POLIHIRE is hiring: Human Resources Director in Durham

Join to apply for the Human Resources Director role at POLIHIRE

Base pay range

$136,211.00/yr - $217,960.00/yr

The City of Durham seeks a tech-savvy, results-driven, change agent to be their next Human Resources Director.

About Durham, North Carolina

With a highly diverse population of approximately 317,000 and a labor force of approximately 182,000, Durham is located in North Carolina’s “Triangle” region – midway between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the state’s pristine Crystal Coast.

In addition to easy access to both the coast and mountains, Durham offers top-rated schools, extensive greenways, and a mild climate—making it an ideal place to live, work, and thrive.

Durham’s world-renowned Research Triangle Park (RTP) boasts more than 170 high-tech companies, and a bullish entrepreneurial community. Top employment sectors include life sciences and health care; professional, scientific and technical services; retail; and manufacturing. Durham is also home to several institutions of higher education, including North Carolina Central University, Duke University, and Durham Technical Community College, each maintaining synergistic relationships with City of Durham Government.

Known for its high quality of life, Durham combines a diverse and welcoming community with a vibrant downtown, where historic warehouses have been transformed into modern spaces for living, dining, and creativity. The city is also home to a premier performing arts center, the Durham Bulls AAA baseball team, and a nationally acclaimed food and music scene.

About the Human Resources Director

The Human Resources Director (HR Director) reports to a Deputy City Manager. The HR Director manages a FY25 operating budget of $4.75M and 31 FTEs. The Human Resources Department is responsible for developing, interpreting, and administering the personnel program and policies that govern all City employees. This includes:

• Recruitment and selection
• Classification and compensation
• Personnel policies and compliance
• Employee relations
• Training and development
• Records management

The salary range for this position $136,211 to $217,960 annually. The final offer will be commensurate with the selected candidate’s experience.

The effective HR Director is an empowering leader who advocates for the resources needed to deliver a cohesive HR vision throughout the City. They work with groups and individuals to carry out this vision and serve as a champion for employees, regardless of department, tenure, or position. The specific duties of the HR Director include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Streamlining and enhancing the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding system for new employees with an ongoing goal that the City workforce reflects the community it serves at all levels
• Evaluating employee satisfaction and career development goals in order to increase retention
• Assessing department needs to ensure outstanding customer-service outcomes that lead to win-win solutions
• Ensuring compliance while fostering innovation and engagement
• Evaluating current HR staffing, departmental organization, and practices, and determining which, if any, changes are needed to meet strategic goals
• Strategically evaluating the City’s training and development needs to create initiatives that ensure effective employee development, engagement, retention, and succession planning
• Conducting an evaluation and making recommendations about compensation policy and practices to ensure a plan that both attracts and retains outstanding staff

Position Qualifications

The qualified candidate for the position of Human Resources Director will have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Public Administration, or a related field. A master’s degree is strongly preferred. The qualified candidate will have ten (10) years of progressive experience in human resources, which must include time as a director, assistant director of HR, or division manager of HR functions.

In alignment with the responsibilities of the position, the ideal candidate will embody the following knowledge, skills, experiences, traits, and philosophies:

• Belief that HR is a strategic function that impacts the employee experience from recruitment to retirement, moving beyond the day-to-day transactions of managing a large workforce
• Knowledge of best practices and trends, with significant breadth in the HR competency areas of recruitment and selection, benefits, employee engagement, classification and compensation, health and safety, employee training and development, diversity initiatives, and performance management
• Ability to apply the most effective use of current technology solutions while evaluating ways that make HR services more convenient for employees and supervisors
• Experience in applying change management practices to HR processes to enhance efficiency, transparency, and effective decentralization in areas where appropriate to do so
• Ability to communicate in ways that foster authentic engagement and encourage teamwork
• Ability to effectively incorporate the input of multiple stakeholders to deliver collaborative solutions
• Goal orientation, thriving in a culture of high performance expectations by using metrics-based evaluations of programs to carry out timely, evidence-based changes as data warrant

Preferred Skills and Experience

• HR certification (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP, IPMA-CP) or eligibility and desire to sit for certification are preferred
• Extensive experience with evaluating and implementing HR technology solutions is desirable

Special Requirements

• Residency within Durham is required within 18 months of appointment.

Position Profile

City of Durham HR Director Profile

Seniority level

• Executive

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Human Resources

Industries

• Government Administration

#J-18808-Ljbffr