutting-edge design, expansive windows and comfortable amenities will make it the largest and most modern cruise ship in the region.

The Director Human Resources will be responsible for implementing and maintaining all Human Resources processes and procedures (including Recruiting, Administration, Contracting, Legal, Employer Branding, Learning & Development) for Viking’s Mississippi operation. This role will be located in Boston/USA. He/She will report directly into the Senior Vice President Operations and has two functional reporting lines into Viking’s Human Resources and Recruiting departments in Basel/Switzerland. Please note that any applicant for this role needs to be in possession of United States citizenship, hold a Green Card or must be eligible to work in the US under any other circumstances.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Recruiting/Employer Branding

• Verify recruiting profiles & selection criteria with all involved departments
• Regularly updating recruiting requirements based on operational needs and following HR Policy
• Managing and updating the application pool database, supervision and control over the candidate resource pool
• Conduct personal and video interviews for onboard crew and senior officers; in the future potentially local corporate- and office positions
• Organization and execution of assessment centers (location planning, communication with recruiting agencies, screening, selection, interviews, statistics)

• Ensure and control that personnel planning matches recruiting activities and covers operational crew needs in time and up to quality expectations
• Participate in stand-alone recruiting events or with partner agencies following SOP’s and company standards
• Support defining measures to establish employer branding in the relevant markets in close coordination with global recruiting marketing
• Follow defined recruiting processes in an effective and efficient manner to ensure given budgets and optimize if necessary
• Ensure adequate reporting of recruiting status quo, measures and financial key figures at all times
• Build and maintain meaningful business relationships and a trusted network of high-quality recruiting agencies (if necessary)

HR Administration

• Manage HR Administration and wellbeing of crew in an effective & compliant manner maintain employee records
• Gather all HR needs and initiate necessary actions in agreement with Operations
• Maintain close business relations with the responsible operational manager(s)
• Analyze terminations / turnover data and initiate appropriate actions in coordination with Operations
• Act as employee relations agent to ensure compliance
• Control staff satisfaction and initiate action to improve in coordination with Operations
• Conduct frequent ship visits to foster the relationship between onboard management, crew and corporate functions

Scheduling/Contracting

• Prepare contract documents for employees
• Coordinate the staff planning process and establish smooth scheduling and rotation throughout the year
• Support the onboard Senior Officer with the HR Administration and vacation planning

HR Advisory/Consulting/Learning & Development

• Research competitor conditions and industry trends (benchmarking)
• Integration with Viking’s overall HR strategy
• Set-up and maintain budget, contract, salary and benefit structure for all crew and management on board, draft, negotiate and respect Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
• Conduct regular meetings with unions and stay abreast of changing labor law legislation
• Keep close business contacts with the payroll provider
• Steer Employee/Crew Performance review process
• Create a motivating performance environment enabling people to thrive in their field of competence
• Work closely with the Learning & Development department to organize functional and skill-focused trainings; prepare smooth delivery of the kick-off training phase

QUALIFICATION PROFILE

• A self-starter with a can-do mindset, who is open for new ideas, honest, critical, energetic, enthusiastic and attention to detail
• Degree in Human Resources Management or Law, excellent understanding of legal processes in HR environment in the US
• Min. 4 years professional experience in a HR Generalist role, preferably in the hotel / tourism industry; full understanding of all individual positions across all departments is required
• Positive personality with great people judgement, organized, flexible, team player, creative, stress resistant and resilient, professional appearance
• International experience is an asset
• Excellent English skills (written and verbal), computer knowledge (MS Office), organizational and communication skills, administrative experience
• Ability to work independently (with remote business partners and across different time zones), service-oriented and guest focused