1. Organization and purpose

T.R.U.S.T. South LA is a community land trust serving South Los Angeles through community ownership, affordable housing preservation, organizing, policy advocacy, and community-centered programs. T.R.U.S.T. seeks a qualified HR consultant or firm to strengthen its HR infrastructure, support supervisors and staff, and provide timely, independent expertise for specialized personnel matters.

The desired approach keeps organizational relationships, culture, judgment, and day-to-day management within T.R.U.S.T., while bringing in outside expertise for specialized compliance, investigations, higher-risk personnel matters, and independent advice.

2. Engagement objectives

• Establish clear, practical HR procedures, templates, decision authority, and escalation pathways.
• Support consistent onboarding, supervision, evaluations, employee relations, and staff transitions.
• Develop a compensation philosophy and salary bands supported by relevant market information and T.R.U.S.T.’s financial capacity.
• Strengthen complaint reporting, independent investigations, and sensitive personnel decision support.
• Coordinate specialized legal review with employment counsel and build internal staff capacity
• Review and clarify staff job titles and descriptions, including responsibilities, reporting relationships, and expectations. 

3. Scope of services

Proposals should describe how the consultant would address the service areas below, distinguishing ongoing HR advisory support, initial implementation priorities, and specialized services that would require separate authorization or fees.

     A. HR infrastructure and employee lifecycle

• Assess current HR practices and available policies, personnel files, tools, and workflows. Deliver a prioritized gap assessment and implementation plan.
• Develop personnel file checklists and a records protocol addressing access, confidentiality, secure handling, and document retention recommendations for counsel review where appropriate.
• Provide recruitment and hiring checklists, interview tools, evaluation rubrics, and guidance on role clarity, job descriptions, and organizational charts. Supervisors and Operations retain hiring process ownership.
• Provide recurring onboarding support, a new hire packet, onboarding checklist, and clear responsibilities for supervisors and Operations.
• Provide offboarding and transition tools, exit interview materials, handoff checklists, and separation documentation guidance. Operations retains routine administration.
• Advise on payroll and benefits administration as needed, coordinating with T.R.U.S.T.’s payroll provider and benefits broker. Identify process improvements and clarify responsibilities.

     B. Employee relations, performance, and accommodations

• Provide recurring and on-call support for employee relations,  supervisor coaching, documentation, and escalation planning.
• Create supervision expectations, one-to-one meeting tools, annual performance evaluation forms, an evaluation calendar, and coaching documentation.
• Support fair, consistent discipline and performance improvement plans, including templates and supervisor coaching.
• Support reasonable accommodations and the interactive process through a checklist and confidential documentation tools; coordinate with employment counsel when warranted.
• Lead external HR support for disciplinary and performance-related terminations, including process planning and documentation. T.R.U.S.T. retains employment decisions, with legal review for higher-risk matters.

     C. Policies, benefits, and legal coordination

• Review handbook culture and benefit policies with Operations and the Executive Director, including alignment between written policies and actual practices. Provide a policy recommendation tracker.
• Review PTO, wellness, benefits, and retention practices annually; recommend feasible improvements and tracking tools.
• Coordinate annual handbook legal review with qualified employment counsel and maintain a handbook change log.
• Coordinate counsel-led wage/hour and exempt/non-exempt classification review when roles or status change, using current job descriptions and a classification checklist. Clearly identify the proposed counsel arrangement and separate legal fees. The consultant is not expected to provide legal advice unless legal services are provided through qualified employment counsel under an approved arrangement.

     D. Compensation philosophy and salary bands

• Lead a compensation assessment using appropriate nonprofit and Los Angeles-area comparisons. Explain benchmark sources, comparison organizations, methodology, and limitations.
• Develop a salary band matrix and compensation policy addressing position levels, internal consistency, placement within bands, salary review practices, and recommendations for implementation.
• Present costed options that Finance can evaluate against the budget. The Board retains compensation philosophy, budget, and governance oversight; the Executive Director makes organizational compensation decisions within authority and budget. Supervisors provide performance input, and Operations administers the process.

     E. Complaints, investigations, and sensitive matters

• Develop complaint intake, reporting, and escalation procedures for harassment, discrimination, and other workplace concerns, including an alternate reporting route when the normal contact is involved.
• Provide qualified, independent investigation services upon complaint or incident. Proposals must explain investigator qualifications, conflict screening, intake, evidence handling, interviews, reporting, and coordination with counsel.
• Establish a confidential case-file protocol and clarify who receives findings. Route matters involving the Executive Director to the Board HR Committee or Board; establish an independent route when another designated decision-maker is implicated.
• Recommend next steps within the agreed scope. T.R.U.S.T. retains final personnel decisions; legal and higher-risk matters are referred to employment counsel.

      F. Manager training, organizational culture, and conflict facilitation

• Lead an annual manager training program and create a practical manager toolkit and training calendar. Propose topics addressing supervision, documentation, performance feedback, complaint escalation, accommodations, and separation processes.
• Provide quarterly advisory support for organizational culture and staff empowerment, including a staff pulse survey and an action plan when requested.
• Lead workplace conflict and culture facilitation as needed, through qualified personnel or a named culture consultant. Develop a conflict resolution and escalation protocol. Distinguish facilitation from formal investigation and explain when each is appropriate.

     G. Job Title and Description Review and Alignment

       The HR consultant will work with leadership and staff to:

• Review existing job titles, job descriptions, organizational structure, and reporting relationships.
• Clarify each position’s core duties, decision-making authority, supervisory responsibilities, and performance expectations.
• Identify overlapping responsibilities, gaps in accountability, and differences between written job descriptions and actual work performed.
• Recommend job titles that accurately reflect each position’s duties, scope, and level of responsibility.
• Align staff roles with T.R.U.S.T. South LA’s mission, strategic goals, and organizational objectives.
• Prepare consistent, updated job descriptions and recommend revisions to reporting relationships as needed.
• Support leadership in communicating approved changes to staff.