Human Resources Strategy and Operations Manager

Department
 

F&A ITS - HR and Finance

About the Department
 

The University of Chicago Office of IT Services collaborates with campus partners to support the mission of the University of Chicago through the consistent delivery of high-quality solutions and services. The Administrative Operations team provides communications, human resources, finance, vendor management, and administrative support to IT Services and campus partners.

Job Summary
 

We are seeking a transformative, collaborative, and strategic manager to lead Human Resources, strategy, and operations for the Administration and Operations Team of IT Services (ITS). They will oversee and direct all Human Resources initiatives and functions for ITS, provide vision, oversight, strategy, and policy direction, and leverage insight from across ITS, the University of Chicago, and their own external network to identify and incorporate best practices and new opportunities for impactful initiatives. Reporting to and working closely with the Chief Operating Officer, this individual must be able to thrive in a fast-moving, decentralized environment. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader able to set a vision to drive change internally. They have a can-do, positive attitude, have a deep understanding of the value of human capital, empathetic leadership, and a positive workplace culture in an environment that values diversity and inclusion, possess expert knowledge of compliance and regulatory practices, and are passionate about building and aligning policies, culture, and guidance with IT Services vision and mission.
This role has a wide range of responsibilities, including, but not limited to: Overseeing HR and providing a strategic vision for all matters related to team operations; Working closely with the Budget and Finance team on all HR budgetary matters (detailed below); Collaborating with the Communications teams on change-management initiatives, professional development training, annual performance and goal setting and all other operational changes and implementations; Lead Diversity recruitment and pipeline programming strategies; and closely partnering with the COO as a trusted strategic advisor to ensure that all deadlines and metrics are met. 

Responsibilities

• Builds and executes Human Resources and administrative operations strategies, policies, and processes in partnership with Central HR and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ITS, that align with overall ITS operations, vision, mission, and goals, and are consistent with applicable Federal, State, and local law and UChicago policies. 
• Partners closely with ITS senior leadership on review, analysis, and development of overall HR strategy and operational/administrative alignment. 
• Leads a team of seasoned, highly skilled personnel to maximize HR principles and customer service and develops and promotes the use of standardized and proactive processes and systems in collaboration with Central HR in areas of recruitment, compensation, benefits, professional development, and other areas as needed. 
• Seeks out and understands internal and external HR trends that may impact ITS’ policy positions, and implements best practices to enhance ITS’ operations, including integrating diversity, equity and inclusion principles and progress in all HR activities. 
• Leads-through-example a workplace culture of empathy, approachability, creative problem-solving, customer service, accountability, and individual growth with a mindset of diversity and inclusion. 
• Organizes and implements ITS social programming in collaboration with University partners to promote a positive culture, engagement, clarity, and transparency. 
• Designs and implements surveys and assessments, both novel and through our system of record (Workday), to both qualitatively and quantitatively assess engagement, growth, and other metrics of success across ITS. 
• Designs, builds and leads a comprehensive workforce succession planning, cross-training, and review/analytics program. 
• Builds and implements a training to ensure successful navigation of University processes, including onboarding. 
• Performs regular, holistic program and process analysis across ITS’ HR, Administration and Operations functions, monitoring, adapting, and evolving our policies and best practices for compliance, growth, and strategic/operational alignment. 
• Handles sensitive, interpersonal interactions in a complex political environment and serves as the 'face' of HR to both internal and external constituencies. 
• Ensures, through ITS’ HR team, that there is top-notch quality-control over processes, including routine reporting, meeting critical deadlines and maintaining accuracy of complex information. 
• Reviews, redesigns, and implements improved performance evaluation methodology. 
• Conducts holistic benefits and compensation analysis, including market comparisons, trend analysis, and workforce planning/budgeting analysis and reporting. 
• Oversees HR budget and payroll, with the understanding that personnel costs are the largest budgetary expenditure. Closely collaborates with ITS Budget and Accounting office on overall budget and financial planning analysis, forecasts, merit/bonus planning, equity adjustments and how salary is involved in the implementation of FST. 
• Manages managers and professional staff. Establishes performance goals, allocates resources and assesses policies for direct subordinates. Monitors human resources responsibilities, performance management, and the supervision of staff members in a unit. The role will be charged with building, hiring and overseeing a team of HR professionals, along with setting and guiding the strategy of the unit. 
• Develops and implements short- and long-term human resources plans and operational policies for a unit. Develops and administers the HR budget for the unit and manages expenses. 
• Serves as a stand-in for the COO in meetings and presentations when necessary. This is a senior position who will serve as a strategic leader, collaborating closely with the COO, SLT and overseeing the output of other senior administrative and operational managers. 
• Implements the COO’s vision and strategy by managing and leveraging key administrative and operational partnerships and keeping tasks on track to meet key deadlines.
• Leads, seeks out, manages and tracks all professional development training and initiatives for ITS. 
• Collaborates with unit leadership and Central HR on organizational strategy and emerging staff needs.

​Directs and manages the success of:  

• Workforce Planning - partners with leadership on organizational design, succession planning, change management, improvements and transition activities. 
• Performance Management - assists units in assessing career growth and talent needs of the unit and determining where promotional opportunities exist. 
• Employee Engagement - strategizes and shares methods for leaders to establish and sustain a positive work environment that enables employees to learn, grow and succeed. 
• Communication - serves as an advocate for HR policies, procedures and practices as well as communicate policy updates. 
• Leads complaint investigations, working in concert with Employee and Labor Relations (ELR). 
• Investigations - conducts complaint investigations, acts as a neutral party in fact-finding and ensures confidentiality, accuracy and timeliness to employees involved. 
• Title IX - escalates to ELR if inquiries involve Title IX, employment law or if questions arise regarding the Business Partner’s ability to serve as a neutral investigator. 
• Grievances - hears step one of grievances for union employees and works with ELR on subsequent steps. 
• Terminations - advises on severance agreements/negotiations, conducts exit interviews for voluntary resignations, involves ELR to assist with risk mitigation or other concerns and works with HR Systems Specialist to ensure employee is terminated in appropriate timeframe. 
• Reasonable Accommodation Requests - in coordination with ELR, facilitates conversations between managers and employees regarding accommodation requests. 
• Assists in initiating talent acquisition process. 
• Position Posting - collaborates with unit to draft job description and evaluation criteria, reviews/updates job postings to ensure alignment of objectives and budget. 
• Completes pre-hire steps necessary to onboard a new employee. 
• New Hire Experience - works with hiring managers and HR System team to determine system access and hardware needs for new/transfer employees and ensure transactions are completed accurately within the expected timeframe. 
• New Hire Orientation - facilitates orientation sessions approximately 1-2 times per month. 
• Ensures proper procedures are followed when an employee is exiting. 
• Offboarding - conducts exit interviews, providing feedback to unit management, ensures compliance for hardware retention. 
• Ensures accuracy of records and processes in accordance with University policies and practices. 
• System Specific Transactions - initiates personnel actions in University systems (e.g. personnel changes, requests, job changes) and approves personnel actions that require discretion.
• Counsels employees on benefits and compensation. Coordinates with managers and senior colleagues to determine employee compensation. Analyzes data and prepares charts, graphs, and trend lines for management review with a minimal level of guidance. 
• Facilitates annual process and provides guidance to unit leadership in partnership with HR COEs. 
• Job Evaluation - reviews and assesses job profiles of staff as needed to ensure reflective of current roles and responsibilities as this is the basis for all pay decisions. 
• Pay-for-Performance: - assists units as they complete alignment reviews and makes recommendations surrounding merit, equity adjustments and lump sum awards. 
• Has a deep understanding of unit's employee/labor relations efforts, including handling grievances, disciplinary warnings, and employee complaints. 
• Recommends, develops, and executes HR strategy across an area(s) within the Operations function.
• Acts as key participant in large scale planning and provides forward looking, strategic human resources consultation, resulting in comprehensive human capital strategies.
• Provides direct support to the Chief Operating Officer and manages the facilitation of high-priority projects designed to achieve the IT Services’ mission and strategic vision while building and maintaining successful working relationships with a wide range of offices, staff, and stakeholders, internal and external to the University.
• Anticipates, identifies and troubleshoots issues of concern or significance; exercises discretion to provide timely information and necessary updates across multiple stakeholders.
• Leads, inspires and evaluates the performance of HRBPs, enabling, and encouraging performance improvement where possible.
• Uses understanding of business and strategic goals to identify needs, opportunities, solutions, and risks relating to human resources programs and services, workforce productivity and engagement, organizational design and performance, talent management, and diversity and inclusion.
• Prioritizes and manages multiple projects simultaneously and follows-up on time-critical.
• Implements and provides guidance in the planning, development, execution, and management of unit wide DEI objectives with input of key partners and leadership.
• Gathers, investigates, researches, analyzes, and/or studies information affecting University-wide, intradepartmental, or interdepartmental operations; participates in institutional planning, policy development, and problem resolution as a member of senior staff. 
• Anticipates, identifies and troubleshoots issues of concern or significance; exercises discretion to provide timely information and necessary updates across multiple stakeholders. 
• Ensures matters requiring the attention of Chief Operating Officer are thoroughly developed, researched and evaluated; responds to routine inquiries and deputizes for the Chief of Staff, where appropriate and when necessary. 
• Supports and sustains a culture of service, professionalism and continuous improvement in the IT Services unit. 
• Assists administration in various cost analyses, projections, and reports.
• Advises unit management and professional staff on the strategy of the unit and on federal, state and local employment laws and regulations.
• Develops and implements short- and long-term human resources plans and operational policies for a unit. Develops and administers the HR budget for the unit and manages expenses. 
• Performs other related work as needed. 

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• Certification programs preferred.

Experience:

• Experience providing services. 
• Experience developing and/or delivering training programs. 

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficiency with HRIS systems like Workday, Microsoft Word and Excel; willingness and ability to learn new technologies. 

Preferred Competencies

• Exceptional interpersonal and customer service skills with the ability to maintain calm and courteous demeanor and to work productively despite heavy workload, competing priorities, complex problems, and tight deadlines. 
• Experience in handling sensitive and confidential situations and information with absolute discretion. 
• Proactively contribute in a continuous improvement growth environment and achieve results while working with shifting priorities in a dynamic environment. 
• Strong attention to detail, with competence assess a range of solutions, assimilate data, manage multiple priorities, provide relevant direction, and coaching, responding to inquiries effectively with limited guidance. 
• Influence others without formal authority by building positive working relations and partnerships with confidence across all levels of the institution to effectively execute business strategies with a high degree of organization and follow-through in a matrix organization. 
• Competence to encourage and cultivate a learning environment that appreciates cultural diversity. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

Working Conditions

• Some evening/weekend work.

Application Documents

• Resume (required) 
• Cover Letter (required) 

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Human Resources

Role Impact
 

People Manager

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

37.5

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward .
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu . Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.