HR Director - Pediatrics

Lead HR operations and serve as a strategic HR business partner within the Department of Pediatrics, providing consultative support on workforce issues and employee engagement initiatives. This role will encompass strategic partnership with departmental leadership, ensuring alignment of HR strategies with departmental operational and strategic objectives. This includes advising on human resource management, policies, procedures, and other core areas of HR along with navigating the system to help support the department in achieving the mission and strategic priorities.

The pediatrics department comprises the medical staff of University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Iowa’s only nationally ranked children’s hospital and home to the state’s only Level 4 NICU and Level 1 Regional Resource Pediatric Trauma Center. The department boasts a strong research portfolio and multiple medical training programs. For its 2024-25 edition of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” U.S. News & World Report ranked Stead Family Children's Hospital in nine pediatric specialties. We are home to the Hawkeye Wave, voted the best college sports tradition by USA Today readers, where 70,000 football fans wave to our patients and providers every game day. You will never feel as much community support as you do at Iowa. Come wave with us!   

Strategic Planning

• Actively engage as a member of the departmental leadership team and participate in establishing and accomplishing strategic goals and initiatives.  

• Proactively seek to understand designated departmental strategic plan and act as a resource/partner to meet the human resource needs of the department(s).

• Seek guidance, advocate, and provide specific departmental recommendations to HR leadership.  

• Develop and implement new programs and initiatives for department(s) as needed.  Collaborate with departmental leadership to establish effective onboarding plans and ensure new providers reach productivity milestones.  Facilitate development and implementation of new onboarding and orientation tools, including onboarding plans for new faculty and individual professional practice evaluations for advanced practice providers.

• Provide guidance and recommendations to department leaders with regard to staffing levels and strategic workforce planning models; coordinate communication between divisions, as needed, to ensure all appropriate leadership is engaged.

• Actively engage in budgeting and salary setting process.  Ensure funding and staffing aligns with department budgets and strategic direction of department(s).  May monitor funds used for recruitments.

Advising / Communication

• Review and analyze effectiveness of existing policies and practices and benchmark against best practices. 

• Partner with leadership to develop communication plans and strategies on a wide variety of topics, such as organizational changes and implementation of new policies.  

• Lead and facilitate workgroups to solicit feedback and input through the development of policies. Facilitate review and training of new policies with administrative team members.  

• Routinely present HR updates and information to faculty and staff.  Respond to questions and inquiries.  

Talent Management & Engagement

• In collaboration with leadership, develop staffing and engagement strategies for multiple departments, including a large, complex department. 

• Review investigations and recommend outcome.  Support management through implementation of corrective action.  Provide coaching and feedback to supervisors and employees.

• Hire, develop and manage performance of HR and administrative staff who support assigned departments.  Provide coaching and mentoring, identify training o