Head of People and Culture

Help shape the future of one of the world's leading aerospace museums!

The Museum of Flight is seeking a collaborative leader to serve as our Head of People and Culture. As a trusted advisor to leaders across the Museum, you will help shape the future of the Museum by aligning people, culture, and organizational strategy in support of our mission. This role is ideal for a systems thinker who can assess organizational needs, translate insights into meaningful action, and build strong partnerships across all levels of the organization. You will influence decision-making, guide leaders through growth and change, and champion a culture grounded in belonging, excellence, integrity, and collaboration.

The Head of People and Culture supports the mission, vision, and values of The Museum of Flight (the Museum) by aligning people, processes, and culture with the organization’s strategic goals. This position leads a people strategy that inspires and guides the Museum toward a culture based on belonging, integrity, excellence, and collaboration. The Head of People and Culture works closely with leaders and staff to position the Museum as an employer of choice and an engaged member of our community. This role is responsible for the leadership and development of the Museum’s people functions and teams.

Following is a summary of the essential functions for this job. Other duties may be performed both major and minor, which are not mentioned below. Specific activities may change from time to time. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

People Operations

1. Lead People Operations (HR), Community Engagement, Volunteer Program team, and the Museum’s people leaders in development of strategies and tools to recruit talented individuals and to build a capable, committed workforce.
2. Ensure that day-to-day employment needs and issues of staff and people leaders are efficiently and effectively addressed in ways that empower our colleagues and build capacity in our leaders.
3. Ensure that compensation, benefits, and recognition programs prioritize equity and are aligned with the organization’s philosophy and long-term goals.
4. Develop and implement effective performance management processes that support a culture of high performance and accountability.
5. Ensure policies and practices are people-centered, developed with an equity mindset, and aligned with the Museum’s overall goals and objectives.
6. Keep up to date on the latest legislation, legal trends and best practices and ensure the Museum complies with employment-related regulations.

Engagement and Culture

1. Promote an organizational culture that reinforces the Museum’s vision, mission, and values, sustains morale, embraces and is resilient to growth, and attracts talented staff and volunteers to the organization.
2. Champion the Museum’s “Living Our Purpose” plan to promote belonging, opportunity, and shared purpose in our workplace. Design and implement practices to support achievement of our Belonging and Community Engagement project roadmap.
3. Help achieve an “entire crew” mindset across departments, locations, and levels; promote stakeholder engagement and collaboration to align leaders and teams across daily operations to achieve the Museum’s strategic plans.
4. Oversee development of programs and practices such as global competencies that reinforce the Museum’s values across all people programs.
5. Partner with the Community Engagement Manager to provide organizational support, resources, and cross-departmental alignment needed to advance the Museum’s community engagement goals.
6. Establish both quantitative and qualitative measures of the employee, volunteer, and community engagement experience.

Learning and Development

1. Oversee the design, development, and deployment of onboarding programs that provide new colleagues and volunteers with the information, orientation, and training needed to support their success and confidence at the Museum.
2. Broaden the Museum’s approach to learning and development; improve training, learning and development opportunities at all staff, volunteer, and leadership levels.
3. Ensure that ongoing growth is a central piece of the Museum’s culture and that staff and volunteers develop a continuous improvement mentality.
4. Enhance leadership bench strength by coaching executives and other leaders and by supporting development planning and other solutions to address gaps.

Strategy

1. Work closely with the CEO and the executive leadership team to implement the Museum’s strategic plans, ensuring that people perspectives are considered in all decisions and initiatives.
2. Contribute to the strategic planning process through leading workforce and succession planning.
3. Provide ongoing insight to the executive team on HR trends, talent management, and organizational development.
4. Support the People Operations, Volunteer Programs, and Community Engagement functions by ensuring they are reflected in organizational planning, culture, and strategic priorities.

Organizational Development

1. Design and engage leadership in execution of plans to further organizational capability, in areas such as goal-setting and alignment, role clarity, sound decision-making, and communication cadence.
2. Identify gaps, conflicts, and misalignments in strategy execution and leader or employee behaviors, then recommend practical corrections that help the organization stay aligned to its priorities.
3. Advise executives and other leaders in areas such as restructuring, process redesign, and evolution of organizational culture.
4. Design and implement change management plans to ensure smooth transitions, manage resistance, and maintain organizational agility. Educate others on change management principles, and the roles of leaders and individual contributors to execute change.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or related field; Master’s degree preferred. A combination of education and relevant experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
• Ten (10) years of progressive leadership experience in human resources, preferably in a nonprofit organization.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing effective HR policies and programs that align with the organization’s goals and values.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing organization-wide programs and tailored initiatives that develop staff, volunteers, and the organization itself.

Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of business principles and protocols.
• Strong understanding of employment laws and regulations, compensation and benefits practices, and talent management strategies.
• Knowledge and understanding of the latest industry trends and best practices, ensuring optimal performance of people teams, which in turn influence the performance of our colleagues and The Museum of Flight.
• Understanding of non-profit governance, financing structures, volunteer program management, and community engagement.
• Deep understanding and passion for the mission and work of The Museum of Flight.

Skills

• Excellent leadership and management skills, with experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively communicate HR-related information to non-HR stakeholders.
• Proven experience building positive relationships and communicating with key stakeholders, including top organizational executives and decision makers.
• Demonstrated skill leading systematic change and leading with influence.
• Excellent public speaking, training, and group facilitation skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel), SharePoint, Teams, and other office platforms.

Abilities

• Demonstrated ability and experience advising and influencing executives and other leaders, providing insights that lead to key decision making within the business.
• Ability to manage high-performing teams with a focus on setting objectives, coaching, and developing leaders’ strengths.
• Proven ability to effectively resolve conflict using a variety of conflict resolution methods.
• Demonstrated ability to use systems thinking, develop creative solutions, seize opportunities for improvement, and switch gears quickly. Ability to identify and resolve issues utilizing complex problem-solving skills and data.
• Demonstrated self-awareness, growth mindset, responsiveness to feedback, and a commitment to learning and development.
• Unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and demonstrated ability to build and maintain inclusive work environments.

License & Certification

• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) or Society of Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), strongly preferred.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• This position works primarily Monday through Friday with flexibility for evening, weekend, and variable hours based on Museum need.
• Occasional local and out of area travel may be expected.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• On-site attendance is essential to perform some duties of this position.
• Works in a normal office environment, including prolonged periods of sitting and repetitive wrist and arm movement.

The Museum of Flight offers full-time employees a generous and comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, a 403(b) retirement plan with a 5% match after 1 year of service, Employee Assistance Program, as well as company paid life insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, and long-term disability.

Our paid time-off plans include 2 weeks of accrued sick (80 hours) leave and 5 weeks of vacation (200 hours) per year, 10 paid holidays, and 2 floating holidays.

The salary range for this position is $129,471 to $207,154 annually; with an anticipated hiring range of $160,000 to $180,000, depending on qualifications and experience.

Should you receive an offer, please expect that it can fall anywhere within this range. A multitude of factors will determine a fair salary based on the following: scope of role within the organization, years of relevant experience, specific skills, and evaluation of capability to execute in role successfully (among other critical factors).

The Museum of Flight is committed to reflecting the diverse community around us. We continue to listen, learn, and implement change so that we can become a more inclusive organization that addresses bias and inequity, and better serves our communities. We highly encourage persons of color, members of marginalized communities, women, non-binary, and LGBTQIA individuals to apply. 

Prior to hire, and only after a conditional offer of employment has been made, a background check including criminal history may be conducted consistent with applicable law, including the Washington State Fair Chance Act. Information obtained from the background check will be considered only as permitted by law and will not automatically disqualify an applicant from employment. A copy of the Washington State Fair Chance Act information sheet is available here: Washington Fair Chance Act 

This organization participates in E-Verify.

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Salary : $129,471 - $207,154