Manager, Work Life and Child Care

Position Focus

This position will create and implement a communication strategy to foster community awareness of Yale Work + Life benefits, programs, and services and build partnerships.

Yale University seeks an accomplished and visionary Work Life leader to develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan that supports employees across all life stages. Reporting directly to the Associate Vice President for Employee Engagement and Workplace Culture, this leader will serve as a member of the Human Resources leadership team and collaborate closely with key university stakeholders to advance programs and services that enhance work-life integration, well-being, and connection across the institution.

The ideal candidate will operate effectively on both strategic and tactical levels to promote, expand, and elevate the Yale Work + Life brand and programming. This individual will identify opportunities for growth and design innovative initiatives that address the evolving needs of employees while ensuring a high-quality workplace experience. The role requires the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and successfully manage multiple high-visibility projects and initiatives simultaneously.

As Yale’s primary liaison for work-life integration efforts, the leader will oversee childcare and adult/elder care benefits and resources, family support initiatives, lactation support services, and employee engagement programming. The position will also manage the day-to-day delivery, promotion, and continuous improvement of these programs and services to strengthen employee support and engagement.

The successful candidate will demonstrate exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across all levels of the institution, including departments and schools, faculty, staff, professional students, postdoctoral associates, and affiliated childcare centers. Externally, the role will maintain partnerships with peer institutions, vendors, and organizations across both the public and private sectors.

This leader will advocate for employee needs related to work and life challenges that impact effective work-life integration. The position requires strong leadership capabilities, expertise in program and project management, and outstanding verbal and written communication skills. Equally important are strong operational management abilities, including budget coordination, vendor oversight, scheduling, and cross-functional collaboration, all of which are essential to successfully lead the planning, management, and delivery of Yale Work + Life programs and services.

The role will also involve contract negotiation and benefits administration responsibilities, including oversight of vendor agreements and ensuring compliance with institutional policies. Additionally, the position will create and implement a comprehensive communication strategy designed to increase awareness of Yale Work + Life benefits, programs, and services while strengthening community engagement and institutional partnerships.

Essential Duties

Day-to-day program administration, including planning, implementation, tracking, and continuous improvement of Work + Life initiatives. Manages complex operational processes and workflows to ensure effective delivery of programs and services across the Yale community. Direct work-life programming that supports the vision to create a positive, balanced, and family-friendly environment and workplace culture. Collaborate with campus departments to develop and implement comprehensive services and programs. Consult with University departments around various Work Life issues that impact the workplace and academic environment. Research, compile, and perform analysis using Yale and non-Yale work-life data and recommend necessary improvements, with the aim of strengthening existing programs and remaining abreast of trends in the field. Educate the university, faculty, staff, post-doctoral associates and fellows, and graduate and professional students on Yale resources, benefits, policies, and best practices of work-life integration. Advocate and initiate proposals for work-life friendly policies, guidelines, benefits, and resources. Represent work-life initiatives to internal and external groups at the local, regional, and national levels to maintain an open dialogue on work-life issues. As a trusted advisor, provide feedback and product review of Yale’s Employee Assistance Program services to aid in the continued development of our collective services. Serve as institutional expert in all matters related to and for individual staff, faculty, and others regarding information about work-life, childcare, family support, and related areas. Serve as institutional liaison between the six affiliated child care centers and Yale, ensuring that their unique cultures are preserved while promoting clear, open, and continuous exchange of information. Negotiate and implement contracts with each affiliated center. Visit child care centers to sustain working relationships with center directors, while remaining informed on childcare operational and physical space needs, ensuring that each center meets the State of Connecticut licensing and NAEYC accreditation guidelines. Coordinate, implement, and manage contract negotiations with internal and external vendors. Provide management oversight and partnership for internal and external vendors to monitor performance and manage client relationships. As Employer of Choice project lead, consults with university departments to identify and seek employer of choice recognition on behalf of the University, in various designations (i.e., Work Life, Wellbeing, Employee Health, Employee Engagement, and Workplace Culture, etc.). Develops and implements a comprehensive array of programs and services that support the university's goal of being an employer of choice. Regularly reviews new programs, policies, etc., university-wide, departmental, etc., that could impact future Employer of Choice awards. Facilitate educational and informational workshops on topics related to work-life integration, childcare, aging, adult, and eldercare, parenting education, lactation support, and more. Serve as the Project Manager for the University Child Care Subsidy Program. Serve as a member of the Yale Employee Engagement Survey team, Yale Emergency Operations Team, and Facilities Accessibility Advisor Committee. Participate in other projects as assigned.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Creative problem solver. Tolerance for ambiguity.
2. Demonstrates superior interpersonal skills ie. active listening.
3. Demonstrated ability to lead and manage program. Demonstrated ability to lead multiple projects with multiple individuals and teams for different groups in a complex, fast paced environment.
4. Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team structure; be creative and provide attention to detail.
5. Excellent judgment; self-starter; professional demeanor and highly developed organizational skills. Recognize urgent situations and evaluate and determines actions need to minimized risk

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or Early Childhood related area and five years of administrative experience related to Work Life and early childhood education or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Education and Experience

Preferred: Six years’ experience working in Human Resources in higher education.