Senior Director, People and Culture

Senior Director, People & Culture  

POSITION TITLE: Senior Director, People & Culture 

LOCATION: Remote, East or Central Time Zone 

DEPARTMENT: People and Culture (PAC) 

REPORTS TO: Chief Financial and Operations Officer (CFOO) 

 

Location: Remote, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, Wisconsin will be considered. Working hours are EST/CST. 

Winrock International is a recognized leader in the U.S. and globally, providing solutions to some of the world’s most complex social and agricultural challenges. Our mission is to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. It is central not only to what we do, but how we do it. 

Overview: The Senior Director, People and Culture provides strategic leadership and oversight for Winrock’s global human resource systems, policies and practices in support of the organization’s business goals and strategy. The role advances a high‑performing, engaged, and globally distributed workforce by ensuring people practices are effective, compliant, and aligned with organizational values. 

Serving as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the CFOO and the Executive Team, the Senior Director works closely with leadership, managers, and project teams to focus on organizational risk, strengthen employee performance and engagement, and build sustainable human capacity across projects, regions, and the enterprise.  

The People & Culture unit at Winrock is a lean team, and this role is both strategic and operational in nature. The Senior Director is expected to be a hands‑on leader and doer, who provides direct oversight and accountability for execution while leading and developing the PAC team as well as the HR function throughout global projects.  

Major Responsibilities: 

HR Operations, Infrastructure & Global Practice 

• Lead the design, implementation, and continued improvement of Winrock’s global People & Culture systems, policies, procedures, and practices. 

• Ensure effective and compliant adaptation and application of people practices across projects, countries, and regions, including during project design and proposal development. 

• Oversee and set the standards for efficient and effective global HR operational workflows, including onboarding, development, promotion, training, and separations. 

• Provide strategic leadership, supervision, and development of the People & Culture team, fostering strong collaboration, clear accountability, and high professional standards. 

• Establish metrics to evaluate HR effectiveness and inform continuous improvement. 

People Strategy, Performance & Culture 

• Partner with leaders to strengthen performance management practices, including KPI measurements, career development, corrective feedback, and fair corrective processes. 

• Support employee engagement initiatives and feedback mechanisms that enhance performance, retention, and organizational effectiveness. 

• Serve as a senior advisor to leaders on complex people matters, workforce challenges, organizational change, and culture‑building efforts. 

Compliance, Risk & Employee Relations 

• Serve as a strategic partner to the Executive Team in managing institutional risk related to staffing, workforce structure, and people practices. 

• Provide guidance on employee relations issues, including grievances, investigations, disciplinary actions, and terminations, ensuring fairness, consistency, and sound judgment. 

• Maintain and apply strong working knowledge of U.S. Government contracting and employment requirements and local labor laws in countries of operation. 

• Oversee personnel records management, payroll coordination with Finance, and completion of requ