Director, ARD Human Resources

Department

ARD People and Culture

About the Department

Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) engages alumni (~220k), current students, parents and friends of the University through intellectual, professional and social activities on campus, around the world and online. ARD raises $600 Million annually to support faculty and researchers, practitioners and patients, and students and programs across the University. Our work supports priorities in every division, school, department, and institute.

As part of the larger People and Culture team, Human Resources (HR) supports the employee lifecycle and serves as a strategic and supportive partner in cultivating a dynamic, effective and engaged team of Development staff committed to advancing the University’s mission. We are dedicated to creating a workplace that fosters a supportive environment for all team members to thrive within a culture of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability.

Job Summary

This role manages a team of professional staff responsible for designing, implementing, and monitoring a variety of human resource programs. Develops department plans to address long-term human resource needs and trends.

Responsibilities

• Serves as an operational leader for the human resources (HR) team, managing core HR functions, supporting staff needs, and partnering with the executive director of people and culture and other ARD leaders to achieve strategic HR objectives.
• Administers the ARD compensation program with an eye to competitive market position and in partnership with University Human Resources. Conducts preliminary job analysis to determine and make initial assessments along with senior leaders on appropriate salary levels for employees, both upon hire and as they advance in their careers.
• Oversees, develops, and guides implementation of ARD’s recruitment strategy to attract top talent and ensure alignment with organizational goals.  
• Supervises the end-to-end recruitment process.
• Provides coaching and leadership guidance to hiring managers during workforce planning processes.
• Manages all employee and labor relations matters, and partners with the Office of Legal Counsel, ELR, leave administration, and other University offices to identify resolutions to employee affairs, grievances, complaints, and legal issues.
• Counsels managers and staff in progressive discipline procedures and, in coordination with central HR representatives, advises on the resolution of employee relations issues, including representation of the unit in union-related disputes and during personnel-related hearings and investigations.
• Leads and manages activities related to human resources policies and practices for ARD and aligns with UChicago policies and employment laws.
• Serves as advancement departmental lead for administering FMLA, leaves of absences, accommodation requests, and flexible work arrangements, etc.
• Drafts and uses legal and formal documents such as offer letters, termination documents, work arrangement agreements, performance improvement plans, etc. and partners with managers on documents that require performance specific detail.
• Partners with leadership in developing plans for addressing long-term human resource needs, and significantly contributes to the review and determination of best practices in facilitating goals and activities that strategically support ARD broadly.
• Advises staff and maintains knowledge of legal requirements and government reporting regulations affecting human resources functions and ensures policies, procedures and reporting are compliant.
• Partners, guides, and supports leadership and managers during compensation discussions and leads departmental Annual Merit Planning (AMP) and implementation.
• Supervises and orients interns and development associates (DA) to fill talent pipelines in various functions, such as prospect development including research and analysis, development support, qualification and stewardship.
• Evaluates and manages staffing and project requests from department managers when distributing team assignments.
• Manages other professional staff and supports growth through coaching, performance management, and collaboration on innovative initiatives.
• Ensures accuracy and confidentiality of data and records and performs duties in accordance with federal and state laws, University Human Resource services policies and ARD procedures.
• Uses Workday, Excel, PowerPoint, and other tools to manipulate and synthesize data and other material to create and design regular and non-routine reports and charts.
• Prepares and provides unit with campus HR and operational updates, communications, and other resources.
• Seeks opportunities for professi