Director, Employee Experience

Director, Employee Experience

The National Wildlife Federation is on an essential journey to become a durable organization that champions belonging, where we act as bridge-builders to unite people to do big things for wildlife and the communities we serve. By honoring our essence, living our core values and committing to this vision, the Federation can become the model wildlife organization that fully welcomes, retains, and celebrates staff, volunteers, and supporters from all backgrounds – while achieving big things.

As a key bridge-builder of today and tomorrow's conservation movement, the Director, Employee Experience is a strategic and hands-on leader who shapes how employees feel, grow, and thrive at NWF. This role is central to NWF's People Team mission: transforming the employee experience into a model for the broader nonprofit sector and establishing NWF as a 21st-century organization where every team member is engaged, valued, and equipped to advance conservation.

The Director, Employee Experience partners across organizational leadership to design and deliver strategies that define how NWF hires, onboards, develops, motivates, and retains its world-class team. This position requires a leader who brings both strategic vision and demonstrated operational depth; someone who can inspire trust at every level of the organization while driving meaningful, measurable change to ensure the Federation becomes the 21st century wildlife organization it envisions, and achieves its mission of uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife and people thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Essential Duties

• Serve as NWF's internal champion for the employee experience, developing and sustaining a culture where staff feel seen, supported, and motivated to do their best work.
• Partner with the SVP of People and senior leadership to operationalize NWF's people strategy, translating organizational vision into concrete programs and practices.
• Design and lead initiatives that reinforce NWF's identity as a destination employer and a standard bearer for employee-centered workplaces in the nonprofit sector.
• Lead employee listening efforts—including engagement surveys, stay interviews, and exit data—and translate findings into actionable improvements.

People Operations and Compliance

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of NWF's People programs, ensuring policies and practices are applied consistently, equitably, and in compliance with applicable federal and state law.
• Provide confidential, expert guidance to employees and managers on a range of issues including employee relations, policy interpretation, performance concerns, and workplace conflicts.
• Develop and maintain systems for performance evaluation, feedback, and career development that are transparent, fair, and growth-oriented.
• Partner with the Total Rewards function to ensure compensation, benefits, and recognition programs support attraction and retention goals.

Talent Acquisition

• Lead the design and execution of a dynamic, equitable, and engaging recruiting program that reflects NWF's values and commitment to inclusion.
• Build sourcing strategies that expand NWF's reach into diverse talent communities and reduce time-to-fill for critical roles.
• Establish structured, consistent hiring practices—including interview guides, scoring rubrics, and recruiter intake processes—that drive better decisions and candidate experience.

Learning and Development

• In partnership with the Learning & Development team, identify and implement programs that build individual and team capability across the organization.
• Develop onboarding experiences that set new employees up for success from day one and accelerate their connection to NWF's mission and culture.
• Champion manager development as a lever for organizational health, equipping people leaders with the tools, frameworks, and coaching they need to lead well.

People Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a small team of HR professionals, modeling the values and behaviors NWF aspires to organization-wide.
• Contribute as an active member of NWF's People Leadership Team, shaping the function's collective direction and supporting cross-functional collaboration.
• Support the SVP of People and executive leadership in executing NWF's strategic goals and organizational initiatives.

Required Competencies

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
• Demonstrates a high degree of self-awareness—recognizes how personal emotions, assumptions, and reactions affect others and adjusts approach accordingly.
• Builds trust by showing up with empathy, consistency, and candor, particularly in difficult or high-stakes conversations.
• Reads organizational and interpersonal dynamics accurately and uses that insight to facilitate constructive outcomes rather than escalating conflict.
• Manages complexity and ambiguity with steadiness—holds space for others without projecting personal anxiety or urgency onto the situation.
• Models the emotional tone expected of a healthy workplace: professional, grounded, and authentically human.
• Leadership & Influence
• Leads through vision and credibility, not just authority—earns followership by being knowledgeable, fair, and reliably present for their team and partners.
• Influences without formal power by building strong relationships, communicating persuasively, and framing ideas in ways that resonate with diverse stakeholders.
• Develops others intentionally, investing in the growth of direct reports and creating conditions where team members can lead and stretch.
• Makes clear, timely decisions under pressure while remaining open to new information and willing to course-correct.
• Holds the team and organization accountable to outcomes while maintaining psychological safety and trust.
• Strategic Thinking
• Connects People programs and practices to NWF's broader organizational mission and long-term strategy.
• Identifies root causes rather than symptoms, designing solutions that are durable and scalable rather than reactive.
• Uses data and metrics—engagement scores, retention trends, time-to-fill, performance patterns—to inform priorities and demonstrate impact.
• Anticipates workforce trends and proactively positions NWF to attract, develop, and retain the talent it needs.
• Communication & Trust-Building
• Communicates with clarity, honesty, and care—adapts style and approach to the audience without losing directness or authenticity.
• Navigates sensitive and confidential situations with discretion, demonstrating sound judgment about what to share, with whom, and when.
• Creates environments where people feel safe raising concerns, giving feedback, and asking hard questions.
• Represents the People function credibly at the leadership table, translating HR concepts into plain language tied to business outcomes.
• Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
• Centers equity in all aspects of the role—from hiring decisions and policy design to the way difficult conversations are handled.
• Actively disrupts bias and inequity in systems and practices, even when it requires uncomfortable conversations with senior stakeholders.
• Creates inclusive environments where people from all backgrounds can contribute fully and feel they belong.

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience leading or building People operations, programs, and practices in a complex organization; strong generalist foundation across recruiting, talent development, change management, employee engagement, employee relations, compensation, and benefits.
• Proven track record using metrics and analytics to drive decisions and demonstrate HR impact.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing HR professionals.
• Knowledge of federal and state employment laws and practical experience translating legal requirements into equitable policy and practice.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, or a related field, or equivalent experience. SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or similar certification preferred.

Location & Work Mode

The National Wildlife Federation is committed to a flexible and empowered work environment with an authentic community of care for all staff. This is a hybrid position working out of NWF's Headquarters office in Reston, Virginia, at least one day per week.

NWF is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a workplace where all employees can thrive. We strongly encourage candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to apply.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $100,000 - $120,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

Travel Requirements

This position requires occasional travel, typically 3-4 times per year, with overnight stays.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to understand, analyze, and apply complex information, policies, and concepts
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