Human Resources Director

Position Title Human Resources Director Location Milwaukee, WI (multiple locations) Reports to President Classification Exempt / Salaried Position Summary The Human Resources Director is responsible for designing, building, and operationalizing scalable HR systems, processes, and frameworks that strengthen leadership capability, improve organizational consistency, and elevate business performance across all locations. This role is both strategic and operational: the Director sets direction and creates the architecture of HR, while also ensuring disciplined execution through leaders and the HR team. The Director translates business priorities into practical, repeatable people practices that drive accountability, reduce risk, and enhance the employee experience. The Human Resources Director serves as a trusted partner to executive and senior leaders, ensuring that HR is proactive, structured, and aligned with the organization's growth. This role requires a visible leadership presence - someone who can step into leadership settings, confidently facilitate discussion, challenge thinking and drive clear decisions forward. This role operates in a fast-moving, evolving environment where priorities shift quickly, leaders require real-time support, and decisions often must be made with incomplete information and competing priorities. Success requires adaptability, strong judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to drive progress in a highly dynamic organization. This role requires a highly resourceful leader who is comfortable operating without extensive layers of infrastructure, support staff or corporate resources. Essential Functions Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Design, build, and standardize enterprise-wide HR systems, processes, and frameworks that create consistency, clarity, and scalability across all locations. Establish and continuously improve a cohesive HR operating model that balances organizational standards with appropriate site-level flexibility. Lead and facilitate executive and senior leadership discussions to align people strategies with business objectives, drive decisions, and ensure follow-through. Create and operationalize a scalable performance management system that drives consistent accountability, stronger manager capability, and measurable performance improvement across the organization. Define and implement a consistent, organization-wide approach to onboarding and new-hire integration that improves early retention, time-to-productivity, and manager ownership of new employees. Establish and enforce clear guardrails for employee relations, investigations, and corrective action, ensuring fairness, consistency, and risk mitigation across locations. Strengthen manager capability in handling performance, conflict, and accountability through consistent HR guidance, coaching, and leadership development. Drive modernization and automation of HR operations (including HRIS optimization) to improve efficiency, data integrity, and service delivery. Establish and monitor meaningful HR metrics and dashboards that inform decision-making, highlight trends, and measure the impact of people initiatives. Provide escalation support for high-risk, complex, or legally sensitive employee relations matters in collaboration with the HR Manager. Lead organizational development efforts that clarify roles, strengthen collaboration, and improve workload alignment. Partner with the HR Manager on workforce planning and recruiting effectiveness at a system level (without owning day-to-day recruiting execution). Provide leadership, mentorship, and development to the HR Manager and HR Assistant, ensuring clear roles, effective collaboration, and continuous improvement within the HR team. Own the organization’s HR compliance and risk management strategy, proactively identifying gaps, assessing risk exposure, and implementing practical solutions to ensure consistent, compliant practices across all locations. Ensure ongoing compliance with federal and state employment laws, including EEO, ADA, FMLA, DOL, OSHA, HIPAA, and applicable Wisconsin requirements. Maintain current knowledge of HR best practices, employment law, and organizational development trends, bringing forward-thinking perspectives to the organization. Perform any and all other duties as assigned. Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) from an accredited school of higher education in Human Resources Management, Business Administration or business-related field, with thorough knowledge of human resource management principles A minimum of 8 years of progressive HR experience including demonstrated responsibility for designing and building HR systems, processes, and frameworks. Proven experience in a growing and operationally dynamic organization (approximately 100‑500 employees preferred) where adaptability, speed of execution, and hands‑on leadership were required. Experience in a highly regulated or compliance-driven environment preferred (e.g., healthcare, pharmacy, food manufacturing/distribution, legal, financial services or similar industries). Ability to effectively prioritize competing business needs and drive progress in environments with frequent interruptions and shifting priorities. SHRM‑SCP, SPHR, or equivalent preferred. Deep working knowledge of EEO, ADA, FMLA, DOL, OSHA, HIPAA, and applicable state employment laws, with demonstrated ability to apply this knowledge in real-world situations to assess risk, guide decision-making and ensure compliant outcomes. Demonstrated success in performance management design, leadership development, and organizational standardization. Strong systems-thinking and analytical capability; ability to translate complexity into simple, scalable solutions. Demonstrated ability to balance strategy with execution in a fast-paced, evolving environment. Demonstrated ability to influence and lead at the leadership level, including facilitating difficult conversations, challenging leaders when needed, and driving alignment and accountability. Experience partnering on HRIS implementation, automation or process optimization preferred. Demonstrated proficiency with workplace productivity and collaboration tools (e.g., Google Workspace and/or Microsoft 365), including email, calendaring, document creation, file management, and presentation tools; strong working knowledge of spreadsheets (Excel or equivalent); and comfort using collaboration and workflow tools to organize work, document decisions, and drive accountability. High attention to detail with strong follow-through; consistently delivers on commitments, anticipates risks, and ensures initiatives are implemented as intended. Demonstrated willingness and curiosity to learn and adopt new technologies and ways of working. Demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive matters with sound judgment, discretion, and strong ethical standards. Travel Required to travel within the greater Milwaukee area on a regular basis to support multiple locations as business needs arise. Work Environment This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, etc. Physical Demands While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to communicate verbally and in writing. The role involves prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer, as well as frequent movement between workspaces, meeting rooms, and other company locations. The employee must be able to access and maintain files, operate standard office equipment, and occasionally bend, stand, or move within office and retail environments. Regular local travel to multiple sites within the greater Milwaukee area is required, which may involve driving, walking through various facilities, and carrying materials or equipment. The employee may need to transport or lift materials, supplies, or presentation items weighing up to 20 pounds, and may be required to stand or walk for extended periods when conducting site visits, meetings, or leadership engagements. #J-18808-Ljbffr JobRx, Inc.