The Senior Associate, Background Screening is responsible for leading and supporting the operational execution, governance, and continuous improvement of the company’s background screening for employees and contingent workers in a highly regulated environment.

This role serves as a senior operational resource within HR Operations, providing day-to-day oversight of background screening activities, mentoring analysts and contingent workers supporting the function, monitoring KPIs and service delivery, and helping establish scalable, compliant onboarding processes and controls.

The Senior Associate will partner closely with HR Operations, Talent Acquisition, Procurement, Compliance, Legal, Security, and vendor partners to support the successful transition of onboarding and background screening activities into HR Operations while enhancing audit readiness, governance standards, and workforce lifecycle controls.

This role is both strategic and hands-on, with responsibility for operational processing, escalation management, process documentation, policy support, reporting, and compliance oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day background screening operations for employees and contingent workers using First Advantage and related systems.
• Support the successful transition of background screening responsibilities into HR Operations, partnering with stakeholders across functional areas to streamline and standardize processes.
• Provide guidance, mentorship, and operational support to Background Check Analysts and contingent workforce support resources.
• Monitor onboarding and screening workflows to ensure timely completion and alignment with service level expectations.
• Assist in managing operational escalations, issue resolution, and cross-functional coordination.
• Review and assess screening results, including criminal history, non-criminal findings, OFAC and sanctions screening, adverse media reviews, and fingerprinting.
• Support adjudication workflows and escalation management in partnership with Compliance, Legal, HR and business stakeholders.
• Ensure onboarding gating controls are followed before worker activation or system access is granted.
• Help establish and maintain compliant background screening processes, controls, and governance standards.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, process documentation, job aids, and workflow guides.
• Ensure adherence to company background screening policies, regional requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Participate in internal audits, quality assurance reviews, and compliance reporting activities.
• Identify operational gaps, process inefficiencies, and control risks and recommend scalable solutions.
• Assist in developing KPI reporting, operational dashboards, and metrics to measure compliance, service delivery, and process effectiveness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Compliance, Criminal Justice, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in background screening, onboarding operations, compliance operations, or workforce administration.
• Experience working in a regulated or compliance-driven environment preferred.
• Experience administering background screening programs and adjudication workflows.
• Familiarity with First Advantage or a similar background screening platform.
• Experience developing process documentation, SOPs, and operational controls.
• Experience supporting audits, compliance initiatives, or process remediation efforts preferred.
• Knowledge of applicable screening and employment regulations, including FCRA and related compliance requirements.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage sensitive and confidential information.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a high-volume operational environment.
• Experience with HRIS and onboarding technologies, including Fieldglass and Oracle, preferred.

Success Measures

• Successful transition and stabilization of onboarding and background screening operations within HR Operations.
• Timely and accurate completion of background screening and related compliance activities.
• Reduction in audit findings, operational exceptions, and compliance gaps.
• Effective oversight and mentorship of analyst and contingent workforce support resources.
• Development and implementation of standardized processes, SOPs, and governance controls.
• Accurate and compliant adjudication and escalation management practices.
• Achievement of onboarding and screening service level agreements and KPI targets.
• Strong partnership and collaboration across HR Operations, Compliance, Procurement, Talent Acquisition, Legal, Security, and vendor teams.
• Continuous identification and implementation of process improvements that enhance compliance, operational efficiency, and workforce governance.