Director of Human Resources

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Who We Are

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley (“Law Foundation”) is dedicated to advancing the rights of historically excluded individuals and families across Santa Clara County. Through our legal services, strategic advocacy, and educational outreach, we empower over 15,000 individuals and families each year. Our Children & Youth, Health, Housing, and Pro Bono Programs use legal advocacy as a catalyst for social change, creating innovative solutions to the legal challenges facing low-income communities in our region. With a dedicated team of over 75 employees, we are the largest provider of free legal services in the South Bay region of the Bay Area. Learn more at

The Opportunity

The Law Foundation is seeking a hands-on, strategic human resources professional to be its next Director of Human Resources (“Director”). This is an exciting opportunity for a visionary and creative leader to support a healthy work culture with inclusion and belonging at the forefront and to build the HR infrastructure necessary to support the organization’s next stage of impact.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Director will oversee and lead all human resources functions so that the Law Foundation can fulfill its vision of achieving social and racial justice in Silicon Valley and beyond through vigorous legal advocacy. The Director will help shape HR strategy while staying directly engaged in the day-to-day work that supports that vision, as part of a vibrant, growing community of advocates at a highly regarded organization.

What You’ll Do

As Director of Human Resources, you will:

1. Drive the Law Foundation’s relationship with its union — a responsibility shared with the Chief Operating Officer — by leading administration of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and spearheading communications between union stewards and management to nurture a trusting, transparent relationship and improve employee relations.
2. Lead recruitment and hiring, including developing a selection process that cultivates pipelines of candidates of color and promotes diverse hiring and improved retention.
3. Directly manage personnel issues, partnering with leaders to identify solutions to individualized employee matters as they arise.
4. Supervise the HR Manager, who drives day-to-day HR functions such as benefits administration, HRIS, training, onboarding/offboarding, and compliance, and work closely with the Senior HR & Operations Associate.
5. Own HR compliance and organizational risk, ensuring the Law Foundation meets its obligations under applicable federal, state, and local employment laws — including FMLA, ADA, FLSA, FEHA, and COBRA — while proactively identifying and closing policy gaps, conducting regular audits, and translating regulatory changes into clear policies and communications.
6. Take the Law Foundation’s existing performance evaluation process to the next level and mentor and train managers both in that process and in the performance management of their staff.
7. Shape the Law Foundation's people strategy in partnership with the COO, translating organizational priorities into actionable HR initiatives across workforce planning, succession, culture, and equity — and serving as a trusted thought partner on organizational design and change management.
8. Support a culture of feedback that promotes inclusion, belonging, and employee wellness, and partner with leadership and staff to incorporate race equity and inclusion principles into internal operations, policies, and decision-making.
9. Build HR infrastructure and implement the standardized systems, policies, and procedures required to support HR functions, identifying innovative solutions to streamline processes.
10. Roll up your sleeves: this is a hands-on role, and the Director will be expected to carry out day-to-day and administrative HR work as needed, at every level.
11. Collaborate with internal teams to ensure a seamless and people-centered approach to service delivery.

Who You Are

You are a leader who brings fresh ideas to the role, along with the problem-solving and organizational skills needed to effectively carry out day-to-day operations. You utilize sound judgment and discretion in all activities and display the highest degree of integrity. The ideal candidate will possess the following attributes and competencies:

• Relationship Building and Interpersonal Skills. Possessing a people-first orientation and a highly collaborative nature, you are approachable and interested in engaging with staff to understand their values and needs. You excel at building trust and credibility with staff, and acting as a bridge to management. You invest in supporting and developing managers into effective supervisors who elicit results from their teams. Inclusive and open-minded, you bring significant experience building healthy work cultures that incorporate employee wellness and result in staff who feel a strong sense of belonging.
• Communication Skills. You are a highly effective communicator with exceptional written and verbal communication skills. Personable, understanding, and compassionate, you listen to and value the voices of the LF team, and you can effectively articulate a clear vision for LF’s policies and procedures around recruitment and training, compensation and evaluation, benefits administration, compliance, and employee relations in order to garner organization-wide buy-in and support.
• Strategic Leadership . You think and act at the intersection of people and organizational health — bringing a clear point of view on HR strategy while staying close to the day-to-day work that makes it real. You are a credible thought partner to senior leaders, skilled at translating mission-driven priorities into concrete initiatives and navigating complexity with both rigor and care.
• Operations Excellence and Infrastructure Development. A self-starter, you excel at building infrastructure and implementing the standardized systems, policies, and procedures required to support HR functions. Analytical and tech-savvy, you develop innovative solutions to streamline HR processes. A skilled and detail-oriented project manager, you excel at managing multiple projects simultaneously and seeing them through to implementation.
• Risk Management and Compliance Expertise . You bring a thorough understanding of federal, state, and local employment laws and know how to apply them in a complex organization. You treat compliance as a foundation for organizational integrity — proactively identifying risk, closing policy gaps, and keeping the Law Foundation audit-ready while translating regulatory requirements into plain language for staff and leaders.
• Human Resources Expertise with Race Equity and Inclusion Lens. Possessing a strong interest in and orientation toward social justice work, you integrate race equity and inclusion principles into HR policies, procedures, and decision-making. While prior experience in the race equity field is preferred, you must share a commitment to continuous learning and incorporate its principles into every aspect of your work.
• Passion for Social Justice. You have a passion for the mission of the Law Foundation, a clear understanding of its work, and an abiding respect for the communities it serves.

• Five (5) or more years of progressive human resources experience, including at least three (3) years in an HR leadership or management role.
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience; HR certification (SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, PHR/SPHR) is a plus.
• Comprehensive knowledge of HR best practices and HR compliance rules and regulations, with the ability to communicate them clearly to organizational leaders.
• Experience supervising, developing, and delegating to HR staff.
• Experience working in a unionized environment, with an understanding of negotiation and collective bargaining practices and policies, strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 or similar tools, with openness to learning new technologies, including HRIS platforms.
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the role, which include prolonged periods working at a computer; reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with applicable law.

What We Offer

This is a full-time, exempt position, reporting to Chief Operating Officer. The annual salary range for this role is $120,000 to $140,000.

We are deeply committed to supporting the well-being, growth, and professional development of our team members. To that end, we offer a comprehensive and competitive benefit package, which includes:

• 19 paid holidays per year
• 3-5 weeks of vacation per year
• 12 days of sick leave per year
• Up to 6 months of parental leave
• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums
• Free/discounted mental health therapy and wellness services for employees and their dependents through our Employee Assistance Program
• A 401(k)-retirement plan with employer contributions
• A sabbatical after 5 years of employment
• An additional monthly stipend for those who are bilingual and utilize their language abilities in the course of their job
• An annual budget for professional development
• Employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees
• The flexibility to work a hybrid schedule
• An office building that offers a fully equipped gym, outdoor terrace, convenient on-site parking, bike storage, lounge areas, and 24/7 security

Workplace Expectations

The Law Foundation is a hybrid workplace. The HR Director will be expected to work from our San Jose office a minimum of 2 days/week. Candidates based in the Bay Area or broader Northern California are preferred. We will consider candidates elsewhere in California who are willing to meet in-office requirements and travel to our San Jose Office as needed at their own expense.

Due to logistical challenges regarding taxes, insurance, and time zones, we are unable to consider candidates outside of California at this time.

Working At Law Foundation

The Law Foundation is a unionized workplace, and members of the bargaining unit are represented by SEIU Local 521. This position is not part of the bargaining unit.

We are strongly committed to building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity, providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for our staff, volunteers, clients, and partners. We actively work to improve communications, community engagement, systems and structures, and office culture to create a workplace where differences are acknowledged and valued.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.

How to Apply

Please submit the following:

• A cover letter addressing: How has your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, race equity and diversity among our staff?
• Resume
• Contact information for three professional references. We will always ask for your consent and inform you before contacting any of your references.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Priority review will be given to applications received by July 27, 2026 . Interviews are conducted by phone, video, and/or in-person.

If you are passionate about making a difference and want to be part of a team that values people, trust, accountability, creativity, joy, and fun, we would love to hear from you!

The Law Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer. We encourage people of color, womxn, people living with disabilities, older people, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to apply. It is the policy of the Law Foundation to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, medical condition or genetic information, veteran status, national origin, disability, marital or other protected status. The Law Foundation will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.

ADA Accessible Facility - Equal Opportunity Employer - Drug-Free Workplace