Equity, People, Inclusion, and Culture Director

About the Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is the progressive party for the multiracial working class, fighting for a nation that works for the many, not the few. We recruit, train, and support transformational candidates up and down the ballot — and run them to win.  
We believe that no matter where we come from or what our color, most of us want the same things. We want to earn enough to thrive, not just survive, and leave a better future for our kids. We want healthy food and clean water, safe neighborhoods and a safe world. We want to be free.
The Working Families Party is regular people coming together across our differences to make a better future for us all. We’re a multiracial party that fights for workers over bosses and people over the powerful. We want an America which realizes the promise – unrealized in our history – of freedom and equality for all.

The Equity, People, Inclusion, and Culture (EPIC) Director leads the strategy for building a fair, supportive, and high-performing workplace at Working Families Party and Working Families Power. This role shapes how we recruit, develop, support, and retain our staff, and helps ensure people feel connected, valued, and clear on what matters most as we pursue our shared goal of building power for working class people of every race.

This position is charged with raising the bar and increasing consistency of management across the organization, ensuring high standards, direct feedback, effective listening, and clear direction and ownership become cultural norms.

The EPIC Director works closely with senior staff as a trusted advisor on people and culture, helping align how we work with our values and goals. This role also helps keep all staff aligned by improving communication and engagement, and making sure people understand our priorities and progress. 

Finally, the EPIC Director maintains a strong relationship with the Workers United Working Families Party Staff Union, serving on the Joint Labor Management Committee and ensuring the Collective Bargaining Agreement is followed.

This role is not doing this work alone. The EPIC Director sits in a department with and partners closely with the Chief of Staff, Executive Projects Manager, Senior Advisor and the staff of EpicWorks, our shared services provider, which delivers core HR, finance, and operations functions. Together, they ensure staff have the tools, support, and structure needed to do their jobs effectively.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership & People Strategy

• Leads the strategy for building a fair, supportive, and high-performing workplace.

• Ensure evaluations and the progressive discipline policy are utilized effectively to improve performance.

• Monitor staff morale and organizational culture, identifying strengths to build on and areas where additional coaching and support are needed to strengthen teams and leadership.

• Implement systems to bring visibility in supervision chains of onboarding, probationary periods, performance improvement plans, and grievances.

• Implement practices that strengthen an impactful, collaborative, and values-driven workplace.

• Ensure policies, systems, and day-to-day practices are aligned, and proactively anticipate when changes are needed.

• Ensure equity and inclusion are built into systems, policies, and everyday practices.

• Build strong, trusting, and collaborative relationships with Division Directors and Department Directors and EpicWorks partners.

• Advise Division Directors and Department Directors on people strategy, organizational design, and culture to support impact.

Management & Culture Support

• Oversee staff development across the full lifecycle, including hiring, onboarding, six month probationary period, growth, and retention.

• Lead and support the full hiring process, including managing the Lever applicant tracking system, advising hiring managers, strengthening recruitment strategies, and supporting priority searches as needed.

• Serve on the salary committee and coordinate offers for new hires and current staff role reviews.

• Lead performance management systems, including role description updates, annual work planning and evaluations through Small Improvements, a culture of regular feedback, and the progressive discipline policy.

• Set and uphold clear management and leadership standards, including leading the 360 evaluation process for managers, and lead the development of a new managers handbook.

• Lead consistent communication and engagem