Senior Director of Human Resources

POSITION OPEN UNTIL FILLED 

THE REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE POSITION IS FILLED

The Senior Director of Human Resources is directly responsible for the overall administration and coordination of Human Resources initiatives for the College; ensuring the department’s function is aligned with the College Mission. Ensures compliance with applicable federal and state laws and the College’s policies and procedures. 

Responsible for developing HR strategies for employee morale, compensation, benefits, retention, and developing a supportive employment environment. Provide sound advice for College leadership regarding HR related issues.  

Reports to the Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services. 

Strategic Leadership

• Serve as senior advisor to the President and Leadership Team on organizational strategy.
• Provide leadership and supervision for Human Resources staff, establish departmental goals, and conducts performance evaluations.
• Promote an environment of trust, mutual respect, and instilling the institution’s values into practice.
• Lead initiatives and administration of employee recognition, employee engagement, including the Faculty Excellence and Staff Excellence Awards.
• Represent the College's HR function with internal and external partners.

Employee Relations

• Establish and maintain employee relation practices that promote a positive working environment.
•  Provide guidance to supervisors on employee counseling, progressive discipline, conflict resolution, and performance management.
• Oversee the investigation of employee grievances and complaints, ensuring thorough documentation sufficient for external review.
• Coordinate and maintain leave administration, ADA/reasonable accommodation processes, and related employee support programs.
• Administer the College's workers' compensation program, unemployment claims and attend hearings as necessary

Compensation & Benefits

• Administer and maintain the College's compensation system, ensuring internal and external competitiveness, aligning with suggested salary schedules and classification standards.
• Oversee position classification system, review and maintain job descriptions, maintain organizational charts, and recommend compensation adjustments and changes.
• Oversee benefit administration of health and retirement plans in coordination with the State Health Plan, Retirement Systems, and third-party vendors, and applicable State and Federal laws.
• Work cooperatively with Finance on the annual budget process to ensure fiscally sound compensation and benefit recommendations.
• Conduct or oversee periodic salary and market studies to gauge the College’s competitiveness for recruiting and retention.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Oversee recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and offboarding according to State and Federal laws.
• Build recruitment strategies and employer-branding efforts to help Pitt Community College a competitive choice.
• Develop succession-planning models to identify competency, knowledge, and talent gaps and to ensure sufficient staffing levels.
• Administer the College's applicant tracking and HRIS platforms (Ellucian, NeoEd, or successor systems), ensuring data integrity.
• Develop, monitor, and regularly report key workforce metrics, including vacancies, time-to-fill, turnover, retention, and compensation trends.

Policy, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state employment law and NC Community College System personnel requirements under G.S. 115D and Board policy.
• Serve as the Title IX Deputy Coordinator for matters involving College employees, while also working in direct coordination with the Institutional Title IX Coordinator.
• Maintain and communicate the College's personnel policies and procedures, ensuring policies are current, legally sound, and consistently applied.
• Oversee Human Resources records and retention practices in accordance with state records-retention schedules and applicable public records law.
• Prepare and submit required workforce reports to state and federal agencies.
• Maintain confidentiality in the administration of all personnel matters and investigation.
• Promptly report all personnel matters to the President requiring potential legal representation.

Organizational & Leadership Development

• Design and deliver supervisor and employee training on HR-related topics, including performance management, employee relations, harassment/discrimination prevention, tracking completion for compliance purposes.
• Coordinate workforce development education/training with appropriate outside agencies to ensure supervisors have the skill set needed to function effectively.
• Coordinate new employee orientation and ongoing professional development programming in partnership with the individual College departments.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

A bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Public Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field from an accredited institution is required. A minimum of five years of progressive human resources leadership experience is required, including at least two years in senior HR leadership. 

• Demonstrated experience in advising executive leadership on sensitive Human Resources issues.
• Ability to identify and mitigate potential employment liability.
• Working knowledge of federal and North Carolina employment law.
• Proven ability to design and administer employee compensation and classification systems.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to create an environment of trust.
• Skilled in HRIS/ATS platforms, using workforce data and analytics to help provide evidence-based decision making.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of HR issues.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

A master’s degree is preferred. Experience in a community college, university, or public-sector setting is strongly preferred. SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), SPHR, or equivalent certification is preferred.

OUR VALUES

At Pitt Community College, our culture is built on excellence, collaboration, innovation, accountability and a student-centered focus. We expect our employees to embrace the following cultural statements:

• Every role contributes to student success.
• We treat one another with respect and work together as one team.
• We embrace creativity, adaptability, and new ideas to stay relevant.
• We act with integrity, accountability, and responsible stewardship.
• We put students first, designing programs and services that help them thrive in college, career and life.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Work Environment:  This position operates in a professional office environment within a higher education setting, requiring frequent interaction with faculty, staff, administrators, and external stakeholders. The role involves a combination of independent work and collaborative engagement across all divisions of the college. The Senior Director must effectively manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment that includes frequent interruptions, confidential matters, and time-sensitive deadlines. Regular participation in meetings with senior leadership, including the President’s Leadership Team, is expected.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this position:

• Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer 
• Frequent use of hands and fingers for typing, data entry, and document preparation 
• Occasional standing, walking, bending, or reaching 
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing 
• Ability to lift and carry up to 15–20 pounds (e.g., files, materials, training resources) 
• Visual ability to review detailed reports, data, and electronic records

Required Annual Training:  FERPA Compliance, Title IX Compliance, PCI Compliance, Bloodborne Pathogens at Work, Introduction to Cybersecurity, HIPPA Rules & Compliance

Normal Working Hours: Standard schedule, Monday – Friday; occasional flexibility is required to meet operational needs, including for recruitment events, training sessions, other institutional events and employee-related matters,