Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Position

The City of Bellevue is seeking a strategic, equity-centered, and collaborative leader who can unite human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion into a cohesive, future-ready vision to join the leadership team as the next Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. A strong leader with a passion for public service, this position provides proactive advice and counsel to departments in developing people-focused strategies that align with and drive a high-performance and inclusive, engaged workplace culture.

The Director reports to a Deputy City Manager and contributes as an engaged leadership team member and collaborative, strategic business partner to address organization-wide opportunities and challenges for the City. The Director also sponsors or serves as a leadership team member on several citywide committees.

The Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leads the people strategy, culture, and employee engagement for the City by integrating human resources, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The Director oversees the human resources functions, programs, and services, including compensation and benefit systems, classification structures, recruitment, employee development and training, organizational culture, employee engagement, performance management, policy administration and compliance, payroll, and labor and employee relations.

This role also oversees the City’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and collaborates to implement the Diversity Advantage Plan. The Director integrates diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into human resources practices and policies, resulting in positive impacts across the employee lifecycle and organizational culture.

The Director provides a forward-looking workforce strategy, anticipating the jobs, benefits, and talent pipelines of the future. A high-level understanding of current trends and practices in equal opportunity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, community engagement, and community outreach, with a curiosity to learn from subject-matter experts, is essential. An effective communicator and active listener, the Director partners with departments across the City to develop and retain a high-performing, diverse workforce, ensuring Bellevue remains an employer of choice.

With strong business and political acumen, the successful candidate thinks holistically about how human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion affect every part of the organization, leaning in to provide proactive strategies that strengthen organizational resilience and position Bellevue as a leader in human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion integration.

The Director is expected to model Bellevue’s One City culture and work collaboratively with other department directors and staff. The City fosters an environment of inclusion, innovation, open communication, and collaboration where ideas and feedback are encouraged, supported, and valued. The Director promotes a culture committed to providing exceptional service, upholding the public interest, and implementing the community’s vision. City employees take pride in their work, bring collective skills and qualities to the table, and embrace the values of integrity, stewardship, innovation, commitment to employees, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and exceptional public service.

The Director is responsible for fostering an environment where leaders exist at all department levels, and where being innovative, collaborative, and future-focused are the norm.

Ten or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in human resource management is required, including broad expertise in the various disciplines of human resources, including experience with classification and compensation, labor relations, benefits, protective leaves and ADA, employee relations, human resources information systems, alternative dispute resolution, organizational development, and talent acquisition. Prior experience supporting strategic…