Senior Director, People & Culture

About the role

The Senior Director, People & Culture serves as a strategic leader and trusted advisor to the Vice President, Office of People & Culture, faculty, executive leadership, and managers across the Institute. The position provides leadership for employee relations, compensation, organizational effectiveness, performance management, immigration services, learning and development, compliance, and People Operations while helping advance a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and inclusion that supports Salk's mission.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee OPC functions including employee relations, immigration services, performance management, compensation, learning and development, OPC operations, and compliance.
• Identifies legal requirements and government reporting regulations affecting OPC functions (e.g., EEOC, DOL, IRS, Wage & Hour).
• Manages and minimizes Institute exposure to lawsuits.
• Directs the preparation of information requested or required for compliance.
• Protects interests of employees and the Institute in accordance with policies and governmental laws and regulations.
• Works closely with managers, providing training on OPC policies, practices and forms and ensures consistency of application to applicable policies.
• Builds rapport with and maintains good working relationship with faculty, management and staff.
• Play a lead role in our total rewards strategy related to compensation philosophy, salary administration, market benchmarking, and pay equity.
• Champion HR technology modernization, AI-enabled workflows, automation, HRIS optimization, and people analytics.
• Reviews and evaluates work products, methods and procedures.
• Participates in the evaluation, development, and implementation of procedures and practices to ensure efficient team operations.
• Supervises hires, trains, and evaluates assigned staff.
• Works actively with employees to correct deficiencies and recommends and implements corrective action and discipline.
• Independently evaluates performance of staff, ensuring work performance is consistent with department and Institute expectations.
• Partners with the CSO office, ensuring transparent and active relationships with the laboratory Research Administrative Assistants and Lab Admin Managers.
• Provide guidance on complex employee relations matters, investigations, performance management, conflict resolution, and risk mitigation. Escalates issues to VP, Office of People & Culture as needed.
• Develop and oversee the Office of People & Culture operating budget and operational excellence initiatives.
• As the Responsible Officer for the J-1 SEVIS program and E-Verify program. Represents OPC on administrative management and emergency preparedness teams.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by VP, Office of People & Culture.
• Directly supervises Associate Director, People & Culture, Sr. People & Culture Partners, Manager, Learning & Development, and Immigration Advisor.
• Indirectly supervises OPC personnel through subordinate managers.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible OPC leadership experience, including at least 5 years managing leaders.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing a compensation program, including development and ongoing administration.
• Experience supporting executive leadership within complex organizations; higher education, healthcare, nonprofit, or research environments preferred.
• Strong knowledge of federal and California employment law.
• SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification preferred.
• Computer skills: UKG Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), Microsoft Office, Project Management Software.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible OPC leadership experience, including at least 10 years managing leaders.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience managing a compensation program, including development and ongoing administration.
• Experience supporting executive leadership within complex organizations; higher education, healthcare, nonprofit, or research environments preferred.
• Strong knowledge of federal and California employment law.
• SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification preferred.
• Computer skills: UKG Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), Microsoft Office, Project Management Software.

Skills

• Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong analytical and data-driven approach.
• Experience with HRIS systems and project management tools.

Benefits

The expected pay range for this position is $180,000 to $210,000 per annum. Salk Institute provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the institute reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

Pay

The expected pay range for this position is $180,000 to $210,000 per annum.

Schedule

N/A

Application Instructions

N/A