Job Summary:

The Director will establish, plan, lead, direct, develop, and coordinate the policies, activities, and staff of the Human Resource (HR) department, ensuring legal compliance and implementation of the organization’s mission and talent strategy.

Overview:

The University of Austin (UATX) is the first non-profit University in Texas to launch in over 60 years. We are a “start-up” university, with all the challenges which that entails, but have been very successful in our short existence in being certified by the THECB as an in-person, degree-granting university, in raising well over $150M in funding, and in attracting both world-class faculty and thousands of quality student applications. Our inaugural class of 100 students launches this year, in Fall 2024. As we’ve grown from a small group of founding staff to around 35 employees, we expect to roughly double that staff count this year, and of course, to welcome 100 students, as well. We are seeking an ambitious HR professional to help us grow in our fearless pursuit of truth.

Job Requirements & Responsibilities

• Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains new staff in the department. 
• Oversees the daily workflow of the department.
• Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations.
• Handles discipline and termination of employees in accordance with company policy. 

• Collaborates with senior leadership to understand the organization’s goals and strategy related to staffing, recruiting, and retention.
• Plans, leads, develops, coordinates, and implements policies, processes, training, initiatives, and surveys to support the organization’s human resource compliance and strategy needs.
• Provides support and guidance to HR generalists, management, and other staff when complex, specialized, and sensitive questions and issues arise; may be required to administer and execute routine tasks in delicate circumstances such as providing reasonable accommodations, investigating allegations of wrongdoing, and terminations.
• Manages the talent acquisition process, which may include recruitment, interviewing, and hiring of qualified job applicants, particularly for managerial, exempt, and professional roles; collaborates with departmental managers to understand skills and competencies required for openings.
• Analyzes trends in compensation and benefits; researches and proposes competitive base and incentive pay programs to ensure the organization attracts and retains top talent.
• Creates learning and development programs and initiatives that provide internal development opportunities for employees.
• Oversees employee disciplinary meetings, terminations, and investigations.
• Maintains compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommended best practices; reviews policies and practices to maintain compliance.
• Maintains knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment law.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Administers or oversees the administration of human resource programs including, but not limited to, compensation, benefits, and leave; disciplinary matters; disputes and investigations; performance and talent management; productivity, recognition, and morale; occupational health and safety; and training and development.
• Identifies staffing and recruiting needs; develops and executes best practices for hiring and talent management.
• Conducts research and analysis of organizational trends including review of reports and metrics from the organization’s human resource information system (HRIS) or talent management system.
• Monitors and ensures the organization’s compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommended best practices; reviews and modifies policies and practices to maintain compliance.
• Maintains knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment law; applies this knowledge to communicate changes in policy, practice, and resources to upper management.
• Develops and implements departmental budget.
• Facilitates professional development, training, and certification activities for HR staff.
• Performs other duties as required.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong supervisory and leadership skills.
• Ability to adapt to the needs of the organization and employees.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
• Thorough knowledge of employment-related laws and regulations.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
• Proficiency with or the ability to quickly learn the organization’s HRIS and talent management systems.

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• At least five years of human resource management experience required.
• Higher Education experience strongly preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of federal and state employment laws and regulations (e.g., FLSA, FM
• Title IX and Cleary experience highly desirable, but not required.
• SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP preferred.