Senior People Operations Specialist

About the California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling. When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it. About the Opportunity The People Systems Operations Senior Specialist reports to the Manager, People Systems Analytics, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Total Rewards Manager as needed. This role supports the People Systems Analytics function by executing HR systems operations, maintaining data integrity, and supporting compliance and benefits administration. As a key operational partner, this role ensures People systems run smoothly and accurately while supporting critical People programs, Total Rewards initiatives, and reporting needs This role will serve as the operational backbone of the People Systems function, dedicated to the tactical execution of HR technology and data integrity across all people systems. The Senior Specialist is responsible for maintaining the "single source of truth" for workforce data through all people systems, HR technology and data integrity. Beyond daily administration, this role drives system adoption by creating user training materials and maintaining the People Operations process library. This position acts as the first line of defense for system issues, monitoring integrations, troubleshooting technical tickets, and ensuring accurate reporting for compliance and decision-making. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys systems, process execution, and behind-the-scenes work that enables scale and compliance. Organizational Culture Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives – Hope for Reefs , Thriving California , and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives . We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position. This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below. Key Responsibilities HRIS Systems Administration Execute day-to-day HRIS transactions, including job changes/, transfers, benefits changes, LOAs, and separations. Serve as a primary Dayforce power user and first point of contact for HRIS-related issues Maintain accurate employee data and documentation across systems. Perform regular audits of employee data to ensure accuracy and completeness Partner with Talent Acquisition on onboarding handoffs and system readiness. Ensure accurate completion of p ... (truncated, view full listing at source)