Deputy HR Director | HR Operations Deputy

Description

The ideal candidate is an experienced, equity‑minded HR executive with a strong record of leading complex human resources operations in a public sector or mission‑driven environment and advancing HR service delivery models grounded in service excellence, organizational performance and accountability. They bring demonstrated success managing large HR teams, navigating organizational change, and delivering consistent, high‑quality customer‑centered HR services across multiple program areas while fostering a culture of performance and responsiveness.

This leader excels at building collaborative relationships with executives, legal counsel, labor partners, and statewide HR stakeholders. They communicate with clarity, coach and develop HR managers, and foster a culture grounded in equity, integrity, continuous improvement, and customer‑centered service. They are comfortable with labor relations, investigations, classification and compensation, recruitment strategy, and data‑driven HR performance management. They bring a disciplined yet supportive leadership style that strengthens teams, builds trust, and ensures consistent application of policy, law, and collective bargaining agreements.

The successful candidate is a steady, strategic, and highly visible HR leader—someone who thrives in complexity, exercises sound judgment in precedent‑setting situations, and is committed to building an HR division that delivers dependable, transparent, and high‑quality services to employees, managers, and agency leadership.

The Deputy HR Director reports directly to the HR Director and serves as the primary back‑up and delegated authority for the Human Resources Division. This position provides operational control over all HR program areas and represents the HR Director with internal and external stakeholders across the enterprise HR community.

The Deputy HR Director provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure consistent, high‑quality delivery of HR services across the agency. This role supports the HR Director in building a high‑performing HR division that delivers dependable, reliable, and customer‑centered services. The position oversees the development, implementation, and standardization of HR processes and applies human resource policies and procedures across all aspects of employee and labor relations, investigations, classification and compensation, recruitment, leave administration, and HR analytics.

• Provides division‑wide and agency‑wide leadership as the HR Director’s delegated authority, making high‑impact decisions and representing the division to internal and external stakeholders.
• Oversees all major HR program areas to ensure consistent, compliant, and high‑quality statewide HR operations.
• Leads the design and continuous improvement of standardized HR processes, workflows, and service‑delivery systems that drive operational excellence.
• Directs complex and high‑risk employee and labor relations matters, including investigations, discipline, grievances, and legal coordination.
• Builds and develops high‑performing HR teams through effective leadership, coaching, accountability, and support.
• Uses data, trends, and risk analysis to inform executive decision‑making and ensure defensible, precedent‑aware HR actions.
• Represents the HR Division across enterprise forums and collaborates with agency partners on issues intersecting with HR, compliance, risk, and organizational performance.

• 5+ years of experience leading HR teams, including supervising HR managers and/or senior HR professionals, preferably in a complex, unionized public sector environment.
• Demonstrated experience interpreting and applying collective bargaining agreements, leading or advising on discipline, grievances, and settlement negotiations.
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing standardized HR service delivery models (SOPs, workflows, SLAs, dashboards).
• Proven experience making high impact, precedent setting HR decisions with legal and organizational risk implications.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate, initiate, support and manage…