Assistant Director of Administration - Human Resources, School of Engineering

Vanderbilt University School of Engineering (VUSE) is actively searching for a highly skilled and experienced Human Resources Assistant Director to join our vibrant team. In this pivotal role, you will be instrumental in crafting and executing HR strategies that align with the school's mission, cultivate a positive work atmosphere, and ensure adherence to university policies. This position presents an exciting opportunity for an HR professional to contribute to the success and expansion of one of the nation's premier engineering institutions.

Reporting directly to the Assistant Dean for People and Operations and functioning within the Chief Business Officer's team, the Human Resources Assistant Director will be pivotal in shaping the employee experience, offering counsel to the senior leadership team, and harnessing the human capital essential for organizational progress. The Human Resources Assistant Director serves as a strategic partner to the Chief Business Officer's team in order to forward VUSE's position as one of the nation's leading research and academic engineering schools. The individual will be an informed decision maker who capitalizes on opportunities to promote the organization's mission, vision, and values actively.

This multifaceted role involves collaboration with operational leaders to anticipate future workforce needs, proactively advancing organizational leadership and development, and upholding VUSE's core values in the swiftly evolving landscape of higher education. The Human Resources Assistant Director will be a driving force for operational efficiency and service excellence.

Wearing various hats, the Human Resources Assistant Director will act as an advocate for employees at the senior leadership level, the organization's voice in employee interactions, a strategic business and tactical partner to the senior leadership team, an executive leader for the HR team, and a trusted advisor to school leadership. Furthermore, the Human Resources Assistant Director will play a pivotal role in fortifying the organization's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Working closely with department leaders, the role involves promoting a culture of inclusion, teamwork, accountability, and high performance. Join us in shaping the future of engineering education at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering.

The School of Engineering is internationally recognized for the superior quality of its research and education programs in selected fields of engineering. The School includes six major departments, two Institutes and the Division of General Engineering. Esteemed biomedical engineering Krishnendu (Krish) Roy joined Vanderbilt in the fall of 2023 as the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering and University Distinguished Professor. "My goal is to ensure that Vanderbilt School of Engineering is a diverse, inclusive and equitable place that has a profound impact on the advancement of society and the human condition, locally and globally, and that it trains the most impactful engineering leaders of the future." Dean Roy is leading VUSE into the future focused around a growing research portfolio and expanded educational programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic HR Planning

• Collaborate with school leadership to develop and implement HR strategies aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the Vanderbilt University School of

Engineering.

• Provide support for the review, modification and redeployment of a job architecture that meets the needs of the organization and is in alignment with the mission of the VUSE.

• Support the academic departments and institutes in strategic human capital planning, including hiring, retaining, reduction in force (RIF), and employee training.

• Develop, document, and organize position and job specific information for the school.

Employee Relations

• Serve as a trusted advisor to employees and school leadership, fostering positive relationships, addressing concerns, and ensuring a healthy work environment.

Recruitment and Onboarding

• Facilitate the recruitment process for staff positions, including reviewing position descriptions, posting requisitions, candidate screening, interviewing, and onboarding.

• Work closely with departmental hiring managers to identify talent needs and ensure a diverse and inclusive hiring process.

• Serve as point of contact for central HR teams including Compensation and Talent Acquisition to oversee an efficient and consistent process for position approval, salary offers, and the candidate experience.

• Support and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in recruiting to increase the likelihood of welcoming new ideas and perspectives while creating pools of the most talented candidates.

• Proactively build pipelines of talent based on hiring forecasts so there are highly qualified candidates available when we need them.

Performance Management

• Develop and implement staff performance management processes for VUSE, including goal-setting, performance evaluations, and professional development plans.

Compensation and Payroll

• Oversee all payroll activities for faculty, staff, postdocs and students in the school in Oracle Cloud. Ensure employees are paid properly and on time and resolve

any issues in a timely manner.

• Provide guidance on appropriate salary ranges for job postings that factor in both market value and internal equity.

• Make appropriate salary recommendations for new hires, current staff and reclassified staff based on an assessment of both market value and internal equity.

• Demonstrate expertise relative to compensation practices and programs and delivers service that meets or exceeds departmental expectations.

Policy Development and Compliance

• Stay abreast of employment laws and university policies, ensuring compliance and developing, updating, and communicating HR policies as needed.

Training and Development

• Identify training needs, coordinate professional development opportunities, and support initiatives that enhance the skills and knowledge of the school's workforce.

• Actively seek out continual learning, development opportunities, and stretch assignments for ongoing career development.

Employee Engagement

• Implement programs and initiatives to enhance employee engagement, morale, and satisfaction. Collaborates and advises the VUSE Staff Council to organize events and activities to promote a positive and inclusive workplace culture.

• Develop and nurture an employee experience that translates to a high-quality working relationship and serves as the foundation for positive relations within the employee's department and across the university community.

Data Management

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date HR records, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with privacy regulations.

• Make data-informed decisions that provide customer-centric solutions to existing and future problems by developing and analyzing metrics, dashboards, and reports.

• Partner with data reporting and analytics resources on campus to develop and deliver key reports to support project efforts and ongoing HCM activities.

• Demonstrate excellent judgement in handling extremely sensitive/confidential employee information. Treats the information with unquestioned confidence and discretion, and never inappropriately releases or shares such information with others.

Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with academic departments and institutes as well as other university HR departments and participate in university-wide HR initiatives.

• Participate in special project teams and work on various recruitment or HR initiatives to enhance our customers, colleagues, and candidates' experience.

Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Relationships

This position does have supervisory responsibility. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Assistant Dean for People and Operations.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor's Degree in human resource management, public administration, business administration, higher education administration, or a directly related field from an accredited institution or equivalent is required. A Master's Degree or higher in human resources, business, public administration, or related field is preferred.

• Five (5) or more years of professional, progressively responsible HR experience is required.

• A minimum of three (3) years of experience partnering directly with senior leadership to develop, align and implement HR and organizational development strategies at a complex organization is required. Prior higher education experience is preferred.

• Background in human resources, education services, or related higher education fields is required.

• The ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate a broad range of laws, rules, and regulations to exercise good judgment in applying them to HR challenges and direct experience enforcing policies throughout a large operation is required.

• The knowledge of the professional standards, concepts, and practices of recruitment and selection, employee relations, or organizational development and HR policy is required.

• The ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution is required.

• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills are required.

• A demonstrated commitment and leadership ability to advance diversity and inclusion is required.

• An ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality with sensitive information is required.

• A strong experience with Microsoft Office Suite or related software is required.

• Experienced in Oracle Cloud HCM and other Human Resources Information Systems is preferred.

• Experience with Tableau or similar data visualization tools is preferred.

• An HRCI or SHRM certification is preferred.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education. Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.