About the position
The Director of Employee Engagement is a leader within People & Culture responsible for advancing a high-performing, inclusive, and mission-driven workplace culture across a complex human services organization. This hybrid role leads enterprise-wide strategies that strengthen employee engagement, belonging, recognition, retention, and workforce wellbeing—particularly within high-demand, frontline, and trauma-exposed environments. The Director partners closely with program leadership, HR Business Partners, Learning & Development, and executive leadership to ensure that engagement strategies align with our mission, values, and Organization of Choice goals.
Responsibilities
• Design and implement a comprehensive employee engagement strategy tailored to a human services workforce, including frontline, residential, clinical, and administrative staff.
• Lead and evolve the organization’s Rewards & Recognition program to reinforce mission alignment, performance excellence, and lived values.
• Strengthen systems that foster belonging, equity, and inclusion across all levels of the organization.
• Support the integration of equity-informed and trauma-informed practices into recruitment, onboarding, supervision, development, and retention efforts.
• Partner with program leadership to address workforce challenges common to human services settings, including secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, turnover, and staffing shortages.
• Develop initiatives that support employee wellbeing, resilience, and work-life sustainability.
• Collaborate with Learning and HRBPs to ensure engagement strategies complement compliance, labor relations, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead employee engagement surveys, pulse checks, listening sessions, and feedback mechanisms including annual Employee Engagement Survey.
• Ensure frontline voices are meaningfully included in organizational decision-making.
• Partner with leadership to translate survey results into action plans with clear accountability.
• Monitor Employee Resource Group (ERG) effectiveness and ensure alignment with organizational priorities and equity goals.
• Develop and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Analyze workforce data to identify trends across sites, programs, and roles.
• Provide quarterly reports and actionable recommendations to executive leadership.
• Partner with Learning & Development, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Communications, and Program Leadership to ensure alignment of engagement initiatives.
• Align engagement initiatives with organizational compliance and accreditation standards where applicable.
Requirements
• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in employee engagement, organizational development, DEIB, or employee relations within a human services, nonprofit, healthcare, or mission-driven organization.
• Proven success designing data-driven engagement strategies that improve retention and culture outcomes.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Ability to influence senior leaders and drive change across complex systems.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite.