Strategic HR Leader: Workforce Design & Programs

Stanford University; Redwood City (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford University in California seeks an Associate Director, Human Resources to serve as trusted advisor to the Financial Management Services leadership and to turn workforce strategy into practical HR programs.

You will lead strategic HR initiatives across organizational design, career architecture, talent development, and compensation, while guiding an HR Business Partner and partnering with university peers to align policy with business needs.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence with diverse client groups.
• Experience designing career architecture, organizational design, or workforce planning programs.
• Experience leading people programs through technology-driven change, such as AI adoption.
• Experience supervising HR staff.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving, judgment, negotiating, influencing, and decision-making skills. Ability to maintain confidentiality, tact, and diplomacy.
• Excellent facilitation and oral and written communication skills; ability to prepare clear and concise reports and deliver formal presentations or training to senior management and other audiences.
• Experience operating in complex, decentralized, or higher education environments is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional HR initiatives (such as system implementations or annual performance and salary planning cycles) from conception to successful completion.
• Experience translating quantitative and qualitative data (for example, HR metrics and engagement survey results) into actionable insights and recommendations for senior leaders.
• Experience designing and delivering training, tools, and coaching that enable managers and staff.
• Experience partnering with finance or other administrative and professional services organizations is valued.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the trusted HR advisor and thought partner to the FMS SAVP and leadership team, building a deep understanding of the organization’s objectives, issues, needs, and key success factors.
• Partner with FMS leadership to translate the workforce plan into HR frameworks and programs, and track its success.
• Serve as subject matter expert and project/team lead for strategic HR initiatives, programs, processes, and policies.
• Lead implementation of HR programs and processes in FMS.
• Provide expert specialized HR knowledge to managers and senior leadership, and provide specialized knowledge, research, data analytics, and reporting to support and inform decision‑making.
• Partner with UHR functions and Centers of Excellence on initiatives and services, or to solve problems. Suggest efficiencies and process improvement opportunities.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to junior HR team members as needed.
• Maintain consistency with, support, and promote Stanford HR policies, procedures, and requirements, and applicable laws.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Emotional intelligence

Credibility with senior leaders

Career architecture

Organizational design

Workforce planning

AI adoption experience

Supervising HR staff

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Confidentiality and tact

Job description

Stanford University in California seeks an Associate Director, Human Resources to serve as trusted advisor to the Financial Management Services leadership and to turn workforce strategy into practical HR programs.

You will lead strategic HR initiatives across organizational design, career architecture, talent development, and compensation, while guiding an HR Business Partner and partnering with university peers to align policy with business needs.