Chief Human Resources Officer

Chief Human Resource Officer (EMS 3)

At the Department of Commerce, we’re reimagining what’s possible in government. We’re builders, thinkers, and change-makers, working at the intersection of innovation, community, and impact. From unlocking critical funding to fueling inclusive economic growth, we’re turning big ideas into real-world solutions that uplift people and places.

Our agency’s strength lies in the diversity of our work force and the breadth of the lived experiences and perspectives employees bring to the work. We believe equity is not just a value but a practice, which is reflected in how we design programs, engage communities, and deliver outcomes. We foster a workplace culture where curiosity is encouraged, bold thinking is welcomed, and collaboration drives our impact.

Let’s build what’s next, together.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer within the Office of Operations, the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) is a member of the agency’s Executive Leadership Team and has direct oversight of the Human Resources Division (HRD) that puts people first by fostering a human-centered employee lifecycle that supports growth, strengthens leadership, and helps Commerce employees navigate change with trust and confidence. This position is responsible for developing and advancing the agency's long-term human resource strategy and policies, and for clearly understanding the unique operations and strategic business needs by crafting strategies that support the agency's administrations and divisions, which each provide crucial support and services to communities across Washington State.

This role can be based in Olympia or Seattle, with hybrid work flexibility.

The CHRO provides executive leadership, overall direction, and strategic vision for HRD and is accountable for the highest-risk HR functions under the agency’s oversight when no precedent exists. This position develops and executes the HR long-term strategic plans, goals, and objectives, ensuring they align with the agency’s overall strategic goals, and directs HR operations to achieve agency goals and statewide uniformity in workforce management.

As an appointing authority, this position, through subordinate managers, is independently responsible for a diverse set of programs that require effective leadership, communication, and approaches that leverage HRD resources.

Programs and areas the CHRO has direct oversight for include:

• Classification and Compensation : Provides visionary leadership in the formulation and execution of the agency’s comprehensive compensation strategy, ensuring a cohesive and robust framework for classification and compensation activities. Champions strategic initiatives, including succession planning, workforce analytics, process optimization, and cross-functional communications. Integrates classification and compensation policies with the agency’s Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), Washington Administrative Code (WAC), Revised Code of Washington (RCW), and federal and state employment laws to drive organizational alignment and compliance. Oversees the agency’s development of the classification and compensation proposals for equitable compensation outcomes. Guides the development and implementation of forward-thinking classification and compensation methodologies that advance workforce development priorities and position the agency as an employer of choice.
• Talent Acquisition and Recruitment : Provides strategic oversight of the agency’s recruitment operations, ensuring compliance with all relevant laws, executive directives, policies, and the CBA. This role ensures that HRD has a comprehensive process for sourcing, certifying, selecting, and hiring candidates, and supports hiring managers in effective talent acquisition. Ensures HR establishes standards for recruitment record management and drives the assessment of key recruitment metrics, including time-to-fill and candidate eligibility, to inform continuous improvement. Ensures the agency’s recruitment strategies and practices are aligned with agency objectives and builds and maintains strong recruitment partnerships that also takes into consideration the demographic and social composition of the diverse communities served by the agency, supporting organizational goals to attract, develop, and retain skilled, engaged employees.
• People, Culture, and Employee Experience : Provides oversight for developing and implementing inclusive initiatives throughout the employee lifecycle at Commerce. These efforts foster leadership growth, raise awareness, remove barriers, and embed Diversity, Equity, Access (DEAI), and Inclusion (DEAI) principles within HR and the agency. Tracks HRDs DEAI performance metrics, ensuring alignment with key goals and advancing equity across all HR functions.
• Training, Learning, and Development : Provides strategic executive oversight for the implementation of all training, learning, and development initiatives, including eLearning, throughout the agency. Ensures that all training and development policies are not only relevant but also strategically aligned with the agency's mission and fully compliant with applicable regulations. Guides the integration of organizational learning and development efforts to support the agency’s HRD strategic objectives. Directs the administration of mandatory agency and State training requirements, ensuring robust compliance tracking, comprehensive training history documentation, effective agency-wide communication, and broad accessibility of training programs.
• Workforce Planning and Analytics : Provides executive leadership and strategic direction for agency-wide workforce planning and analytics initiatives. Oversees the development and implementation of comprehensive strategies, advanced data collection methodologies, and sophisticated analytics to drive performance measurement, inform decision-making, and support organizational objectives. Champions the use of employee surveys and feedback mechanisms to identify key opportunities for improvement, foster a culture of continuous enhancement, and position the agency as an employer of choice. Ensures alignment of workforce analytics with the agency's overall goals and integrates insights into long-term strategic planning, talent management, and organizational effectiveness.
• Labor Relations : Provides strategic oversight of the agency's employee and labor relations initiatives, delivering expert HR consulting services to foster constructive engagement between management and staff. This function prioritizes the interpretation and administration of CBA, monitors union activities, and leads effective dispute resolution processes. Upholding exemplary standards of professional integrity and ethical conduct, HR serves as both a steward of employee rights and a trusted advisor to leadership. Responsibilities include guiding management through disciplinary procedures, facilitating comprehensive training for leaders on CBA compliance, agency policies, and operational protocols, and promoting a culture of transparency and mutual respect throughout the agency.
• Performance Management, Personnel Investigations, and Corrective Action : Provides high-level oversight and long-term strategic direction to mitigate risk across all personnel matters, including investigative report assessments, disciplinary actions, arbitrations, mediations, grievance responses, sexual harassment claims, settlement agreements, Human Rights Commission complaints, EEOC claims, and other legal claims. Works directly with the Assistant Attorney General’s Office to make informed decisions and determine the settlement disputes strategies, assigned tort claims, and lawsuits related to HR and labor relations issues that minimize financial liability and safeguard agency interests.
• Agency HR Policy Development and Management : Provides visionary oversight and direction for the comprehensive development, implementation, and stewardship of more than 80 departmental policies, processes, and procedures that shape every facet of human resources operations impacting agency staff statewide. Champions the formulation and ratification of transformative policies for adoption by the agency director, ensuring organizational effectiveness, resilience, and alignment with business objectives. Maintains an unwavering commitment to embedding Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) principles throughout all HR governance, setting a standard for excellence and accountability in public service delivery.
• Protected Leave, Reasonable Accommodation, and Leave Management : Provides strategic oversight of Personal Family Medical Leave, Family Medical Leave, Reasonable Accommodation, Shared Leave, and L&I claims, ensuring alignment with federal and state regulations. Facilitates executive-level awareness and compliance by ensuring HR staff are thoroughly educated on applicable FML laws, rules, and WACs, and remain current on legislative updates related to protected leave. This enables effective training of supervisors, managers, and agency leaders, supporting consistent, compliant management of employee leave requests and reducing organizational risk.
• Wellness : Provides strategic leadership in the development, execution, and continuous enhancement of the agency’s holistic wellness initiatives. Exercises significant influence over supervisors, managers, ELT, and DET through the delivery of targeted workshops, data-driven insights, and long-term strategic planning, ensuring the sustained success and integration of wellness programs across all levels of the agency.
• HR Business Services : Provides strategic oversight of HR business operations supporting agency divisions, including consultation on labor and employee relations, disciplinary actions, organizational practices, classification, compensation, investigations, recruitment, diversity, equity, inclusion, leave policies, and other personnel matters. Guides agency leadership in making informed decisions with legal considerations regarding performance management. Ensures HR initiatives and practices are aligned with the agency’s mission, vision, and values, promoting fairness and equity for all employees.
• HR Public Records and Records Retention : Provides oversight of the establishment and strategic direction of HR public records and records retention. The position advises executive management on critical matters concerning the confidentiality and privacy of HR and personnel records. Ensures that HR staff are properly directed in reviewing and releasing records, with strict adherence to relevant laws and regulations. This includes making key decisions on redacting sensitive information and implementing best practices to maintain compliance and safeguard agency interests.

Required Education, and Experience:

Any combination of 10 total years of experience. This could be achieved through a combination of relevant education beyond high school equivalency and/or professional-level human resources experience.

• A minimum of 10 years of experience must include substantial professional human resource experience in the following:
  1. Five years of leading and managing professional staff, including performance management.
  2. Experience and in-depth knowledge of best practices in major human resource systems and functions, including employment laws, labor relations, compliance regulations, recruitment, employee relations, performance management, compensation, training and development, protected leave, and automated systems (HRMS).
  3. Experience working effectively and fairly with labor and management representatives where there is an actively represented workforce.
  4. Experience and familiarity working with federal statutes and knowledge of state statutes affecting personnel administration. Managing complex HR projects and facilitating initiatives utilizing employee data to make organizational impacts.
  5. Experience in policy development, including communicating HR policy and decisions to a large group of diverse attendees.

Required Position Competencies:

• Excellent communication and negotiating skills, ability to critically analyze, plan, and think strategically.
• Work with diverse and competing interests, and develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships and teams, internal and external to the agency. organization.
• Ability to participate, manage, and/or lead organizational change.
• Understanding of state government and labor relations.
• Knowledge of civil rights policies, rules, regulations, and guidelines to EEO goals and objectives.

Preferred/Desired Education, Experience, and Competencies:

Master’s degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, Public Administration or related field:

• SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP preferred
• PHR or SPHR preferred

To be considered for this position, the following are needed:

• A complete and detailed online application.
• A resume and cover letter (add attachments online).
• At least three professional references (enter online).

For questions about this recruitment, please contact the Recruitment team via email: View email address on click.appcast.io — please reference the job number in your message.

Work from Anywhere in Washington State

This position may be located anywhere within Washington State though occasional travel to a Commerce office building or in-state travel to attend events or meetings may be required. If selected, you will need to travel to pick up equipment and receive instruction. Many Commerce employees work remotely or have a hybrid schedule.

This recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies over the next 60 days.

Technical support is provided by NEOGOV, View phone number on click.appcast.io (can't log in, password or email issues, error messages). DES job seeker support may answer general questions regarding the recruiting system at View email address on click.appcast.io.

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity

The Washington State Department of Commerce is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application, testing, or interview process or this job announcement in an alternative format may email Human Resources at View email address on click.appcast.io. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call through the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or View phone number on click.appcast.io.

Department of Commerce also offers a competitive benefits package including: medical and dental insurance benefits, retirement and deferred compensation plans, 11 paid holidays each year, 14-25 vacation days per year (depending on length of employment), 8 hours of sick leave per month (if full time employed), bereavement leave, an employee assistance program, as well as other benefits. Please see the Benefits Tab for more details.