Director of Human Resources, College of Natural Sciences

Director of Human Resources, College of Natural Sciences

The Human Resources Director provides strategic and operational leadership for all HR functions across the College of Natural Sciences (CNS). This role directs the full employee lifecycle for academic research staff, classified/administrative staff, and student employees; unifies a decentralized HR community around consistent workflows and best practices; and serves as a trusted advisor to the Dean and college leadership on complex employment matters.

The ideal candidate brings both strategic vision and hands-on HR expertise gained in a large, complex, higher education or research environment.

Leadership Expectations:

• Lead through influence in a highly decentralized environment
• Build strong relationships across university constituencies
• Balance strategic thinking with operational execution
• Foster collaboration across teams while creating shared accountability for results
• Navigate complexity with sound judgment, transparency, and resilience

Responsibilities:

• Strategic HR leadership and workforce planning:
  Partner with CNS leadership to develop and implement workforce strategies, organizational structures, talent management initiatives, and governance practices aligned with college and departmental priorities.
• HR governance and compliance:
  Lead departmental implementation of institutional workforce policies, regulatory changes, and human resources initiatives. Ensure departmental practices comply with federal and state requirements, and University policies.
• Operational excellence and HR technology:
  Identify operational gaps and inefficiencies; standardize and improve HR processes, and support technology enhancements that strengthen accuracy, efficiency, and employee experience. Use workforce data, HR metrics, and trend analysis to inform leadership decisions, and evaluate the effectiveness of HR programs and practices. Employee relations and organizational effectiveness:
  Provide senior-level guidance on complex and high-risk employment matters in collaboration with central administration offices. Advise leaders on performance management, organizational restructuring, retention, and organizational effectiveness.
• College leadership and institutional engagement:
  Represent the college on committees, task forces, and leadership forums, and build productive partnerships with central offices and HR colleagues across the institution.
• Team leadership and supervision:
  Directly supervise a team of HR professional staff. Establish performance expectations, provide coaching and professional development, manage performance, and ensure accountability for accurate, responsive, and service-oriented HR operations.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, and ten (10) years of progressively responsible human resources experience; or a Master's degree and six (6) or more years of equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading HR operations in a large, complex organization, with a track record of managing the full employee lifecycle across multiple employee types.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale organizational design and change initiatives in a complex, multi-departmental institution, including restructuring, workforce and organizational planning, and organizational effectiveness assessments.
• Supervisory or team leadership experience, including coaching and developing HR staff.
• Comprehensive knowledge of employment law and HR compliance relevant to higher education.
• Strong consultative, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills, with the ability to advise leadership on sensitive and escalated matters.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret complex policies, regulations, and organizational requirements and assess their operational impact.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to build trust across a decentralized, multi-stakeholder environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Human Resources, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
• Experience in HR within a higher education institution, ideally a Tier I / R1 research university.
• Experience supporting academic and research personnel in addition to classified staff and student employees.
• SHRM-CP/SCP, PHR/SPHR, or equivalent HR certification.
• Experience leading or contributing to HR standardization efforts across a decentralized organization.
• Experience with Workday or another enterprise HR application and using HR technology to improve operational effectiveness.
• Experience in faculty affairs, including familiarity with academic personnel processes and faculty governance.

Salary Range: $130,000 + depending on qualifications and experience

Work Conditions:
This position is based on the UT Austin campus.

Required Materials:

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest