Director of Engagement

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

Founded in 1980, Urban Resource Institute (URI) is the nation’s largest provider of domestic violence shelter and support services and a leading provider of housing and services for families experiencing homelessness. Across 24 shelters in New York City, URI provides safe housing for nearly 4,000 individuals and their pets every night and serves more than 40,000 people annually.

URI’s work is grounded in survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care. In addition to emergency and transitional housing, URI delivers a robust continuum of Justice Initiatives—including economic empowerment, legal education and advocacy, prevention and youth programming, and abusive partner intervention—designed to break cycles of violence, instability, and poverty. URI also develops permanent affordable and supportive housing, advancing long‑term pathways to safety, healing, and stability for families and communities.

The Director of Employee Engagement is a leader within People & Culture responsible for advancing a high-performing, inclusive, and mission-driven workplace culture across a complex human services organization.

This hybrid role leads enterprise-wide strategies that strengthen employee engagement, belonging, recognition, retention, and workforce wellbeing—particularly within high-demand, frontline, and trauma-exposed environments. The Director partners closely with program leadership, HR Business Partners, Learning & Development, and executive leadership to ensure that engagement strategies align with our mission, values, and Organization of Choice goals.

Salary: $85,000 – $90,000

• Design and implement a comprehensive employee engagement strategy tailored to a human services workforce, including frontline, residential, clinical, and administrative staff.
• Lead and evolve the organization’s Rewards & Recognition program to reinforce mission alignment, performance excellence, and lived values.
• Strengthen systems that foster belonging, equity, and inclusion across all levels of the organization.
• Support the integration of equity-informed and trauma-informed practices into recruitment, onboarding, supervision, development, and retention efforts.

• Partner with program leadership to address workforce challenges common to human services settings, including secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, turnover, and staffing shortages.
• Develop initiatives that support employee wellbeing, resilience, and work‑life sustainability.
• Collaborate with Learning and HRBPs to ensure engagement strategies complement compliance, labor relations, and regulatory requirements.

• Lead employee engagement surveys, pulse checks, listening sessions, and feedback mechanisms including annual Employee Engagement Survey.
• Ensure frontline voices are meaningfully included in organizational decision-making.
• Partner with leadership to translate survey results into action plans with clear accountability.
• Monitor Employee Resource Group (ERG) effectiveness and ensure alignment with organizational priorities and equity goals.

• Develop and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Analyze workforce data to identify trends across sites, programs, and roles.
• Provide quarterly reports and actionable recommendations to executive leadership.

• Partner with Learning & Development, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Communications, and Program Leadership to ensure alignment of engagement initiatives.
• Align engagement initiatives with organizational compliance and accreditation standards where applicable.

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, organizational development, social work, public administration, or related field.

• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in employee engagement, organizational development, DEIB, or employee relations within a human services, nonprofit, healthcare, or mission-driven organization.
• Proven…