What are the responsibilities and job description for the Human Resources Director position at City of Winston-Salem?
Salary : See Position Description
Location : Winston-Salem
Job Type : Full-Time
Job Number : 2024-57
Employer : City of Winston-Salem
Opening Date : 12 / 18 / 2024
Closing Date : 1 / 31 / 2025 11 : 59 PM Eastern
About Us
Seeks Human Resources Director
If you are a strategic and collaborative change agent who wants to transform Human Resources (HR) to serve an organization, this is the opportunity for you! The City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, seeks an innovative, visionary, customer service-driven leader to be their next Human Resources Director. The next City of Winston-Salem HR Director must have extensive knowledge of best practices in HR and have the ability to craft and implement strategies for the City to become an employer of choice in the region and the state while ensuring that the City workforce reflects the community it serves at all levels. The successful candidate will have a track record of leadinga transformation of human resource management practices and be adept at developing systems that empower City departments to make sound and data-driven HR decisions.
Candidates must be tech-savvy as requests for proposals have been solicited for a new HR Information System (HRIS), have a track record of evaluating department staffing needs, existing HR programs / policies, and effectively influencing and advocating for revisions and innovative solutions to departmental and organizational challenges. The next director must also be someone who can build morale, select and train the highest quality HR staff, and have high-performance standards for self and others. To achieve this, the HR Director must be an excellent communicator, collaborator, and strategic thinker who expects and delivers outstanding customer service to City employees and residents. The HR Director will be part of the executive team, providing leadership and oversight to develop and carry out the organization's goals.
About the Community :
Winston-Salem is the County seat of Forsyth County and the fifth-largest City in North Carolina. Forsyth County is the fourth-largest county in the state. With a population of around 252,000, Winston-Salem, eighty miles northeast of Charlotte, is part of the Piedmont Triad region with the neighboring cities of Greensboro and High Point. A city of dual histories, Salem was a Moravian community in the 1700s, and Winston was established as the county seat for newly established Forsyth County and became a hub of business and economic activity for the region.
Winston-Salem is more than a destination : North Carolina's City of Arts & Innovation is an unexpected discovery waiting to happen. More than seventy-five restaurants and thirty bars & breweries adorn the streets of Winston-Salem's walkable downtown. The Arts District, Innovation Quarter, and Industry Hill offer unique cultural experiences to explore just moments away from Winston-Salem's roots in Old Salem's renowned historic district. Further out, Winston-Salem is the gateway to the Yadkin Valley Wine Country region, home to over seventy wineries within a short drive of the City.
The birthplace of R.J. Reynolds Corporation, Winston-Salem, has strong ties to its rich tobacco and textile manufacturing history, which are woven seamlessly into the fabric of this future-looking NC city. The City's rankings for job growth outlook and safety are among the best nationwide. Innovation Quarter, one of the country's foremost innovation districts, houses many biomedical, pharmaceutical R&D, and biotechnology businesses. Corporate giants like HanesBrands, Garner Foods, and Inmar Intelligence have built business empires in Winston-Salem alongside Collins Aerospace, Caterpillar, Cook Medical, Corning, and others. The sites of excellent higher education institutions such as Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University, UNC School of the Arts, Salem College, Carolina University, and Forsyth Technical Community College are all within the City.
Winston-Salem is a city that will surprise, delight, and inspire you with its welcoming spirit and creative soul. Come see why Southern Living called Winston-Salem a "glorious gem of a destination" and one of America's "Best Cities on the Rise." Grab a creative craft brew, stroll through Winston Salem's heirloom gardens or its 3,500 acres of parks and recreation and twenty-five miles of greenways and trails. Attend a game at The Dash or one of the City's renowned events, including the International Black Theatre Festival and the RiverRun International Film Festival. Experience the City's celebrated culinary scene and admire its dazzling murals. Take a video tour of the City to learn more about this vibrant community.
About the Organization :
Operating under a Council-Manager form of government, the City of Winston-Salem has a mayor elected at-large, and an eight-member City Council elected every four years in each of the City's eight wards. The City Council is responsible for adopting and providing for all ordinances, rules, and regulations necessary for the City's general welfare. It approves the city budget, sets property taxes and user fees, appoints the City Manager and City Attorney, and approves appointments to city boards and commissions.
With a AAA bond rating from Moody's and S&P, Winston-Salem is dedicated to being a municipal government deserving of public confidence, providing excellent and innovative services, and being an active and cooperative partner in creating a vital community. The framework for all decisions and strategic planning is the City's core values of Accountability, Continuous learning and improvement, Equity, Fiscal Soundness, Integrity, Openness, Respect for all Residents, and Teamwork. The City has dedicated resources to transparency and accountability for meeting city goals and objectives through the Budget and Performance Management Department. The City employs about 2,500 full-time employees across multiple departments and offices.
Duties / Responsibilities
About the Department and Position : The City is seeking a sound customer-service approach to HR designed around customer needs, increasing engagement and retention, and reducing legal liability. Thus, outstanding change management and technology skills are essential.
The City employs 2,500 full-time employees across 34 departments. The HR Director will report to an Assistant City Manager. The HR Director oversees an operating budget of $2.7M and a health care fund of $36M, with 22 HR staff providing oversight of all City programs meeting the organization's human capital needs services in the HR function areas of recruitment and selection, benefits administration, employee relations, employee development, employee medical services, and human resources information and data management. The Department currently uses a centralized system with a mixture of individual specialists and generalists.
Given that the staff's current focus is on carrying out the compliance and transactional functions of HR, the focus of the HR Director will be on transforming the Department into a strategic operation. Increasing accountability and consistency of policy decisions coming from HR is an important skill and expectation to be met. To learn more about the Department, visit
Key priorities, among others, for the next HR Director will be :
- Assessing department staffing and training needs to ensure outstanding HR customer service outcomes that lead to win-win solutions that meet compliance requirements while fostering innovation and engagement.
- Implementing a new HRIS system, once chosen, to include communication, user training, and metric-based action plans to ensure success.
- Building trust and relationships internal to HR, with other Directors, and with the workforce generally to ensure effective outcomes.
- Updating personnel and supervisory handbooks to include evaluation of policies and procedures and collaboration with stakeholders to use best practices.
- Assessing turnover both within HR and throughout the organization to ensure effective strategies for engagement, recruitment, and retention.
- Implementing the next phase of the 2024 Compensation and Classification study to include transparent and timely communication, training, and evaluation of metrics that tie compensation to retention factors.
Qualifications
Qualifications : Bachelor's degree in human resources, public administration, conflict management, or related field and 7-10 years of progressive experience managing human resources programs in the public or private sector, which must include time as a director or assistant director of HR, division manager of HR functions, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Master's degree and HR certification (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP, PSHRA-CP, and PSHRA-SC) are preferred. Extensive experience with implementing HR technology solutions is desirable.
The Successful Candidate is :
Additional Information
Salary and Benefits : The hiring range is $139,472 - $177,785, and the full range is $139,472-216,098. Base salary and compensation are negotiable based on experience and qualifications. The City offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a comprehensive wellness program. Learn more about benefits : Residency within 30 miles of Winston-Salem City Hall is required within 12 months of appointment.
To confidentially apply, please visit and click the " HR Director - City of Winston-Salem, NC" link.
Please note the following :
The City of Winston-Salem, NC, is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Developmental Associates, LLC manages the recruitment and selection process for this positionTo learn more about our selection process, visit and scroll down to "Important Information for Applicants."
The recruitment and selection process is being managed by
Benefits are specific to the employing organization. Please refer to the benefits information that is in the ad as well as in the recruitment brochure. If you need further information, please contact the employer associated with the position
CONFIDENTIALITY DISCLOSURE AND APPLICATION COMPLETION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT : Developmental Associates works on behalf of this client to recruit and collect information on candidates for this position. All applicant materials will be shared with the employer and their employees who are involved in the hiring process for this position. This application process uses a combination of automated and hand scoring of all application materials against screening criteria that have been established by the employer. 1) By submitting this application, I am consenting to have my application materials shared with this employer. 2) I understand that if I have not completely and fully answered all application questions and / or supplemental questions with details, my application may not be able accurately evaluated. 3) Further, I understand that merely referring to my resume (e.g. "see resume" in lieu of providing detailed responses) is not sufficient for purposes of ensuring accurate application evaluation.
A bachelor's degree in human resources management, public administration, business administration, or a related field is required. A master's degree is preferred. What is the highest degree you hold?
In what field / major was your highest degree?
What professional HR certifications do you hold, if any? Select all that apply.
If you selected "other" in the prior question, please state your answer here.
This position requires 7-10 or more years of progressive and increasingly responsible experience, preferably in a private or public sector human resources operation. How many cumulative years of supervisory experience do you have at the manager, assistant director, or director level in human resources?
What is the highest position you have held in Human Resources?
In what types of organizations have you worked in a Human Resources role (Select all that apply).
What is the total number of employees in the largest organization in which you have served in a human resources role?
In which of the following areas are you proficient (NOTE : proficient means that you have verifiable experience in personally implementing a program or have great depth of knowledge in the identified area) Select as many as apply :
If you said other above, please describe :
What is the largest population in a community where you were an HR Manager or higher?
What is the largest operating budget for which you have been directly responsible?
What is the total number of people for whom you have held managerial responsibility (direct and downline)?
The hiring range is $139,472 - $177,785, the full range is $139,472-216,098. Base salary and compensation are negotiable based on experience and qualifications.
The City uses a multi-step screening and evaluation process, including a skill evaluation process for selecting executives. The dates for this virtual process are February 27-28, 2025. We encourage all applicants to hold these dates should you be invited to participate. This commitment requires 2-3 hours, not including preparation, and will involve participation in 2-3 activities to assess key competencies. These are not public meetings, but there will be substantial interaction with other professionals in the field who will serve as assessors. Further, we have all participants sign letters of confidentiality. NC Law does not require the announcement of applicants. The "yes" below indicates your understanding of these process elements.
Required Question
Salary : $139,472 - $216,098
