Director of Human Resources

The Skoll Foundation is hiring a Director of Human Resources based in Washington, DC. The Director of Human Resources is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, including Tuesday through Thursday onsite.

Skoll is a private grant-making foundation that seeks to build a sustainable world of peace and prosperity for all by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators. Together, we advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The Skoll Foundation fosters a mission and values-based approach to the work we do focused on the vision of doing good.

The Director of Human Resources will lead the Foundation’s human resources functions through developing a culture of accountability, innovation, and well-being in line with the Foundation’s mission of achieving our collective goals as social entrepreneurs. This role oversees payroll, total rewards, talent operations, culture, employee performance and engagement, organizational planning, learning and development, and human resources programs. 
  
The Director of Human Resources partners with senior leaders to establish and maintain a values-driven, high-performance culture. The Director of Human Resources will partner with information technology to evolve the foundation’s people systems including leveraging AI responsibly, integrating learning opportunities across teams, and strengthening leadership capabilities. 

Primary Duties

People Operations & Total Rewards 

• Lead all core people operations, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local employment regulations, while modernizing and aligning systems with future workforce needs. 


• Manage compensation philosophy and systems, including market benchmarking, pay equity strategies, and total rewards centric to the District of Columbia market to reflect values and competitiveness. 


• Oversee payroll, benefits, employee relations, and the human resources policy framework. 


• Integrate data analytics and ethical AI into people operations, streamlining workflows in onboarding, feedback, and knowledge management. 


• Lead the executive and team performance evaluations and feedback processes; exploring new systems implementations for performance alongside the current ADP performance management module. 

Organizational Health, Culture, and Inclusion 

• Champion a respectful, inclusive, and high-performing workplace culture where individuals thrive and feel valued. 


• Ensure talent practices such as hiring, advancement, and feedback are designed and implemented fairly and consistently across teams. 


• Use workforce and engagement data to identify trends, strengthen collaboration, and reinforce shared standards of excellence and belonging. 


• Lead cultural programming that enhances employee experience, connection, and alignment to mission. 


• Embed human-centered design principles into core people strategies and communications. 

Organizational Design, Strategy, and Workforce Planning 

• Lead end-to-end organizational design processes that align talent with evolving strategy, reinforce clarity, and enhance cross-functional execution. 


• Develop and implement workforce planning models to ensure capacity, adaptability, and sustainability, anticipating future skills, roles, and structures in the District of Columbia market. 


• Integrate well-being into the design of work itself, ensuring role clarity, balance, and long-term effectiveness. 

Learning, Development, and Leadership Growth 

• Own and evolve the Foundation’s learning and development strategy ensuring employees are equipped for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. 


• Lead a comprehensive approach to leadership development, including executive coaching, people manager growth pathways, peer learning, and targeted role-based experiences. 


• Offer direct coaching and strategic counsel to executives and people managers navigating complexity, feedback, and performance conversations. 


• In collaboration with information technology, recommend and implement AI-enhanced tools that support efficiencies across human resource systems. 


• Oversee education reimbursement, internal career growth and paths, and cross-training initiatives. 

Recruitment & Talent Brand 

• Ensure hiring practices are efficient and inclusive with a strong emphasis on candidate experience and long-term fit. 


• Lead branding efforts to position the Foundation as an employer of choice within philanthropic, nonprofit, and mission-aligned networks. 

Community & Ecosystem Collaboration 

• Represent the Foundation in sector learning forums on the future of work, workforce resilience, and talent innovation. 


• Attend the annual global Skoll World Forum to represent the foundation; in collaboration with vendors, oversee ethical standards of conduct.

Qualifications 

• 10 years of related human resources experience at a Director, Senior Manager or similar level managing people operations.


• Experience in Nonprofit or Foundations focused on grant-making.


• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree preferred. 


• SPHR or SHRM-CP Certifications and/or related certifications demonstrating excellence in the field of human resources.  


• Demonstrated ability to partner strategically across the organization including alongside chief executives to communicate and lead human resources projects that are time-bound and relevant to business goals.


• Previous experience partnering with outside counsel; knowledge of both California and District of Columbia applicable labor laws required.


• Professional Employer Organization (PEO) experience, preferably ADP Total Source preferred; ADP Workforce Now considered.


• Experience leading and processing payroll in ADP Total Source in collaboration with the PEO and internal finance counterparts, including payroll reporting and issue resolution.


• Ability to proactively communicate with cross functional teams; former experience effectively communicating and partnering with finance and accounting for shared workstreams desired.


• Resourceful self-starter and strategic thinker with excellent problem-solving capabilities.  


• Ability to work on-site Tuesday through Thursday in the District of Columbia required.


• Domestic and global travel up to 10% annually to the California satellite office and/or globally for the annual Skoll World Forum. 


• Excellent written and oral communication skills are required.  


• High attention to detail with a demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality.

Cultural Fit

• Enthusiastic and flexible team player with humility, a positive demeanor, and exceptional service orientation; ready to roll up sleeves and collaborate across the Foundation’s small team.


• A keen sense of integrity, professionalism, and commitment to creating a positive organizational culture.


• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and adaptable to change.


• Interest in social innovation and alignment with the Skoll Foundation’s mission to catalyze transformational social change.

Benefits 

The Skoll Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package including flexible time off, paid holidays, medical, dental, vision coverage, and generous retirement plan offerings.

Salary

$181,642 - $290,628

The Skoll Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.