Director of Human Resources, College of Liberal Arts

University of Texas at Austin•UT MAIN CAMPUS, UT

1d•$145,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Human Resources provides strategic leadership and oversight for all human resources functions within the College of Liberal Arts. The Director serves as the principal HR advisor to the Dean and college leadership, directing HR strategy, operations, workforce planning, compliance, and talent management to align with college and university priorities, legal and policy requirements, and effective delivery of HR services. The role represents the college with university offices and on committees, supports leaders through workforce planning and organizational change, and oversees compliance, HR business processes in Workday, staffing, performance management, and faculty and staff processes. The Director leads a team of professional staff serving faculty, staff, and student HR functions, and establishes expectations, provides coaching and development, and ensures responsive, accurate, and service-oriented operations. Other related functions may be assigned. The position is based at the UT Main Campus in a standard office environment. It involves repetitive keyboard use at a workstation. Occasional local, domestic, or international travel and occasional extended evening or weekend work may be required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field; relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Ten years of progressively responsible human resources experience; relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Experience in higher education.
Experience leading HR operations in a large, complex organization and managing the full employee lifecycle across multiple employee types.
Experience leading large-scale organizational design and change initiatives in a complex, multi-departmental institution, including restructuring, workforce and organizational planning, and organizational effectiveness assessments involving multiple constituencies.
Supervisory or team leadership experience, including coaching and developing HR staff.
Comprehensive knowledge of employment law and HR compliance relevant to higher education.
Experience supporting faculty and academic personnel processes in a complex higher education environment.
Excellent interpersonal, analytical, written, oral, and presentation skills.
Ability to lead difficult conversations and situations, work collaboratively with multiple constituencies in a complex organization, and build trust across a decentralized, multi-stakeholder environment.
Strong consultative, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills, including the ability to advise leadership on sensitive and escalated matters.
Ability to interpret complex policies, regulations, and organizational requirements and assess their operational impact.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to build trust across a decentralized, multi-stakeholder environment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree and six or more years of equivalent experience.
HR experience within a Tier I or R1 higher education research institution.
Experience supporting academic and research personnel, classified staff, and student employees across the employee lifecycle.
SHRM-CP/SCP, PHR/SPHR, or equivalent HR certification.
Experience leading or contributing to HR standardization efforts across a decentralized organization.
Experience with Workday or another enterprise HR application and using HR technology to improve operational effectiveness.
Advanced experience supporting faculty affairs, including academic personnel processes, faculty governance, and institution-specific promotion and review practices.
Previous experience assembling and presenting faculty promotion dossiers.
Working knowledge of UT’s administrative structure, policies, procedures, and personnel, including experience collaborating with Human Resources, the Provost’s Office, and other central administrative offices.

Responsibilities

Oversee human resources for the College of Liberal Arts and serve on its leadership team as the primary executive advisor to the Dean and other college leaders on strategic HR matters.
Represent the college as its primary HR liaison with Human Resource Services, the President’s Office, Provost’s Office, University Risk & Compliance Services, Legal Affairs, and other university offices; participate in committees, task forces, and leadership forums and build productive institutional partnerships.
Collaborate with college leadership to develop policies and implement best practices.
Develop and implement workforce strategies, organizational structures, talent management initiatives, and governance practices aligned with college priorities.
Support leaders across the college and university in navigating change, maintaining effective HR operations, and aligning HR with the college and university missions.
Monitor policy and procedural changes, provide reporting to advise on policy matters, and support chairs, directors, and department managers on unit-level HR matters, including during leadership and staffing transitions.
Review and carry out university compliance efforts for the college in partnership with the Dean; facilitate compliance with university and college policies, state and federal laws, and ethical guidelines, including communication, reporting, and follow-up.
Ensure timely and accurate responses to internal audit requests and external open-records requests involving HR matters.
Oversee the college’s HR business processes in Workday, including appropriate security role assignments and organization alignments that support compliance and operational efficiency.
Partner with the Assistant Dean for Finance & Administration to oversee and maintain college operations.
Help lead faculty promotion reviews, salary adjustments, student mass processing, and other large-scale HR processes.
Audit college structure and employee roles, evaluate processing needs by unit and function, and recommend improvements.
Serve as the college’s timekeeping and time-off lead, serve as timekeeper for Dean’s Office staff, and act as the primary liaison with EBiTs.
Train college staff on HR issues and processes.
Distribute, interpret, and enforce policies; communicate important issues and upcoming changes to senior staff and solicit ideas for improvement and innovation.
Ensure staff annual appraisals are received and logged; oversee the merit process and staff awards processes.
Receive complaints, consult and coach on performance issues, conduct investigations with SWS, Title IX, DIA, and the Dispute Resolution office as needed, and process disciplinary actions.
Build trusted partnerships with college and unit leadership to support timely management and resolution of personnel matters.
Oversee college staffing in alignment with the college mission, business needs, and funding; ensure appropriate position classification and compensation.
Conduct staff audits as needed, guide reorganizations, and evaluate opportunities to centralize administrative functions.
Provide college HR approvals for position reclassifications, additional duties requests, and recruitments.
Oversee recruitment of lead personnel in the Dean’s Office and college units, including applicant screening, interviews, and hiring recommendations; oversee retention efforts and provide staffing reports and recommendations to the Dean.
Lead and supervise professional staff supporting faculty, staff, and student HR functions; set performance expectations, coach and develop staff, manage performance, and ensure accountability for accurate, responsive, service-oriented operations.
Collaborate with the HR team to streamline business processes and eliminate redundancy where possible.
Perform other related functions as assigned.