Chief Human Resources Officer, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Job Description

Job Summary:

Reporting to the FAS Dean for Administration and Finance,  and with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the University’s Vice President for Human Resources (VPHR),  the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), serves as the top human resources leader for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), providing strategic vision, direction, and leadership for all HR programs, policies, and initiatives that support the School’s academic and administrative mission.

The FAS CHRO will lead a team of professionals and will be accountable for stewarding the school's most important asset - its people - by partnering closely with School and University leadership on thoughtful strategies and operational activities that best enable academic and administrative excellence while ensuring a supportive workplace culture. This role will provide vision, expertise, and direction across the HR function in ways that sustain and enhance an FAS environment where talented people can thrive and contribute their best to the academic mission. With their expertise, the CHRO and team will influence outcomes, introduce meaningful practices and programs, and strengthen relationships across the FAS.  Department HR staff currently operate within a distributed reporting model but are functionally aligned with the FAS CHRO.  Efforts are currently underway to evolve the model to strengthen coordination, accountability and financial stewardship across the organization.  The CHRO will play a critical role in ensuring the success of this new model.

The CHRO acts as an engaged member of a university-wide HR community of practice comprised of HR leaders at each to engage on workforce issues of strategic importance and impact across the University.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

The FAS CHRO leads all aspects of HR including talent acquisition, HR consulting, organizational development, employee relations, compensation,  programs, operations, systems, analytics, and compliance.

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and implement a forward-looking HR strategy aligned with FAS’s strategic priorities, operational realities, and community values.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the FAS Dean of Administration and Finance, academic, administrative leaders, and department chairs on organizational design, talent strategy, and workforce planning.
• Partner with university central HR leadership and peer HR leaders across schools to advance institution-wide initiatives, ensuring alignment with university policies and practices.
• Champion a people-first, mission-driven culture that values collaboration, innovation, accountability, and belonging.
• Ensure the HR team can effectively support the ongoing transformation of the FAS Administrative operating model which will require significant change management and reorganization efforts.

Talent Management and Organizational Development

• Lead comprehensive strategies for recruitment, retention, and succession planning across all staff levels and employment types, including unionized populations.
• Oversee a consistent, equitable performance management framework across the FAS including setting philosophy and standards; aligning goals with institutional priorities; ensuring fair and calibrated evaluation practices; and linking performance to compensation, development, and accountability outcomes. Coordinate with Harvard Human Resources’ Center for Workplace Development to promote and leverage learning and career development opportunities that build leadership capacity, strengthen performance, and foster professional growth and strategic internal mobility.
• Partner with academic leaders to ensure effective structures, roles, and staffing to support the school’s teaching and research mission, while supporting its long-term financial sustainability.

Employee Relations and Culture

• Provide leadership in fostering positive, transparent, and constructive relationships across the organization.
• Set a tone for fairness, transparency, and service-excellence to enhance the FAS HR brand.
• Lead/support with key partners (e.g., HHR’s Office of labor and Employee Relations, Office of the General Counsel, Harvard Public Affairs and Communication, University Risk Management.) employee and labor relations, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant practices.
• Lead operational and cultural change to support effective, consistent, and innovative performance management practices across the organization.
• Promote a culture of engagement, feedback, and continuous improvement during a period of significant administrative restructuring.
• Collaborate with academic and administrative leaders to cultivate a respectful, inclusive environment in which all community members can thrive.

Compensation, Benefits, and HR Systems

• In alignment with university compensation practices, oversee compensation and classification to ensure internal equity and external competitiveness.
• Leverage HR systems, analytics, and data to drive evidence-based decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and university employment laws and policies.

Operational Excellence

• Lead and develop a high-performing HR team committed to service excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
• Implement metrics and accountability measures to assess HR effectiveness, track progress, and identify areas for improvement.
• Lead efforts to improve technology platforms to improve effectiveness and efficiency of HR operations and service. Champion the adoption of integrated, user-friendly tools and processes that improve transparency and reduce administrative burdens across FAS.
• Support the implementation of a newly designed HR service-delivery model managed by FAS HR to ensure high levels of service as well as consistent and compliant operations.

Working Conditions:

Hybrid office environment; this position will be based in Cambridge, MA and there is an expectation of some workdays per week on campus.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, organizational development, or related field.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible expertise and experience in the management of multiple HR functional disciplines including at least 7 years in a senior management role.
• Demonstrated success leading HR strategy in a large, complex, and decentralized organization.
• Deep knowledge of HR best practices across the employment lifecycle, including talent management, culture building, and organizational development.
• Experience using data and HR analytics to inform strategy and measure impact.

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

The following job-related skills, experience and competencies are preferred:

• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA, JD, Masters) preferred
• Experience working in higher education with both faculty and staff is highly desirable. Alternatively, demonstrate attunement to, and appreciation for, the mission higher education and the financial, political, technological, and societal forces that challenge the business models of top-tier research institutions.
• Experience leading HR in a unionized environment with a high-volume of labor relations is strongly preferred.
• Experience leading and implementing administrative transformation, including complex and best-in-class HR systems and processes across an organization.
• Experience and proven track record of building, re-building or transforming HR infrastructure.
• Experience operating on a senior leadership team, creating quick credibility, and adding value to strategy beyond human resources.
• Highly skilled in all aspects of communication (written, interpersonal, and presentation), relationship building, and ability to manage conflict and problem-solve to achieve successful outcomes.
• Demonstrated competence in building and leading an effective and cohesive team.
• Demonstrated commitment and experience with process improvement.
• Proven ability to build trust, collaborate, influence decision-making, and lead through change.
• Demonstrated ability to lead by example by being present and accessible, by proactively partnering and seeking common solutions across organizational silos.
• Thorough knowledge of current HR business trends and best practices.
• Strong working knowledge of federal and state employment laws.

Certificates and Licenses:

• Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) desirable.