Employee Relations and Workforce Development Director (Full-time)

Position Description:

Reporting to the CHRO, the Employee Relations & Workforce Development Director will be part of a small HR team cultivating a fair, accountable, and high-performing workplace, while building the organizational and leadership capacity required for WPA’s future growth. The Director will be responsible for WPA’s employee relations and performance accountability functions, providing expert guidance on both day to day as well as complex employee concerns, strengthening supervisor capability, and ensuring consistent, and legally compliant practices. Drawing on patterns surfaced through ER trends, performance outcomes, and workforce data, the Director advances organization-wide standards for communication, accountability, and operational excellence through a data driven approach.

This role will implement WPA’s long-term workforce development strategy, responsible for leading succession planning, talent readiness assessments, and the creation of realistic career pathways. The role contributes to the organization’s leadership development and learning agenda by identifying capability gaps, establishing strategic learning priorities, and partnering with Training and Development to ensure training content aligns with WPA’s culture, performance expectations, and organizational goals. Additionally, the Director contributes to high-impact hiring to ensure WPA attracts, develops, and retains strong performers who can meet evolving programmatic and operational needs. Through this integrated approach, the Director strengthens leadership pipelines, enhances organizational resilience, and advances WPA’s mission through its people.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Employee Relations & Performance Accountability

• Serve as the primary resource for workplace concerns, conduct issues, and interpersonal conflicts across all departments.
• Provide timely guidance to supervisors on addressing and documenting performance and behavior concerns.
• Conduct full and impartial investigations, including interviews, evidence review, and written findings with recommended next steps.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and confidential documentation of all ER matters in alignment with legal and organizational requirements.
• Coach supervisors on creating clear, appropriate, and legally defensible documentation to support performance conversations and decision-making.
• Support and co-lead difficult conversations to ensure clarity, fairness, and alignment with WPA policies.
• Monitor follow-through on corrective action plans and escalate concerns when issues persist.
• Ensure consistent application of policies and workplace expectations across the organization.
• Identify trends and strengthen early intervention and manager capability, in partnership with the HR team.

Workforce Development & Succession Planning

• At the direction of the CHRO, analyze workforce and turnover trends with supervisors to identify capacity gaps, emerging skill needs, and staffing adjustments that support organizational readiness.
• Assess talent readiness across teams to identify critical roles, emerging leaders, development needs, and succession risks.
• Lead the design and implementation of clear career pathways, role expectations, and capability standards that promote internal mobility and transparent progression.
• Partner with Training & Development to ensure supervisor and leadership development tools align with workforce capability needs and succession priorities.
• Support consistent application of Share & Perform calibration decisions, helping supervisors align ratings and follow-through expectations with organizational priorities.

Recruitment & Talent Acquisition

• Partner with Recruitment and the CHRO to ensure hiring practices are fair, compliant, competency-based, and aligned with WPA’s values, culture, and trauma-informed principles.
• Provide selection support for high-impact, sensitive, or leadership-level roles by conducting phone screens, participating in finalist interviews, and assessing supervisory readiness and culture alignment.
• Support hiring managers in clarifying role expectations, interview criteria, and competency requirements prior to recruitment and interviews.
• Support internal mobility and promotional pathways by ensuring consistent evaluation practices, transparent advancement expectations, and equity in selection processes.

Training, Leadership & Organizational Development

• Partner with CHRO and Training and Development to grow WPA’s core capability frameworks, supervisor expectations, and learning pathways that reinforce culture, accountability, communication norms, and leadership standards.
• Support Training and Development with feedback in the design of leadership learning platforms and team development programs, serving at times as co- facilitator for strategic learning sessions on performance accountability, conflict navigation, culture expectations, and cross-team collaboration.
• Provide feedback on HR-owned training content and evaluate external learning resources to ensure all materials align with organizational priorities, performance expectations, and trauma-informed practice.
• Collaborate with the Training & HR Coordinator—who manages logistics, scheduling, LMS administration, and surveys—to ensure smooth implementation of the learning strategy.
• Provide post-training coaching and reinforcement for supervisors and leaders to strengthen day-to-day application of learned skills.
• Lead the development of a multi-year leadership development roadmap informed by succession planning needs and organizational growth.

Change & Culture Stewardship

• Support managers and staff as WPA begins strategic planning implementation by helping them understand what is changing, why it’s changing, and how it impacts daily work.
• Guide supervisors in translating organizational priorities into clear expectations, workflow adjustments, and communication with their teams.
• Reinforce stability throughout change by providing timely follow-through, coaching, and clarification as questions or challenges arise.
• Identify culture or engagement concerns early through ER trends and supervisor insight and recommend practical actions that maintain alignment and trust.
• Create clear, culturally appropriate internal communications that reinforce expectations, alignment, and connection to WPA’s values and norms.
• Ensure teams receive consistent messages, expectations, and support during transitions, contributing to a smooth and confident rollout of new processes and structures.
• Be flexible and lean into HR-wide projects to support team deliverables on an as-needed basis.

Qualifications:

Education/Certification Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Business Administration, Social Work, or a related field.
HR certification (PHR, SHRM-CP) preferred but not required.

Experience Required

• 5-7 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3–5 years leading employee relations, performance management, or workforce development work at a managerial or higher level
• Demonstrated expertise in employee relations, including conflict resolution, investigations, performance accountability, and supervisor coaching.
• Experience developing and implementing workforce development strategies, such as succession planning, career pathways, leadership development, or organizational learning initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of employment laws and compliance, including FMLA, ADA, EEOC regulations, NYS and NYC Human Rights Laws, and best practices in documentation and risk mitigation.
• Proven ability to coach and influence supervisors and leaders, especially in areas of communication, expectations-setting, performance management, and accountability.
• Experience designing or guiding leadership development, training, or organizational learning programs (not just facilitating but setting strategy).
• Experience with HR systems and LMS platforms preferred (Share & Perform, Trakstar, or similar).

Competencies

• Communicates clearly, respectfully, and effectively with staff at all levels, including during sensitive or high-stakes conversations.
• Navigates employee-relations matters with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment, even in complex or emotionally charged situations.
• Thinks critically, systemically, and analytically when assessing workforce trends, performance patterns, and organizational behaviors.
• Translates insights into practical, actionable recommendations that strengthen performance, culture, and supervisory capability.
• Designs and facilitates engaging, high-impact learning experiences for diverse audiences, adapting content and style as needed.
• Builds strong, trusting relationships across departments, fostering collaboration, alignment, and organizational cohesion.
• Demonstrates emotional intelligence, cultural humility, and a trauma-informed approach in all interactions.
• Manages priorities effectively, balancing strategic initiatives with timely follow-through on operational needs.
• Maintains confidentiality, integrity, and professionalism in all aspects of work, especially when handling sensitive issues.
• Exercises strong judgment and decision-making, particularly during high-pressure, crisis, or rapidly evolving situations.

Position Details:

This is a full-time position. The Employee Relations & Workforce Development Director will report directly to the Chief of HR. This is a hybrid role in the NYC.

Compensation, Perks & Benefits*:

Salary is $110,000, commensurate with certifications, education and experience. WPA offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package designed to support the well-being, growth, and success of our staff. Our benefits reflect our commitment to creating a workplace where people feel valued and supported.

Health & Wellness

• Health & Vision insurance
• Employer-paid dental coverage
• 100% premium paid Short- and Long-Term Disability
• Paid family and medical leave
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Companywide Wellness Challenges

Time Off & Flexibility

• 12 paid holidays, including a paid holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s
• Floating holidays and Personal days
• Hybrid work options for various roles

Financial Benefits

• 403(b) retirement plan
• Credit union membership options
• Direct deposit and Brinks MoneyCard option
• Tax-deferred commuting benefits via ThrivePass
• 529 college savings plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• “Aspiring Professionals” Scholarship Program

Growth & Development

• WPA University ~ Learning Management System (LMS) for on-demand learning
• Internal & External training opportunities
• CUNY sponsored scholarship to HSCAS for employee education

Extra Perks

• Access to the “Alcott HR Marketplace” employee discount program
• Milestone Celebrations & Awards

• Benefits eligibility may vary based on the number of hours worked.

WPA strongly values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All hires to our team are based on qualifications, merit, and organizational needs. We recruit, employ, train, and promote regardless of systems involvement and race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, genetic characteristic, or any other protected status. Faithful to our mission, all of our employees share in these commitments as a guide to engage one another with dignity and respect. Individuals with criminal justice involvement are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please email your resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to jobs@wpaonline.org. You must include "Employee Relations & Workforce Development Director" in the subject line of your email.