Job Details

Job Description Summary

Job Description

Essential Functions:

Leadership

• Advise and consult on the overall strategy for Employee Relations and Learning and Development, establish priorities and set goals; evaluate and implement standards to ensure alignment with department and organizational objectives.
• Work collaboratively with the CHRO and their direct reports regarding departmental strategic planning and oversight of daily team workflow.
• Lead the development of processes to analyze and assess program utilization, employee feedback, competitiveness, and outcomes to ensure that effective and cost-effective programs are offered.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and support the training of new staff.
• Provide constructive and timely performance evaluations to direct reports and act as a campus-wide resource as it relates to performance management.
• Manage each functional area and direct reports to ensure high levels of engagement and performance.
• Design and facilitate presentations on relevant topics to diverse campus constituencies.
• Utilize metrics to drive proposals and decisions.
• Display exemplary leadership behaviors within the HR team, across Finance and Administration, and with all campus partners.

Employee Relations

• Provide assistance and leadership on employee relations issues for faculty and staff and consult with leadership on these matters.
• Oversee and provide assistance in staff investigations that involve employee relation matters and discrimination and or harassment matters.
• Consult with legal counsel around concerns of risk.
• May serve as Human Resources liaison to the CARE, Threat Assessment, or other emergency management teams.
• Ensure compliance with human resource policies and procedures and participate in policy creation and revision.
• Work alongside the Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Equity to respond to employees on concerns related to applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws including Title VII, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and other similar federal and state laws.
• Provide facilitated conversations to help resolve disagreements between faculty and/or staff.
• Assist managers and supervisors in understanding and implementing University policies related to performance, discipline, and related topics.

Learning and Development

• Ensure the design, planning, and implementation of training and development programs align with the objectives and strategy of WFU.
• Provide modern career and professional development relevant to WFU staff and faculty communities.
• Stay current with best practices in the higher ed learning and organizational development field so that WFU employees receive constantly updated content and modalities (podcasts, etc).
• Partner with the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and other partners to consider/support faculty development needs.
• Periodically complete needs assessments with campus partners to confirm that Learning and Development is providing appropriate content using a variety of suitable methods.
• Support the Director of Learning & Development on the execution of the Organizational Development Conference every other year.
• Explore gaps and recommend to CHRO additional resources as appropriate.

Other Functions:

• Conduct activities in a manner that displays an awareness of the formal and informal chains of command and the culture and organizational dynamics of the organization.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Required Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Bachelor’s or other advanced degree plus eight years of combined experience in related HR functional areas, with at least five years in a supervisory role.
• Proven success in leading teams, managing complexity, and building trust across diverse stakeholders.
• Skill in developing, managing, and implementing new strategies, procedures, and large-scale projects.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work effectively with various constituencies in a community of different constituent groups.
• Thorough understanding of human resources and labor relations principles, practices, and procedures.
• Knowledge of federal and state employment laws, regulations, and private sector employment policies.
• Thorough understanding of organizational development and training program administration, including design, development, and delivery.
• Excellent management skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with employees, executive leadership, boards, officials, directors, and other stakeholders.
• Experience presenting to campus constituents and senior leadership.
• Working understanding of statistical concepts and methods of data collection and evaluation.
• Ability to compile, research, and analyze information.
• Ability to compose and present comprehensive reports, and to use data to support leadership decisions.
• Ability to lead large change initiatives using a proven change management methodology.
• Ability to acquire a thorough understanding of the organization hierarchy, jobs, and the administrative practices.

Preferred Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Relevant Master’s degree.
• SPHR, PHR, or other related certification.
• Higher education experience.
• Workday or other HRIS experience.
• Coaching certification.

Accountabilities:

• Serve as manager for the director in each HR area reporting to this position.

• Work requires contact with staff, faculty, and vendors.
• Accountable for maintaining the security and confidentiality of any proprietary or sensitive information or data in any medium regarding the university or its students, faculty, or staff. Accessing or disclosing such information or data must be deemed necessary for the performance of one’s job responsibilities and must be authorized by the employee’s supervisor.

Physical Requirements:

• Sedentary work. Talking, hearing, and repetitive motions. Close visual acuity.

Environmental Conditions:

• Not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions. Subject to inside environmental conditions.

Time Type Requirement

Wake Forest University, formed in 1834, has experienced decades of growth and innovation.  WFU is a distinctive university that combines a liberal arts core with graduate and professional schools and innovative research programs.  The University embraces the teacher-scholar ideal, which prizes the personal interaction between students and faculty.  It is a place where exceptional teaching, fundamental research and discovery, and the engagement of faculty and students in the classroom and the laboratory are paramount.

Wake Forest University is a community that seeks the enlightenment and freedom which come through diligent study and learning. Its higher goal, however, is to give life to the University motto "Pro Humanitate," as members translate a passion for knowledge into compassionate service. The community shares a tradition that embraces freedom and integrity and acknowledges the worth of the individual. The heritage, established by the school's founders and nurtured by succeeding generations, promotes a democratic spirit arising from open-mindedness and discourse. Wake Forest fosters compassion and caring for others. Its collective strength and character are derived from the values and distinctive experiences of each individual; therefore, it affirms the richness of human intellect and culture and its contribution to knowledge, faith, reason, and dialogue. Furthermore, it strives toward a society in which good will, respect, and equality prevail. To that end, Wake Forest University rejects hatred and bigotry in any form and promotes justice, honor, and mutual trust.​

The University is comprised of:  the undergraduate college, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Divinity, School of Law, and School of Medicine (located on the Bowman Gray campus with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center) and today enrolls about 4,846 undergraduates and 2,823 students in graduate programs at its principal location, the Reynolda campus.  Students at Wake Forest University enjoy a great deal of access to and interaction with world-class faculty both in and out of the classroom setting with a student-faculty ratio of 11:1.  Wake Forest employs approximately 2,772 full and part-time faculty and staff.

Wake Forest is a collegiate university offering a vibrant, intellectual community with a rich cultural life, an impressive array of facilities, and a strong athletics program competing in the fifteen-team Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).  Since its founding, the university has adopted the motto “pro humanitate,” which is exemplified by a deep institutional commitment to public service and engagement with the world. Wake Forest has a strong commitment to holistic, eight-dimensional well-being for students, faculty and staff as evidenced in the Thrive initiative.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Wake Forest is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a beautiful, mid-sized city centrally located in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina.  Winston-Salem is a family-friendly city with high quality schools, numerous outdoor recreational activities and events, and is known for its vibrant and thriving arts scene.

Winston-Salem residents enjoy close proximity to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains (1.5 hours) and Atlantic beaches (4 hours), a moderate climate with four distinct seasons, a very reasonable cost of living, and an eclectic variety of restaurants, wine bars, and breweries for dining with friends and family.  Winston-Salem offers many of the amenities of a large city but with the sense of community and quality of life of a smaller town.