Director of People & Culture

Director of People & Culture

Minnesota Children's Museum's mission is sparking children's learning through play. We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion is integral to fulfilling our mission. As a community resource for thousands of families, Minnesota Children's Museum is dedicated to providing children with a fun, hands-on and stimulating environment to explore and discover.

The Director of People & Culture is responsible for the planning, design and implementation of strategies and solutions to support the Museum's HR and Volunteer Services programs. This position is part of the museum's leadership team and contributes to the overall direction of the museum, ensuring strategic alignment to the museum's mission, goals and values.

Areas of responsibilities include but are not limited to talent acquisition, development and retention, total rewards and recognition, employee relations, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, change management, compliance, and HRIS data management. This position is also responsible for oversight of the growth and sustainability of the Museum's various volunteer programs.

Reports To: President

Direct Reports (3): HR Generalist, Volunteer Engagement Generalist, and Admin/Project Specialist

Salary: $113,000.00/annually

Classification: Full-time; Exempt

Schedule: 40 hours/week, hybrid eligible. Typically, in the office Wednesday - Friday.

Essential Functions

Collaborate with the President and senior leadership peers in planning and guiding Minnesota Children's Museum's strategic direction.

• Influence and advance the Museum's strategic plans and priorities.
• Maintain professional networks to advance the Museum's work.
• Lead cross-organizational initiatives as assigned.

Lead the HR & Volunteer Services Departments

• Define, monitor, report on and execute the goals and objectives of the department aligned with the Museum's strategic plan.
• Develop, oversee and forecast department budget, managing to minimal variance.
• Ensure consistent, timely and effective communication of department initiatives within the department and across the museum.

Direct Volunteer Services Department

• Oversee the institutionalization of volunteerism throughout the Museum by developing and implementing strategies that encourage and support volunteerism.
• Promote effective growth in the use of volunteers across the organization.
• Direct the development of initiatives and programs that promote effective staff utilization of museum volunteers.
• Represent (as warranted) the museum in external relationships with various volunteer and community organizations that enhance volunteerism at the museum.

Talent Acquisition, Development and Retention

• Partner with organization leaders on the planning for ongoing people resource needs to achieve annual goals and objectives.
• Manage the recruitment and selection process using effective strategies to assure high quality and diverse pool of applicants and an inclusive process.
• Work across departments to ensure an effective and efficient onboarding plan is in place for new employees and volunteers.
• Design, develop and manage the organization's performance planning, training, and development programs to reflect current best practices.
• Oversee the bi-annual and ongoing performance, planning and development process.

Total Rewards & Recognition

• Oversee the Museum's compensation structure and processes. Complete compensation analysis to monitor internal equity and external competitiveness of salary and incentive plans.
• Lead annual salary increase process with leadership team to ensure budgets are met and changes are communicated.
• Manage the Museum's benefit plans to ensure high quality, cost effective benefit programs are provided. Lead the annual renewal and bid for insurance and benefit contracts with Museum's insurance broker.
• Oversee the annual open enrollment, including employee communication and education meetings.
• Stay current with and monitor legal changes in the benefits area.

Employee Engagement & Inclusion

• Partner with leaders across the organization to foster equitable and inclusive practices, strengthen cultural competency, and ensure accountability for creating a welcoming and respectful workplace.
• Lead the planning, development, coordination, and execution of the annual employee engagement survey process.
• Provide support to leaders during the action planning process through facilitated focus groups, data reporting, etc.
• Engage, support and collaborate with the Connection Circles and their facilitators to ensure open communication and success of employee resource groups.
• Plan and execute annual All Staff Gathering.

HR Systems / Compliance

• Manage the integrity of employee data through thoughtful development of modules, routine cross-departmental processes and best practices. Identify ways to leverage the use of systems to create efficiency in day-to-day work.
• Lead the organization's employee relations strategy by providing guidance and support to leaders and employees.
• Design and run reports to support business decisions, identify trends, and fulfill requests made by other departments (ie. grants, budgets, etc.).
• Coordinate annual pension plan audit with auditors and Finance department.
• Oversee the review and revision of Affirmative Action plan such as annual State reporting, annual EEO-1 reporting, and ACA reporting.
• Manage process of employee incident/accident reports and workers compensation claims.
• Review and update Museum policies as needed.

Minimum Qualifications (please highlight the following in resume or cover letter)

• Bachelor's degree, preferably with specific concentration in human resource management, organizational development or related field. Equivalent experience accepted.
• Minimum of 10 years' of progressive experience in human resource field, with a broad range of duties.
• Minimum 4 years' experience in a senior human resource leadership role managing staff and enterprise-wide functions.
• Experience collaborating, communicating and coaching all levels of employees including individual contributors, supervisors and directors, vice presidents and president/CEO.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by embedding equitable and inclusive practices into people strategies, workplace culture, leadership development, and employee experiences.
• Aptitude for leading with a developmental mindset, prioritizing growth, experimentation and resilience over rigid compliance—empowering employees and leaders to learn, adapt, and thrive.
• Strong oral and written communication with ability to clearly and effectively describe situations, ideas and instructions to diverse audiences.
• Skilled in budget management and project management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with various employee groups including seasonal, temporary, interns, part-time and full-time.
• Volunteer administration experience.
• Experience as a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory or the ability to complete training for IDI Qualified Administrators.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required

• Ability to think strategically, taking the long-term view, evaluating alignment, identifying opportunities, and taking into account the wider operating environment.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead, supervise and motivate staff.
• Instill a positive workplace culture, organization-wide, that upholds the Museum's values.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to interact confidently, read the situation, be empathetic and evaluate likely reactions, collaborative.
• Ability to think systematically, by making effective use of organizational systems and processes, take an organized, logical approach to thinking through issues, and apply learning to new situations.
• Demonstrated relationship management with the ability to initiate and grow mutually beneficial relationships; actively develops networks and manages potentially difficult relationships.
• Strong adaptability skills with ability to respond effectively to changing constraints, adapts behavior to suit the situation; understands the drivers of change and anticipates the implications of changing political and practical circumstances.
• Ability to organize time, balance many priorities and work in an effective manner.

Selection Process

Research shows that women and underrepresented groups apply only if they meet 100% of the requirements outlined in the posting. One of the museum's priorities is producing equitable outcomes when it comes to the workplace. We encourage women, black, indigenous, people of color, those in the LGBTQ+ communities, and Veterans to apply even if you do not check all the boxes.

The on-site interview will give candidates the opportunity to see both the mission in action and our workplace environment. Interview questions will be provided prior