Director, HR Transformation & Employee Exp.

Connecticut Water Service, Inc.•Clinton, CT

17d•$124,022 - $223,196•Hybrid

About The Position

We have an opening in our Human Resources department for an Director, HR Transformation & Employee Exp.. We are passionate about the environment while delivering life sustaining, high quality water service to families and communities. We embrace progress, provide training & development to inspire success in every aspect of our business and culture. In addition, we provide a competitive benefits package and 401(K). This is a hybrid work opportunity, meaning that employees are eligible to work remotely for part of the work week, dependent on job function and business needs. The Director, HR Transformation & Employee Experience leads enterprise HR transformation initiatives that modernize how HR supports the business. This role integrates employee experience design, HR process optimization, HR Technology enablement (including HRIS/HCM platforms) and AI‑enabled solutions to drive consistency, scalability, and capacity across HR. Partnering closely with the CHRO, HR Leadership Team, HR Operations, HRIS/HR Technology and ITS and COEs, this leader focuses on how HR work gets designed, experienced, and enabled—ensuring HR processes, tools, and experiences are intuitive, efficient, and aligned to business needs. Strategic Impact This role: Directly addresses gaps in employee experience, talent processes, HR system usability and manager enablement Drives enterprise consistency and scalability across HR processes, platforms and experiences Enables increased capacity and efficiency without proportional headcount growth Positions HR to leverage AI and automation responsibly and effectively Improves return on investment from HR technology by ensuring systems are adopted, optimized, and continuously improved. Key Focus Areas & Responsibilities 1) Enterprise HR Transformation & Experience Design Lead enterprise HR transformation initiatives that redesign how employees and managers experience HR across the full employee lifecycle (Hire to Retire). Apply employee‑centered design principles to HR programs, workflows, and services to improve usability, clarity, and adoption. Identify friction points across HR touchpoints, including HRIS self-service and translate insights into scalable design solutions. 2) Enterprise Onboarding Experience Design and implement a cohesive, enterprise onboarding experience that spans pre‑hire through early tenure, leveraging HRIS, onboarding platforms, and automated workflows. Partner with HR Operations, Talent, and business leaders to ensure onboarding is consistent, role‑appropriate, and scalable. Establish success measures (e.g., early engagement, system adoption, time‑to‑productivity, manager readiness). 3) Employee Engagement & Listening Strategy Own the enterprise employee engagement strategy, including ESAT and pulse surveys. Design listening cadences, analysis frameworks, and insight translation to drive action at enterprise and local levels. Partner with HR and business leaders to ensure engagement insights lead to targeted, measurable action plans and improvements. 4) HR Process Redesign & Workflow Optimization Lead redesign of HR processes and workflows across functions to improve efficiency, clarity, and scalability. Partner with HR Operations and COEs to standardize processes while preserving flexibility where business needs differ. Focus on experience and design, not transactional execution—ensuring optimized processes are ready for operationalization. 5) Manager & Hiring Experience Enablement Develop tools, resources, and experiences that improve the manager and hiring experience (e.g., guides, workflows, decision support). Reduce manager friction by simplifying HR processes and clarifying expectations and ownership. Ensure manager enablement solutions align with HR policies, ER frameworks, and service delivery models. 6) AI Enablement & Digital Innovation (Copilot, Agents, Automation) Build and lead integration of AI‑enabled solutions (e.g., Copilot agents) into HR workflows to improve efficiency, consistency, and decision support. Identify opportunities where AI can enhance—not replace—judgment, experience, and compliance. Partner with HR Operations, IT, and Legal to ensure responsible adoption, governance, and change management. 7) HR Technology Adoption & Utilization (Partnership Role) Partner on HR technology adoption by focusing on utilization, experience, and enablement. Drive change management, training strategies, and adoption metrics to ensure HR tools deliver intended value. Serve as the bridge between process design, technology capability, and end‑user experience. Support future implementation of HCM/HRIS platform and other enterprise tools. Scope & Key Partnerships Reports to: Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Key partners: HR Operations & Employee Relations, TA Program Manager, IT, COEs (Talent, Total Rewards, DEI/Engagement), Communications, Legal, business leaders and HR Leadership Team Team leadership: May lead a small transformation/experience team or operate as a senior individual contributor with enterprise influence Core Competencies: Systems and design thinking Change leadership and influence without authority Employee‑centric mindset with enterprise discipline Data‑informed decision making Curiosity, innovation, and pragmatic execution Measures of Success (Examples): Adoption and satisfaction with redesigned HR processes and experiences Improved engagement and pulse survey outcomes tied to targeted interventions Increased manager effectiveness and reduced friction in key HR workflows Measurable efficiency gains through AI‑enabled solutions and workflow redesign Strong partnership with HR Operations, HRLT, and COEs

Requirements

Progressive HR experience with a strong focus on HR transformation, employee experience, or HR process design
Practical experience across multiple HR disciplines (e.g., talent acquisition, union environments, or shared services operations), bringing real-world insight to process design and transformation efforts
Demonstrated success leading cross‑functional, enterprise change initiatives
Experience redesigning HR processes and translating them into scalable, adoptable solutions
Strong change management, stakeholder influence, and communication skills
Comfort working at the intersection of HR, technology, and experience design
Experienced people leader with proven success leading teams through transformation, driving accountability, and delivering results in complex, multi-state environments

Nice To Haves

Experience with employee listening strategies (engagement surveys, pulse tools, action planning)
Experience with AI or automation
Background in design thinking, service design, or continuous improvement methodologies
Experience partnering with HR Operations or shared services models

Responsibilities

Lead enterprise HR transformation initiatives that redesign how employees and managers experience HR across the full employee lifecycle (Hire to Retire).
Apply employee‑centered design principles to HR programs, workflows, and services to improve usability, clarity, and adoption.
Identify friction points across HR touchpoints, including HRIS self-service and translate insights into scalable design solutions.
Design and implement a cohesive, enterprise onboarding experience that spans pre‑hire through early tenure, leveraging HRIS, onboarding platforms, and automated workflows.
Partner with HR Operations, Talent, and business leaders to ensure onboarding is consistent, role‑appropriate, and scalable.
Establish success measures (e.g., early engagement, system adoption, time‑to‑productivity, manager readiness).
Own the enterprise employee engagement strategy, including ESAT and pulse surveys.
Design listening cadences, analysis frameworks, and insight translation to drive action at enterprise and local levels.
Partner with HR and business leaders to ensure engagement insights lead to targeted, measurable action plans and improvements.
Lead redesign of HR processes and workflows across functions to improve efficiency, clarity, and scalability.
Partner with HR Operations and COEs to standardize processes while preserving flexibility where business needs differ.
Focus on experience and design, not transactional execution—ensuring optimized processes are ready for operationalization.
Develop tools, resources, and experiences that improve the manager and hiring experience (e.g., guides, workflows, decision support).
Reduce manager friction by simplifying HR processes and clarifying expectations and ownership.
Ensure manager enablement solutions align with HR policies, ER frameworks, and service delivery models.
Build and lead integration of AI‑enabled solutions (e.g., Copilot agents) into HR workflows to improve efficiency, consistency, and decision support.
Identify opportunities where AI can enhance—not replace—judgment, experience, and compliance.
Partner with HR Operations, IT, and Legal to ensure responsible adoption, governance, and change management.
Partner on HR technology adoption by focusing on utilization, experience, and enablement.
Drive change management, training strategies, and adoption metrics to ensure HR tools deliver intended value.
Serve as the bridge between process design, technology capability, and end‑user experience.
Support future implementation of HCM/HRIS platform and other enterprise tools.