Sr Manager, Employee Experience

Winnebago Industries Inc•Forest City, IA

About The Position

The Sr. Manager of Employee Experience serves as the architect and steward of the Winnebago employee experience, from first candidate contact through career growth, leadership development, and community connection. The role integrates Talent Acquisition, Internal Communications, Inclusion & Belonging, Community Engagement, and Employee Experience into a unified strategy intended to create a distinctive and consistent Winnebago experience. It translates the principles of the Winnebago Welcome System and The Winnebago Way into everyday employee experiences that strengthen culture, improve engagement, increase retention, and accelerate business performance. The position treats employee experience as a business system rather than an HR program, applying rigor, intentionality, and continuous improvement to how employees experience life at Winnebago. The Sr. Manager partners closely with business leaders so employee interactions communicate the organization's priorities: safety, quality, accountability, leadership, belonging, and purpose. The role leads employee experience strategy and owns the Winnebago Welcome System, including the pre-hire through Day 1+ experience, leader-owned onboarding, experience standards, measurement, playbooks, and communications. It also leads employee communications, inclusion and belonging initiatives, community engagement and employer brand, and talent acquisition strategy. As steward of The Winnebago Way, the Sr. Manager translates leadership expectations into observable behaviors and embeds leadership principles throughout employee and leadership practices.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in employee experience, communications, talent acquisition, culture, organizational effectiveness, or related disciplines.
Demonstrated success leading enterprise-wide culture and employee experience initiatives.
Strong executive communication and storytelling capabilities.
Experience building scalable systems and processes.
Proven ability to work cross-functionally and influence senior leaders.
Passion for creating environments where employees can thrive.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute an employee experience strategy aligned with business objectives and The Winnebago Way.
Define and continuously improve important employee moments, including recruiting, pre-hire, onboarding, promotions, team transitions, leadership assimilation, recognition, career development, retirement, and alumni engagement.
Establish consistent experience standards across functions, locations, and leadership teams.
Use employee feedback, engagement data, onboarding audits, retention trends, and pulse surveys to identify improvement opportunities.
Serve as executive owner of the Winnebago Welcome System, maintaining and evolving the pre-hire through Day 1+ experience.
Ensure onboarding is leader-owned and experience-driven; establish standards for candidate experience, manager involvement, and assimilation.
Measure onboarding effectiveness through retention, speed to productivity, engagement, and new-hire feedback.
Maintain leader playbooks, onboarding experiences, communication content, and experience standards.
Ensure new employees understand who Winnebago is, what it builds, why it matters, what great leadership looks like, and how they contribute to customer success.
Lead the organization's employee communication strategy, including annual plans aligned to business priorities and consistent messaging across employee audiences.
Oversee leadership communications, town halls, business updates, change communications, and major organizational announcements.
Ensure communications are timely, transparent, authentic, and aligned with Winnebago values; partner with senior leaders to improve communication effectiveness and visibility.
Build communication capabilities that strengthen trust, clarity, and engagement.
Lead inclusion and belonging efforts that create a culture where employees feel valued, respected, and connected.
Advance inclusion initiatives, build systems for equitable employee experiences, and support employee resource groups, community partnerships, and culture-building initiatives.
Embed inclusion in recruiting, onboarding, leadership development, and employee communications; establish measurable outcomes for engagement and culture.
Design community engagement strategies and partnerships with schools, workforce development organizations, veterans' groups, technical programs, and community organizations.
Create volunteer and service opportunities aligned with company values and enhance the Winnebago employment brand in communities where the organization operates.
Lead talent acquisition strategically as an employee experience function, establishing recruiting practices consistent with the Winnebago Welcome System.
Ensure a professional, responsive, candidate-centered hiring experience and oversee recruitment marketing and employer branding.
Improve quality of hire, diversity of candidate slates, recruiting efficiency, and candidate satisfaction; partner with business leaders to address talent needs proactively.
Create recruiting processes reflecting the company's commitment to respect, professionalism, and inclusion.
Champion The Winnebago Way by translating leadership expectations into observable behaviors and embedding leadership principles into onboarding, performance management, talent reviews, leadership development, manager training, and coaching.
Ensure leaders understand their role in shaping employee experience; create tools, resources, and experiences that reinforce leadership accountability and consistency.
Measure adoption and effectiveness of The Winnebago Way behaviors across the organization.
Model and reinforce intentionality, visibility, clarity, belonging, developing others, service, and consistency.