HR Risk & Compliance Manager
Caterpillar Inc.
About the Role
The Manager, HR Risk & Compliance serves as a strategic leader for U.S. and LATAM employment compliance, HR governance, policy administration, and workforce risk management. This role partners with senior leaders, HR, Legal, and business stakeholders to identify risks, implement compliance controls, and ensure adherence to federal, state, and local employment laws.
Key Responsibilities
HR Compliance Governance & Risk Management
- Lead enterprise HR compliance programs and governance initiatives across U.S. operations.
- Develop, review, update, and maintain HR policies to ensure compliance with changing federal, state, and local employment laws.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate employment-related compliance risks.
- Establish compliance controls, monitoring mechanisms, and reporting processes.
- Drive continuous improvement of HR governance frameworks and compliance procedures.
Employment Law & Regulatory Compliance
- Serve as the compliance expert for U.S. and LATAM employment laws and regulations.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory changes affecting workforce practices.
- Provide guidance on multi-state employment law requirements, particularly in Illinois, Colorado, Texas, Indiana, California, Georgia, Minnesota and other operating jurisdictions.
- Lead employment law compliance initiatives for LATAM (Mexico, Brazil and other operation jurisdictions).
- Ensure compliance with leave of absence regulations, accommodation requirements, wage and hour laws, pay transparency regulations, and emerging employment legislation.
EEO, Investigations & Reporting
- Lead EEO-1 and other regulatory reporting programs.
- Partner with Legal and HR leadership to address compliance concerns and investigations.
- Oversee compliance-related audits, assessments, and remediation activities.
- Ensure accurate documentation and regulatory record retention practices.
Background Screening & Vendor Compliance
- Govern background screening programs and state-specific regulatory requirements.
- Manage third-party compliance relationships and vendor oversight.
- Evaluate screening practices for compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Executive Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement
- Act as trusted advisor to senior executives on compliance risks and governance matters.
- Present compliance metrics, trends, and recommendations to leadership teams.
- Influence organizational decision-making through data-driven compliance insights.
- Build strong relationships across HR, Legal, Employee Relations, Risk, Internal Audit, and business leadership.
Risk Monitoring & Remediation
- Design and implement corrective action plans for identified compliance issues.
- Establish control assessments and monitor effectiveness through reporting and metrics.
- Lead issue remediation efforts and ensure accountability for action plans.
- Support enterprise risk management initiatives through proactive identification of emerging compliance concerns.
Requirements & Tech Stack
Location: Irving, TX
Requires 5 days a week in office
Sponsorship is not available
International and Domestic travel up to 20%
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Law, Risk Management, Public Administration, or related field.
- Deep knowledge of:
- US Federal employment laws
- US State employment laws
- Central and South America employment laws
- International statutory HR policy governance/ownership
- EEO reporting requirements
- Leave of absence compliance
- Background screening regulations
- Audit and compliance frameworks
- Risk management methodologies
- Internal controls and compliance monitoring in key auditable areas (payroll, talent acquisition, time and absence administration, etc.).
- Leadership Competencies:
- Executive presence and ability to influence senior leaders.
- Strong relationship management capabilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strategic thinking and analytical problem-solving.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and complex regulatory environments.
- Experience leading cross-functional compliance initiatives.
Top Candidates Will Also Have
- Experience in large, complex, multi-state organizations.
- Experience supporting in-office workforce strategies and compliance considerations.
- Experience working with compliance management systems, risk tools, and governance platforms.
- Familiarity with internal audit practices and enterprise risk management frameworks.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits*
- Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*
- 401(k) savings plans*
- Health Savings Account (HSA)*
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*
- Health Lifestyle Programs*
- Employee Assistance Program*
- Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*
- Career Development*
- Incentive bonus*
- Disability benefits
- Life Insurance
- Parental leave
- Adoption benefits
- Tuition Reimbursement
These benefits also apply to part-time employees