Director of HR & Culture

About SSWEF
Southern Service Workers Education Fund Inc. (SSWEF) is a worker organization building power with low-wage workers across the South. We organize alongside workers and community partners to advance economic justice. Our programs and campaigns combine deep organizing, worker leadership development, and community solidarity to win real improvements in workers' lives while building a broader coalition in the South.

About the role - Director of HR & Culture
SSWEF is seeking an experienced Director of HR & Culture to serve as our sole internal people leader during a critical phase of organizational growth. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, this leader will bring our outsourced HR functions in-house, balancing technical compliance, benefits, and foundational policy with intentional culture-building and talent development. You will design scalable HR systems, clarify internal roles and responsibilities across a 30-person team, and ensure our staff and leadership are positioned to thrive as the organization expands.

• Strategic Leadership & Organizational Design
  • Leadership Team Partnership: Serve as a core member of the Leadership Team, collaborating with executive leadership to align people strategy, workforce planning, and HR budgeting with organizational goals and multi-entity priorities.
  • Infrastructure & Transitions: Transition outsourced HR support into robust internal systems; design and maintain the scalable infrastructure needed for a growing team.
  • Culture & Values Alignment: Uphold and operationalize SSWEF's commitment to justice and multiracial worker solidarity across all internal practices, policies, and staff interactions.
  • Workplace Culture & Belonging: Design and execute initiatives that strengthen employee morale, foster cross-team connection in a semi-remote environment, and cultivate a culture of continuous learning and mutual support.
• Talent Acquisition & Onboarding
  • Full-Lifecycle Recruiting: Lead end-to-end recruitment efforts across all departments, partnering with hiring managers to define staffing needs, scope clear job descriptions, and attract values-aligned talent.
  • New Team member Onboarding: Build and manage an onboarding and orientation program that equips new hires with the tools, context, and relationships necessary to thrive from day one.
• Performance Management & Staff Development
  • Performance Systems: Design and lead a performance review framework, coaching managers on goal-setting, expectations, and consistent feedback.
  • ** Role Alignment & Retention:
    ** Facilitate 1:1 role reviews, workforce planning, and internal transitions to ensure staff are placed in roles matching their strengths with clear lanes of accountability.
  • Employee Relations & Resolution: Serve as the primary lead for internal conflict resolution and workplace investigations, ensuring fair, prompt, and documented outcomes while safeguarding organizational integrity.
• Systems & Compliance
  • PEO & Vendor Management: Act as the primary liaison to SSWEF's PEO, managing platform administration, employee inquiries, and external vendor partnerships.
  • Compensation Strategy: Maintain and refine SSWEF's compensation framework, benchmarking roles against North Carolina hubs and national nonprofit data.
  • Benefits Administration: Oversee staff benefits programs, including employer-paid healthcare and 401(k) plans, ensuring smooth enrollment and ongoing support.
  • Policy & Compliance: Establish, update, and enforce internal HR policies, employee handbooks, and compliance standards across all operating jurisdictions.

• HR Leadership &
  
  Experience:
  
  Proven track record in human resources management—ideally in a standalone or director-level capacity within a complex nonprofit, union, or…