Senior Director, HR

Crucial Hire; Illinois; On-site; USD 100,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Crucial Hire is seeking a Senior Director of Human Resources with a strong background in manufacturing to provide strategic HR leadership across multiple sites. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of HR leadership experience and be adept at fostering employee engagement and managing workforce concerns. This senior role requires significant collaboration with operations leaders and involves regular travel.

The position emphasizes creating effective retention strategies and developing high-performing HR teams. A Master's degree and relevant certifications are required.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in HR leadership roles, ideally in a manufacturing setting.
• Experience leading HR across multiple facilities and environments.
• Ability to travel up to 50% throughout the designated region.

Responsibilities

• Provide HR leadership across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Drive retention strategies and reduce turnover.
• Lead site-level HR professionals and develop the HR team.

Skills

Progressive HR leadership experience

Employee relations expertise

Strong relationship-building skills

Business acumen

Conflict resolution expertise

Education

Master's degree in Human Resources, Business or related field

SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR or SPHR certification

Job description

Senior Director, Human Resources

Compensation: $100,000 – $145,000 base + bonus

About the Company

Our client is a leading multi-site manufacturing organization with facilities across North America, known for operational excellence, quality, and a strong commitment to its people. This is a confidential search.

About the Role

The Senior Director, Human Resources is a senior people leader accountable for providing both strategic and operational HR leadership across a portfolio of manufacturing facilities. This is a highly visible role, one that requires equal comfort on the plant floor and in the boardroom, with the credibility to partner directly with operations leaders and the capability to drive workforce stability, employee engagement, and consistent HR execution across multiple sites.

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on both people and business performance in a fast-paced, complex manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

Regional HR Leadership

• Provide strategic and operational HR leadership across multiple manufacturing sites, serving as the senior HR presence for a defined regional portfolio
• Build strong, trust-based partnerships with Plant Managers and Regional Operations Leaders to support business objectives and workforce priorities
• Serve as the primary escalation point for employee relations issues, workforce concerns, and people-related business risks
• Maintain a visible and engaged presence across the region through regular site visits and hands‑on leadership interaction

Workforce Stability & Retention

• Develop and execute workforce strategies that meaningfully improve retention and reduce turnover across the region
• Get ahead of workforce trends and staffing risks before they create operational disruption
• Drive accountability across leadership teams for recruiting effectiveness, workforce planning, employee engagement, and retention outcomes
• Partner with plant and regional leaders to build a positive employee experience and a high‑performing workplace culture

HR Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop site-level HR professionals across the region — setting clear expectations, performance standards, and escalation protocols
• Build a regional HR team that is known for ownership, responsiveness, and continuous improvement
• Strengthen HR capability at the site level so both employees and operational leaders are well‑supported

  Employee Relations & Risk Management

  • Serve as the senior resource for complex and sensitive employee relations matters
  • Promote a proactive approach to identifying and addressing workforce concerns before they escalaten
  • Oversee investigations, conflict resolution, corrective action processes, and policy interpretation with sound judgment and consistency
  • Ensure timely escalation and resolution of issues that could impact employee engagement, compliance, safety, or production

  Strategic Business Partnership

  • Collaborate with operational leadership on organizational design, succession planning, talent development, and workforce planning
  • Coach and guide leaders on employee management, performance, and engagement — building leadership teams capable of supporting future growth
  • Bring a strategic lens to workforce challenges while staying grounded in the operational realities of a manufacturing environment

  Qualifications

  • 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience
  • Extensive experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, distribution, or production environments
  • Proven experience leading HR across multiple facilities, business units, or geographic regions
  • Strong employee relations and conflict resolution expertise
  • Experience supporting high-volume workforce environments
  • Exceptional relationship-building and influencing skills across all levels of an organization
  • Strong business acumen and operational understanding
  • Confidence making decisions in fast‑paced and ambiguous environments
  • Ability to travel regularly throughout the assigned region (up to 50%)
  • Master's degree required in Human Resources, Business, or a related field
  • SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification preferred

  Equal Opportunity

  Our client is committed to building strong, diverse teams and an environment where high performers can do their best work.