Director, People & Business Operations

Destination Cleveland; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 86,000 - 107,000; Full time

Job summary

Destination Cleveland seeks a Director, People & Business Operations to translate people, workplace, and operational priorities into execution across HR, facilities, and internal operations. Reporting to the CPBOO, this leader builds practical plans, engages stakeholders, and ensures cross-functional follow-through with a 3-person team.

Direct reports include HR Specialist, Facilities Supervisor, and Office Services Coordinator; role emphasizes compliance, service excellence, and employee

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business, Operations, Facilities/Workplace Management, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Experience leading HR/Facilities operations teams and cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of employment laws and HR processes.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership for HR operations and employee lifecycle activities.
• Lead facilities and office services including space planning, vendor management, and safety.
• Build and coach a high-performing, service-oriented team.
• Manage budgets, contracts, and vendor relationships; monitor SLAs and risks.
• Translate strategic priorities into executable plans with clear milestones.

Skills

HR operations

Facilities operations

Leadership & management

Budgeting & cost control

Vendor management

Stakeholder communication

HRIS/payroll familiarity

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Business/Operations/Facilities

Professional certifications (SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, PHR/SPHR, IWFM/BOMI/IFMA)

Tools

HRIS/payroll systems

Ticketing/work order systems

Job description

Description

Annual Salary Range $86,000-$107,000

Annual Bonus Potential: 6% of Salary

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

As unapologetic promoters of Cleveland, Destination Cleveland’s team works every day to attract visitors, inspire visitors and locals alike to explore and connect people to experiences that illustrate Cleveland’s diversity, creativity, and contagious passion. We’re in the business of equitably growing the region’s economy through travel and tourism while also cultivating a passion for Greater Cleveland. As the only organization charged with marketing Cleveland outside of the region, we never stop talking about the city. We know the region inside and out. We roll up our sleeves and get the job done for The Land. We’re a group of expectation-exceeding, fun-loving, innovative professionals.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

The Director, People & Business Operations is responsible for translating Destination Cleveland’s people, workplace, and operational priorities into execution, as aligned with the goals of the organization. Reporting to the Chief People & Business Operations Officer (CPBOO), this role operationalizes strategic initiatives across HR, facilities, and internal operations by building practical implementation plans, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring strong cross-functional follow-through. The Director leads a three-person team—HR Specialist, Facilities Supervisor, and Office Services Coordinator—and ensures cohesive, efficient, compliant, and employee-centered operations across HR administration, employee experience, workspace management, safety, vendor oversight, and organizational processes. This role serves as a key operational leader and connector across enterprise-wide functions, bringing structure, accountability, continuous improvement, and change-management discipline to initiatives that strengthen Destination Cleveland’s people-first culture and organizational effectiveness.

Direct reports: HR Specialist; Facilities Supervisor; Office Services Coordinator

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

People (HR) Operations

• Provide operational leadership for day-to-day HR operations across employee lifecycle activities while identifying process risks, capacity constraints, and opportunities to improve service delivery.
• Establish, administer, and continuously improve HR processes and operating rhythms to improve consistency, accountability, and employee experience.
• Operationalize people-strategy priorities in partnership with the CPBOO, including talent, total rewards, learning, engagement, belonging, and organizational effectiveness; translate strategies into annual and quarterly workplans, milestones, communications, and measurable deliverables.
• Lead cross-functional coordination with Finance on headcount, budgeting, and workforce planning, and with IT on identity, access, and lifecycle controls, ensuring HR and operational processes are aligned, documented, and executed consistently.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment regulations (e.g., FLSA, FMLA, ADA, EEO), maintaining policy documentation and audit-ready records.
• Bring structure to complex HR and operations initiatives by defining scope, sequencing work, identifying dependencies, surfacing risks, coordinating stakeholders, and communicating progress, trade-offs, and decision points to the CPBOO and other leaders.

Facilities & Office Services

• Provide operational leadership for facilities and office services, including building/vendor management, reception/mailroom, shipping and receiving, space planning, office moves, warehouse and storage, maintenance ticketing, supplies, and asset/inventory controls.
• Oversee site safety, security, and emergency preparedness (access control, badge processes, drills, incident response coordination); maintain facilities SOPs and preventive maintenance schedules.
• Lead implementation of workplace improvements, renovations, space-planning changes, and operational process enhancements; partner with external vendors, the landlord, and internal stakeholders to meet uptime, cleanliness, comfort, budget, and employee-experience standards.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a team to support org-wide goals, operational priorities, and consistent service delivery.
• Build a service-oriented, equitable, and accountable team culture that models continuous improvement, data-informed decision making, strong documentation, and proactive risk escalation.
• Serve as a cross-functional implementation leader for initiatives that span the organization, ensuring work is translated from strategic intent into practical execution and sustained operating practices.

Budgeting, Vendors & Governance

• Manage HR and facilities operating budgets; review and approve invoices; identify savings opportunities and cost avoidance measures.
• Source, negotiate, and manage contracts for HR and facilities vendors; enforce SLAs and risk controls (COIs, safety, and privacy requirements).
• Prepare quarterly dashboards, implementation updates, and risk summaries for the CPBOO; elevate issues, clarify trade-offs, recommend mitigations, and track follow-through on decisions.

Requirements

Experience

• 7–10 years of progressive experience across HR operations, facilities/office services, business operations, or organizational effectiveness, with at least 3 years leading people, vendors, projects, or cross-functional initiatives in a multi-function environment.
• Demonstrated success operationalizing leadership-defined strategies into practical implementation plans, operating rhythms, process improvements, and measurable outcomes across HR, workplace, or business operations.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong working knowledge of core HR processes and employment law; familiarity with HRIS/payroll platforms and ticketing/work order systems.
• Facilities operations know-how (space planning, vendor/landlord management, safety/security, preventive maintenance).
• Financial acumen (budget ownership, forecasting, and variance analysis).
• Strong strategic execution skills, including process design, continuous improvement, SOP development, project management, change management, and stakeholder coordination.
• Excellent stakeholder management, written and verbal communication, facilitation, judgment, and discretion with sensitive information; able to communicate priorities, risks, trade-offs, and progress clearly to leaders and cross-functional partners.

Education & Certifications (preferred)

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business, Operations, Facilities/Workplace Management, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Professional certifications a plus (e.g., SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, PHR/SPHR, IWFM/BOMI/IFMA credentials, or similar).

Workstyle & Attributes

• Service-oriented operational leader who balances strategic implementation with hands‑on ownership and brings clarity, structure, and follow‑through to ambiguous or cross‑functional work.
• Bias for clarity, follow-through, and measurable outcomes in a fast-moving environment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Viewing computer monitors
• Sitting, standing & moving inventory
• Ability to lift to 40 pounds safely

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Office environment; moderate noise. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Some weekends and evenings will be required around major event support.