Director of Human Resources
About the Role
Our client is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to serve as Director of Human Resources. Reporting to the Vice President for Administration, the Director will oversee all HR operations, policies, and initiatives that support the university’s mission and goals. This individual will lead efforts to attract, retain, and develop a diverse and talented workforce while fostering a culture of collaboration, equity, and inclusion across the institution.
The Director will provide visionary leadership across talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, organizational development, and compliance. As a trusted advisor and strategic partner to senior leadership, the Director ensures that HR practices align with institutional values and genuinely meet the needs of faculty, staff, and students. Higher education experience is strongly preferred given the distinct regulatory environment, shared governance culture, and workforce complexity of a university setting.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
- Develop and implement HR strategies that align with the university’s mission, long-term goals, and the evolving landscape of higher education workforce management
- Partner with senior leadership and academic deans to provide insights and recommendations on workforce planning, organizational structure, policy development, and institutional culture
- Foster a workplace culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and genuine collaboration across all employee groups including faculty, staff, and administrators
- Oversee all core HR functions including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, benefits administration, compensation, leave management, and professional development
- Ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, including Texas-specific employment law requirements, institutional policies, and accreditation standards
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives for HR systems, processes, and technology to increase operational efficiency, data accuracy, and service quality
- Develop and execute equity-centered recruitment strategies that attract top-tier faculty and staff talent and position the university as an employer of choice in the Texas higher education market
- Design and implement programs to enhance employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction, drawing on data and employee feedback to identify and address root causes of turnover
- Lead workforce development initiatives including onboarding quality, training programs, leadership development, and succession planning for key institutional roles
- Serve as a trusted advisor to managers and employees on HR policies, conflict resolution, performance management, and progressive discipline
- Ensure compliance with employment laws, university policies, and collective bargaining agreements as applicable, maintaining current knowledge of relevant regulatory changes
- Oversee investigations related to employee concerns, grievances, Title IX-adjacent HR matters, and workplace issues, ensuring fair, timely, and legally defensible resolutions
- Analyze HR metrics, workforce data, and labor market trends to identify patterns, inform strategic decisions, and develop proactive initiatives that address institutional people challenges
- Prepare and present regular reports to institutional leadership on HR outcomes, workforce trends, compensation benchmarking, and program effectiveness
- Use HRIS and analytics platforms to improve the accuracy, accessibility, and strategic value of workforce data across the institution
Education, Experience, and Competencies
Knowledge and Skills
- Comprehensive knowledge of HR principles, employment law, and compliance requirements including Texas employment regulations
- Proven success leading organizational change and implementing HR best practices in complex institutional settings
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to use workforce data to drive strategic decisions
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with enterprise HRIS platforms and HR data analytics tools
- Familiarity with Texas employment laws, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the regulatory environment governing state institution employment practices
- Experience with collective bargaining or faculty governance is an advantage
Key Leadership Competencies
What the University Offers
The best university HR directors understand that every hire, every policy, and every employee relations decision either strengthens or weakens the institution’s capacity to do its real work. That awareness is what separates strategic HR leadership from administrative HR management.
The Opportunity
A university’s ability to recruit excellent faculty, retain talented staff, resolve workplace issues fairly, and build an inclusive institutional culture all depend on the quality of its HR leadership. The Director of Human Resources is not a back-office function at a modern university. It is one of the most consequential administrative roles on campus, with direct influence over the institution’s capacity to fulfill its academic mission.
For an HR leader who understands the specific demands and rewards of the higher education context, including shared governance structures, the dual faculty and staff workforce, compliance complexity, and mission orientation, this is a senior role with genuine institutional scope and a real opportunity to shape culture over time.
Need to Hire?
Excelon Associates recruits senior HR leaders for colleges, universities, and complex educational organizations across the country. We identify candidates who combine deep HR expertise with the institutional awareness, compliance knowledge, and strategic leadership capability that a modern university HR function demands.
Excelon does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, marital or veteran status, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Need to Hire a Director of Human Resources?
Excelon Associates recruits HR directors and senior people operations leaders for higher education institutions and universities nationwide. Retained executive search since 2007. Headquartered in Asheville, NC.