Director of Employee Experience

ESCO Group; Marion (IA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

ESCO Group seeks a dynamic Director of Employee Experience to build and continually improve the enterprise people operating system. You will shape role architecture, accountability, leadership development, and workforce planning to drive growth and ownership culture across ESCO and future Scintilla operating companies.

As a member of the Shared Services Leadership Team, you will partner with executive leaders to strengthen leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and scalable HR

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive HR experience with significant leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading multiple HR disciplines and developing HR professionals.
• Strong partnering with senior leaders on organizational and talent matters.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, compensation, benefits, and HR tech.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the enterprise people strategy aligned with ESCO's priorities.
• Lead organizational design, workforce planning, and change management.
• Coach leaders on performance, accountability, and team dynamics.
• Strengthen leadership capability and organizational effectiveness.
• Embed ESCO's core values and ownership culture into HR practices and onboarding.
• Provide leadership across Talent Acquisition, employee relations, compensation, and HRIS.

Skills

Leadership

Organizational Development

Employee Relations

Talent Management

Change Management

HR Strategy

Stakeholder Management

HR Analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business

Tools

HRIS

Workforce Planning Tools

Job description

Director of Employee Experience

Position Summary

The Director of Employee Experience is responsible for building and continuously improving Scintilla’s enterprise people operating system—including role architecture, accountability chart standards, leadership development, performance processes, manager tools, workforce planning, and employee lifecycle practices—creating enterprise consistency while reinforcing leader ownership and accountability. These people and organizational capabilities enable ESCO and future Scintilla operating companies to grow, perform, and thrive.

As a member of the Shared Services Leadership Team, this role partners with executive leadership and people leaders to strengthen leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and the systems and practices that support sustainable growth.

As an employee-owned company, ESCO believes its people are fundamental to its long-term success. The Director leads the Employee Experience function to develop exceptional leaders, strengthen teams, foster an ownership culture, successfully navigate change, and ensure the organization has an effective and scalable Human Resources foundation.

Organizational Capability & Enterprise Partnership

• Develop and execute the enterprise people strategy aligned with ESCO's strategic priorities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive and business unit leaders on organizational, leadership, talent, and workforce matters.
• Lead organizational design, workforce and succession planning, and enterprise change management.
• Use workforce data and organizational insights to identify risks, opportunities, and actions that improve performance.
• Build scalable people practices that support growth while balancing enterprise consistency with operating company needs.

Leadership Development & Organizational Effectiveness

• Build a scalable leadership development approach for leaders at all levels.
• Coach and advise leaders on leadership effectiveness, accountability, performance, and team dynamics.
• Develop succession and high-potential talent practices that strengthen the leadership pipeline.
• Use assessments, feedback, and organizational insights to strengthen leader and team effectiveness.
• Equip leaders to effectively lead people through change and reinforce ESCO's Core Values, ownership culture, and The ESCO Way.

Employee Experience & Ownership Culture

• Strengthen an employee-owner culture that connects individual contribution and accountability to business performance and long-term enterprise value.
• Embed ESCO's Core Values and ownership behaviors into onboarding, performance management, recognition, leadership practices, and communication.
• Lead employee engagement strategies and ensure insights result in meaningful action.
• Strengthen practices that support employee engagement, recognition, retention, and the overall employee experience.
• Build employee understanding of ESCO's ESOP and the responsibilities and opportunities of employee ownership.

Human Resources & Team Leadership

• Provide leadership and oversight for the full scope of Human Resources, including talent acquisition, employee relations, compensation, benefits, performance management, HRIS, compliance, and risk.
• Ensure HR practices are compliant, effective, scalable, and aligned with business and talent needs.
• Provide leadership on complex employee relations matters and organizational people risks.
• Continuously improve HR systems and processes through technology, automation, data, and thoughtful standardization.
• Lead, develop, and hold accountable a capable Employee Experience team that provides responsive, practical, and business-oriented support.

Shared Services & Enterprise Growth

• Partner across Shared Services to build enterprise capability and improve business performance.
• Build people systems and practices that can scale to support future Scintilla operating companies.
• Support the people and organizational aspects of acquisition assessment and integration.
• Balance appropriate enterprise consistency with operating company flexibility while preserving the strengths and entrepreneurial spirit of each business.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including significant leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience leading multiple Human Resources disciplines and developing HR professionals.
• Experience partnering with senior business leaders on organizational, leadership, and talent matters.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, employee relations, compensation, benefits, talent acquisition, performance management, organizational development, and HR technology.
• Strong business acumen with demonstrated experience developing leaders, improving organizational effectiveness, and leading or supporting significant change.

Preferred

• SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification.
• Experience in construction, engineering, manufacturing, industrial services, or a similarly complex environment.
• Experience in an ESOP, multi-business enterprise, or mergers and acquisitions environment.

Leadership Success Profile

• Thinks enterprise-wide and understands how people and organizational capability drive business performance.
• Builds trust and influences through partnership, credibility, and sound judgment.
• Develops capable leaders rather than creating dependency on Employee Experience.
• Balances strategic thinking with practical execution.
• Leads with humility, curiosity, accountability, and courage.
• Thinks and acts like an employee-owner and models ESCO's Core Values.

Success Measures

• Employee Experience is viewed as a trusted partner that contributes to business performance.
• Leadership and organizational capability strengthen as the enterprise grows.
• Employee-owners understand and demonstrate the responsibilities of ownership.
• People systems and practices effectively support growth, change, and future acquisitions.
• Human Resources operations are compliant, responsive, efficient, and scalable.