The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) is seeking a highly qualified and experienced leader for the position of Director of Human Resources Management. This position is an excellent opportunity to support an influential organization serving a diverse, dynamic, and growing region. COG is an independent, nonprofit association that brings area leaders together to address major regional issues in the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland, and Northern Virginia, and plan the future.
Metropolitan Washington is a diverse, dynamic, and growing region. Managing this growth—and enhancing the region’s quality of life—requires partnership. And that’s why the region relies on COG and our talented team of problem-solvers.
Our staff members support COG’s work as a forum where area leaders come together to address major regional issues related to transportation, the environment, community planning, and homeland security and public safety. They ensure COG remains a trusted source of data and analysis that informs decisionmakers and calls attention to important trends.
Highly trusted and respected in the region’s political, business, and media circles, COG is also widely recognized as one of the preeminent regional governmental groups in the country. Unique in that we span across three states- Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.
This is an exciting time to join COG and lead our Office of Human Resources Management. Over the next year, the organization is going through a strategic planning process that will yield a new mission statement, core values and objectives. The HR Director will be part of the senior leadership team that guides this effort and will also be responsible for developing an HR-specific strategic plan that will lay out goals for the office over the next several years.
In the age of hybrid work, the HR Director will play a critical role in helping managers ensure that staff understand and follow the COG-wide policy for in-office/work from home attendance. Closely related to this, the HR Director will help implement a COG-wide mentoring program and oversee staff engagement/wellness activities.
COG offers highly competitive benefits (health insurance, vacation, sick days, etc.), including the COG pension program. The HR Director serves as the Pension Administrator in coordination with the CFO/CAO. COG’s pension is a selling point to any potential employee, and the role of the Pension Administrator is critical to maintaining and safeguarding this meaningful investment.
The HR Director will oversee all recruiting efforts. COG is expected to continue to grow over the next several years and will have several high-profile openings due to retirements. The HR Director will be responsible for overseeing a recruiting process that must continually evolve with the times, so that openings are seen by a wide range of would-be applicants and that COG remain competitive in recruiting and retaining excellent employees.
Job Summary:
The HR Director will plan, lead, direct, develop, and coordinate the policies, activities, and staff of the Office of Human Resources Management, ensuring legal compliance and implementation of the organization's mission and talent strategy.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains new staff in the office.
- Serves as Pension Plan Administrator.
- Oversees the daily workflow of the office.
- Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations.
- Handles discipline and termination of employees in accordance with company policy.
- Oversees the Institute for Regional Excellence, a 12-month regional executive development program offered to managers in COG member jurisdictions.
Duties/Responsibilities:
- Collaborates with senior leadership to understand the organization's goals and strategy related to staffing, recruiting, and retention.
- Identifies staffing and recruiting needs; develops and executes best practices for hiring and talent management.
- Plans, leads, develops, coordinates, and implements policies, processes, training, initiatives, and surveys to support the organization's human resource compliance and strategy needs.
- Administers or oversees the administration of human resource programs including, but not limited to compensation, benefits, and leave; disciplinary matters; disputes and investigations; performance and talent management; productivity, recognition, and morale; occupational health and safety; and training and development.
- Conducts research and analysis of organizational trends including review of reports and metrics from the organization's human resource information system (HRIS) or talent management system.
- Monitors and ensures the organization's compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommended best practices; reviews and modifies policies and practices to maintain compliance.
- Maintains knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment law; applies this knowledge to communicate changes in policy, practice, and resources to senior management.
- Develops and implements departmental budget.
- Facilitates professional development, training, and certification activities for HR staff.
- Facilitates tracking and administrating of COG wide training for federal and state requirements.
- Performs other duties as required.
Required Skills/Abilities:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Strong supervisory and leadership skills.
- Ability to adapt to the needs of the organization and employees.
- Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
- Thorough knowledge of employment-related laws and regulations.
- Thorough knowledge of principles and practices of human resources management including the areas of policy development, recruitment and selection, job analysis, benefits administration, and wage and salary administration.
- Proficiency with or the ability to quickly learn the organization's HRIS and talent management systems.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or related field required; Masters degree preferred.
- At least five years of human resource management experience required including three years of senior management experience in human resources; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
- SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP highly preferred.
Physical Requirements:
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.
The Salary Range: Depends on Qualifications
$131,000 to $175,000
If you would like to apply, please click HERE