Director of Human Resources

About Oakland Promise:

Oakland Promise’s (“OP”) mission is to advance equity and economic mobility through cradle to college and career achievement, engaging the Oakland community.  OP is available to young learners (from newborns to college students) and their families who reside in Oakland.  We offer every child the financial resources, educational programming, mentorship, and a supportive community to help them and their families, to seek out and thrive in higher education and the career of their choosing.  OP achieves its work through several key programs:

• The Brilliant Baby (BB) program supports children’s early healthy development and school-readiness by setting up College Savings Accounts (CSAs) for babies, offering financial coaching and early learning resources to parents and caregivers, and building a supportive community for the whole family.
• The Kindergarten to College (K2C) helps K through 5^th graders in Oakland think of themselves as college- and career-bound individuals, providing scholarships, as well as technical support and incentives to families who open a family-owned college savings account.
• College Access serves and supports both middle and high school students in Oakland’s district and charter schools in accessing a clear and solid path to post-secondary educational experiences that lead to a variety of career options.
• College Completion supports college and CTE students with scholarships and persistence support and equips students with social and emotional support through mentoring, peer advising, counseling, retreats, and scholarship distribution.

About the Role:

Oakland Promise has gone through significant growth and change over the past few years.  In 2019, Oakland Promise and East Bay College Fund (which had been supporting college students since 2003) merged into one unified organization named Oakland Promise.  A newly promoted CEO took over leadership of the organization in April 2022, and is guiding OP towards honing its strategic focus and community impact, as well as strengthening operations for long-term sustainability.  OP is seeking its first-ever Director of Human Resources who will be central to this work.  We are looking for a strategist to build, drive, lead, and execute all aspects of OP’s people and culture work, focused on fostering a healthy, inclusive, and vibrant organizational culture, advising leadership through ongoing change management that balances the care and wellbeing of staff, and shaping a comprehensive and integrated approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across the organization.  This role will be a key thought partner to the CEO as well as the executive team.  The Director of Human Resources will spearhead efforts to shape a people management and culture building strategy that is responsible for stewarding the overall employee experience – one that recruits, develops, retains, and engages staff in meaningful and joyful ways.

The Director of Human Resources reports to the Chief Operations & Financial Officer, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the CEO, and oversees junior HR staff.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and facilitate efforts to define a collaborative, high-performing, inclusive, and equitable workplace culture by developing policies, practices, and strategies to cultivate a healthy, accessible, productive, and honest work environment.
• Sets the direction for, develops, and implements organizational strategies and workplace practices that reflect OP’s values and support the welfare, wellness, and ability to thrive of all staff members.
• Drive people management efforts across the organization, focused on attracting, selecting, developing, engaging, and retaining staff members.
• As a strategic and trusted advisor, counsel and strategize with leadership to build an effective, equitable, and best-in-class people function.
• Strengthen and implement an employee relations plan focused on internal communications, recognition, and connection with team members. Partner with internal stakeholders and leaders to imagine and implement strategies for employee engagement and retention.
• Provide strategic and logistical talent acquisition and retention support to people leaders designed to establish high-quality orientations, onboarding, offboarding, and other employee milestone practices.
• Lead OP’s staff events, gatherings, and communications to cultivate a healthy culture, productivity, impact, and elevated levels of employee satisfaction.
• Lead, mentor, and manage the HR staff and oversee the day-to-day operations and administration of the department.
• Utilize Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to its fullest potential, using it to manage payroll, benefits, and maintain employee handbooks and materials.
• Engage the Oakland Promise leadership team to identify goals, processes, and best practices for performance management and continuous improvement across the organizational
• Other duties as requested.

About the Candidate (Qualifications):

Oakland Promise understands that restrictive job requirements may exclude historically marginalized groups from applying to jobs for which they are qualified.  We take an equitable and holistic screening approach.  If you feel you have demonstrated experience and expertise relevant to perform this role, please don’t hesitate to apply.

• Demonstrated passion for OP’s mission.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; SHRM or HRCI certification a plus.
• At least 5-7 years of experience working across human resources and talent work streams, demonstrating progressively higher levels of responsibilities and accomplishments.
• Experience implementing organization-wide talent programs along the full employee lifecycle from recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and ongoing development, etc.
• Capacity to manage tactical aspects of HR including benefits administration (through a PEO), employee relations, and advising on policies, procedures, and legal compliance.
• Strategic HR thinker and effective implementer, with experience in change management.
• A high-level of emotional intelligence and ability to thoughtfully and accurately assess and solve highly complex people issues.
• Proven experience coaching managers on best practices and in offering strategies and language for providing feedback and driving performance.
• Well-developed cultural competency and flexibility to meet others where they are, led by influence and engender trust at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to balance the strategic and tactical aspects of the role, with an ability and interest to engage at a detailed level.
• Excellent judgment and ability to anticipate and quickly prioritize.
• Experience and comfort level working with multiple leadership and work styles, and an ability to “manage up” when needed.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including active listening and reflection, engendering trust and buy-in, discretion and confidentiality where appropriate, consistent follow-up and follow-through, and ability to balance directness and diplomacy.
• Experience directly or indirectly managing staff with the goal of enhancing their professional development and personal growth.
• Ability to deploy data and research to drive decision-making.
• Experience working in a hybrid work environment.

Compensation and Benefits:

The Director of Human Resources is a full-time, exempt position based in Oakland, CA or the surrounding areas.  OP currently has a hybrid work policy requiring some in-person work.  The hiring range for this role is $125,000-$135,000 based on experience.  We offer a competitive benefits package that includes health/dental/vision insurance, paid vacation and sick days, and a 401k match of up to 3%.  In addition to our tangible benefits, OP provides our staff the opportunity to learn and grow within a supportive team environment, and to network and interact with leaders in the community.  Some evening and weekend hours may be required.

To Apply:

Please send a single PDF (NOT a Microsoft Word document) of a resume and thoughtful cover letter to [email protected] with “Director of HR”– [Your Name]” in the subject line. Please use your last name and first initial (ex: Doe_J) as the filename of your PDF containing your resume and cover letter.

Failure to follow these instructions may delay the review of your application. Applications will be reviewed immediately and candidates with the best fit will be contacted for interviews. Unfortunately, the volume of applications will prevent us from responding to all applications received.

Hybrid Work Disclosure:

Oakland Promise is a place-based organization located in Oakland, California. Oakland Promise requires that employees work in person at various engagements. Currently, Oakland Promise staff are working in a hybrid model, with some work being done remotely and some work being done in the office or at specific locations in or around Oakland. It is a requirement that all staff reside within commuting distance to the main office, located at 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza #430, Oakland, CA 94612. Please note that at any time, a full in-person work plan may be required, and it is of utmost importance that all staff are able to meet this requirement.

Oakland Promise is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Oakland Promise is committed to providing a work environment free of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and disrespectful or other unprofessional conduct based on sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), sex stereotype, race, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, gender (including gender identity, gender expression, and transgender), national origin (including language use restrictions and possession of a driver’s license issued under Vehicle Code section 12801.9), ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, sexual orientation, military, and veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation. It also prohibits discrimination, harassment, disrespectful or unprofessional conduct based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.