Director of Human Resources - UC Davis

Provide direct supervision, coaching, and performance management for the CPE HR team.
• Establish clear expectations, service standards, workflows, and accountability across HR functions.
• Build a collaborative, professional, and psychologically safe team culture grounded in a solutions-oriented mindset.
• Redesign team workflows and roles to reduce reactivity and increase proactive planning and prevention.
• Address and resolve internal conflicts, role ambiguity, and workflow inefficiencies.
• Ensure HR staff are equipped with the tools, training, and information needed to effectively support managers, employees, and candidates.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, and development of HR staff to ensure long-term capacity, resilience, and adaptability.

• Oversee all academic and staff HR operations, including recruitment, classification, compensation, employee relations, labor relations, performance management, and separations.
• Leverage HR technology and systems to improve efficiency, transparency, documentation, and communication.
• Implement standardized tools, templates, dashboards, and communication protocols to reduce errors and bottlenecks.
• Improve candidate experience through clearer processes, stronger interviewer preparation, and consistent communication.
• Strengthen talent acquisition outcomes by streamlining hiring processes, expanding pipelines, and using data to inform recruitment strategies.
• Partner with managers to improve onboarding, development, and retention outcomes.

• Serve as a strategic partner to the Dean and divisional leadership on workforce strategy, organizational design, and people-related risk.
• Proactively identify patterns, pressure points, and recurring issues contributing to HR emergencies or employee dissatisfaction.
• Design and implement preventive strategies, training, and tools to reduce avoidable HR crises.
• Lead HR innovation efforts, including process automation, technology adoption, and improved data practices.
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability across CPE.

• Provide expert interpretation and application of UC academic and staff personnel policies, emphasizing practical, enabling solutions.
• Ensure compliance with UC, state, and federal employment regulations.
• Develop and maintain metrics and dashboards tracking HR performance, service delivery, hiring timelines, turnover, and employee relations trends.
• Use data to assess effectiveness, identify gaps, and communicate progress to leadership.
• Serve as CPE's primary HR liaison with Campus HR, Academic Affairs, Labor Relations, and Legal, fostering proactive partnership rather than reactive escalation.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ten (10) or more years of progressive leadership experience, including management responsibility in complex organizations.
• Broad management experience across human resources, business operations, and communications functions.
• Experience interpreting and implementing staff and academic HR policies, practices, and procedures in a university or similarly complex institutional environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience applying state and federal employment laws and regulations.
• Proven supervisory and team leadership experience, including recruitment, performance management, conflict resolution, and staff development.
• Experience leading organizational change initiatives, including the implementation of new regulations, business processes, and/or systems.
• Strong strategic planning, analytical, and program evaluation skills.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills, including the ability to present complex or sensitive information to diverse audiences and work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds while maintaining confidentiality.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and related productivity tools, and strong project management skills to lead complex initiatives from concept through implementation.

• Master's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field, or equivalent advanced experience.
• Experience with UC academic and staff policies, personnel systems, and shared governance or collective bargaining environments.
• Senior-level management experience with demonstrated ability to analyze complex information, assess enterprise-wide implications, and provide clear, strategic recommendations to leadership.
• Experience leading business process improvement, organizational change, and information systems implementations in a high-growth or technology-enabled environment.
• Familiarity with performance management frameworks, including Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).

#AS1

#LI-DB1