Miguel Cortez
Belvidere
Summary
Strategic and bilingual HR professional with 7+ years of progressive experience in human resources leadership across sustainability, healthcare, blockchain/Web3 gaming, and e-commerce/technology (Amazon). Skilled at navigating the unique challenges of both startups and large corporations, with expertise in employee relations, benefits administration, HRIS, compliance, and talent acquisition. Adept at aligning HR strategies with organizational goals, HR trends, streamlining processes, and enhancing employee engagement. Recognized for building positive workplace cultures and leading cross-functional initiatives that improve retention, performance, and overall HR operations. Currently pursuing PHR certification to further strengthen expertise in HR strategy and best practices.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
HR Manager (People Operations)
SCS Global Services
04.2022 - Current
- Serve as a strategic partner to executive leadership, aligning HR initiatives with organizational growth, culture transformation, and long-term business objectives.
- Champion organizational effectiveness by designing scalable HR frameworks, policies, and compliance programs that balance risk management with business agility.
- Drive employee engagement at the enterprise level by implementing culture-focused programs that strengthen retention, satisfaction, and performance outcomes.
- Provide leadership coaching and succession planning strategies to cultivate future leaders and enhance organizational bench strength.
- Lead workforce planning and talent acquisition efforts to build high-performing teams that support evolving business needs across diverse functions.
- Oversee compensation and benefits programs to ensure competitive positioning in the marketplace, enabling the attraction and retention of top talent.
- Leverage HR analytics and audits to deliver insights that influence executive decision-making and support continuous improvement of HR operations.
- Foster a culture of accountability and collaboration by guiding leaders through complex employee relations, conflict resolution, and performance improvement initiatives.
- SCS Global Services - Sustainability
Human Resources Specialist
Amazon
12.2020 - 03.2022
- Partnered with HR Business Partners and Operations Managers to resolve employee relations issues, conduct investigations, and drive fair performance management practice.
- Supported HR operations for a large employee population, ensuring compliance with federal and state labor laws and Amazon's internal policies.
- Managed full-cycle talent processes including onboarding, I-9 verification, and new hire orientation.
- Administered payroll, timekeeping, and leave of absence programs, ensuring accurate and timely employee records in HRIS systems.
- Assisted with benefits programs, FMLA, STD/LTD, and employee accommodations.
- Generated HR analytics reports to identify workforce trends and provided recommendations to improve retention and engagement.
- Supported engagement initiatives, recognition programs, and leadership training to strengthen workplace culture.
Senior Human Resources Generalist
Splinterlands
PA
03.2020 - 11.2020
- Lead projects from implementation through live date.
- Lead and manage organization-wide intranet through Zendesk and Sharepoint.
- Analyze company benefit program and implement a competitive program.
- Oversee benefits including open enrollment and enrollment profiles. Managed Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Life Insurance, Tax Savings accounts through WEX, Employee Perks, & more.
- Facilitate and implement workers compensation policies for majority of U.S including monopolistic states.
- Oversee federal and state notices in collaboration with Sequoia.
- Manage leave of absences through Tilt platform.
- Projected growth opportunities.
- Oversee payroll related to benefits, leaves, etc.
- Manage company contracts including NDAs, MSA, offer letters, etc.
- Constructed and conducted onboarding process.
- Implemented company wide events such as lunch and learns and company activities.
- Blockchain Web3 Game
Human Resource Generalist
One Home Health, LTD
IL
06.2018 - 02.2020
- Conduct payroll for over 250 exempt/non-exempt employees. Utilized EMRs and ADP to complete the life cycle of payroll for 3 branches.
- Utilize ADP and its several functions including but not limited to the following: Payroll, time-off policies, onboarding, offboarding, document maintenance, talent administration, employee self-service, benefits, etc.
- Utilize HRIS to generate and provide data trends to management.
- Organize and conduct orientation for all roles.
- Involved in the creation and implementation of company onboarding process including but not limited to the following: first day orientation, employee portals within HRIS, employee portals within continuing education - Relias, etc.
- Administrator for Ascensus. Complete weekly payroll contributions, maintain entire employee life cycle for the organization, and administer all forms of IRAs such as 401k, Roth 401k, and Loan Repayment.
- Administrator for benefit related platforms including Humana, Benefit Wallet, BCBS, Principal, & Aflac. Involved in employee open enrollment and benefit administration. Complete 'Leaves' including FMLA, STD/LTD, and Personal.
- Guide supervisory team through corrective action and performance reviews.
Human Resource Specialist
SupplyCore
Rockford
05.2017 - 06.2018
- List open job positions on job boards such as Zip recruiter and ClearCompany.
- Monitor and maintain payroll administration, compensation, training, and compliance in Paylocity application.
- Generate Data Analytics Reports - focusing on company turnover trends.
- Construct job descriptions, work instructions, offer letters.
- Conduct background checks, schedule drug screens, collection of I-9 forms.
Education
Human Resources Certification Prep Course - PHR/SPHR
HRCP
Online, IL12.2025
Bachelor of Science - Psychology, Business Administration
Rockford University
Rockford, IL05.2018
Skills
- Employee relations
- Payroll administration
- HR analytics
- Benefits administration
- Performance management
- Compliance management
- Engagement initiatives
- Employee retention
- Workers' compensation
- Orientation preparation
- HR legal compliance
- Compensation management
- HR policies and procedures
- HR reporting
- Compensation and benefits
Languages
- Fluent in English
- Fluent in Spanish
Timeline
HR Manager (People Operations)
SCS Global Services
04.2022 - Current
Human Resources Specialist
Amazon
12.2020 - 03.2022
Senior Human Resources Generalist
Splinterlands
03.2020 - 11.2020
Human Resource Generalist
One Home Health, LTD
06.2018 - 02.2020
Human Resource Specialist
SupplyCore
05.2017 - 06.2018
Human Resources Certification Prep Course - PHR/SPHR
HRCP
Bachelor of Science - Psychology, Business Administration
Rockford University