| Location | San Diego, California |
| Salary | $85,000–$95,000 Per Year |
A Retained Search Conducted Exclusively by Oak Tree Talent Partners
Temecula, California, United States | Remote-Hybrid with ability to meet in person 20% over week/month (San Diego, CA preferred)
Direct Hire | $85,000–$95,000 DOE
Confidential Client | Special Inspection & Materials Testing (QA/QC) | Civil, Industrial & Energy
Reports To: Controller & Operations Manager (dual reporting) | Full-Time, Exempt
Oak Tree Talent Partners has been formally engaged on a retained basis to lead this confidential search — meaning we are the client's exclusive partner for this hire, with direct access to decision-makers and a mandate to find the right person, not just fill a req. This is not a contingency posting spread across multiple agencies; it's a dedicated, white-glove search from first conversation through offer.
Our client is a privately owned, union testing and inspection firm — associated with Operating Engineers Local 12 and Local 3 — delivering third-party materials testing and special inspection across California, Nevada, and Utah, with experience on over 100 large-scale civil and industrial projects nationwide, including gas and solar plants, rail, airports, highways, and bridgework.
As they build their first dedicated HR function, this hire will own the ground-up build: safety training compliance, HR administration, and regulatory/client compliance for a ~70-person field workforce (90% union) plus office staff.
TALENT & ONBOARDING
- Support onboarding and maintain the jobsite required-documents file, hiring packet forms, and employee handbook.
EMPLOYEE & LABOR RELATIONS
- Support fair, well-documented resolution of employee/employer complaints.
- Manage grievance documentation and CBA-aligned recordkeeping within a 90% union field workforce.
SAFETY & RISK COMPLIANCE
- Own monthly Toolbox Topics and quarterly safety trainings (e.g., OSHA Most Cited) end-to-end — assign, distribute, follow up, collect, and maintain complete training records for ~70 field employees.
- Maintain and update the Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) and distribute company-wide.
- Administer the Nuclear Gauge program: user lists, new-hire gauge courses, annual Gauge Refresher and HAZMAT training, and radioactive materials licensing (CA renewals, reciprocity, and new-state applications).
- Schedule and track mandatory Anti-Harassment and OSHA Workplace Violence Prevention training at new hire and bi-annual intervals.
- Serve as day-to-day liaison to the insurance broker (Cavignac & Associates) for risk management education and HR compliance guidance, and administer training via the LMS and broker training portal.
LICENSING & PREQUALIFICATION
- Maintain client vetting/prequalification portals — Highwire, ISNetworld, and Avetta — on weekly, monthly, and annual cycles; keep the Prequal Cut Sheet current. Portal standing is deadline-critical to the client's ability to bid and work.
- Coordinate PE license applications/renewals and Professional Development Hours by state; maintain NCEES records; manage business licenses across cities, counties, and states.
HR ADMIN & REPORTING
- Maintain the digital labor law poster, required notices, and org charts; update the SOQ with new project write-ups and keep field personnel resumes current in company format.
- Build and document the HR workflows, processes, and reporting that will define this function going forward.
- Bachelor's degree in HR, Business Administration, Risk Management, or a related field — or equivalent combination of education, HR certification (PHR, SHRM-CP), and relevant experience.
- 3–5 years of progressive experience in HR administration, HR compliance, or safety/training compliance, with working knowledge of California employment law.
- Track record administering training programs and maintaining auditable compliance records — LMS experience strongly preferred.
- Exceptional organization and deadline management across recurring weekly-to-annual compliance cycles, with strong documentation skills and discretion handling sensitive employee matters.
- Preferred: experience in engineering, testing/inspection, energy, or other field-based technical environments; union/labor relations exposure; familiarity with ISNetworld/Avetta/Highwire, Cal/OSHA program administration (IIPP, Workplace Violence Prevention), or PE/NCEES and nuclear gauge licensing; experience managing records via SharePoint.
$85,000–$95,000 base, DOE.
Because Oak Tree Talent Partners is retained on this search — not one of several agencies competing to fill it — candidates receive a higher level of attention throughout:
- A real conversation with an Oak Tree search consultant, not an automated screen.
- Direct, confidential representation to the client's decision-makers.
- Coaching and preparation ahead of the client presentation and interviews.
- Timely, transparent communication at every stage — no disappearing into a black box.
Oak Tree Talent Partners (an operating name of Oak Tree Education Consulting LLC) is a mission-driven, retained search firm specializing in HR, compliance, and operations talent — partnering with education, healthcare, nonprofit, and civil & energy infrastructure organizations. Where contingency recruiters compete to fill a req, we're engaged exclusively — partnering with clients to design the role, build out HR infrastructure, and place candidates who last.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to how we search — we build candidate slates that reflect a broad range of backgrounds and experience, and every candidate we represent receives fair, equitable consideration.
Oak Tree Talent Partners is an Equal Opportunity search partner and ensures all qualified candidates receive fair consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.