Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer

Job Summary

Virginia Commonwealth University, a prestigious R1 research university, is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer (Deputy CHRO) to support the CHRO in overseeing the university’s comprehensive human resources strategy. The Deputy CHRO will play a critical role in advancing the university’s HR operations, ensuring alignment with institutional goals, and fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture. This role involves strategic planning, policy development, and operational management across several HR functions, including HR service delivery, employee relations, benefits and leave, executive search and HR information systems. Assigned areas of responsibility may change over time.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic HR Leadership
• Actively participate in the development of the university’s human resource strategy and assist the CHRO in implementation.
• Develop and maintain effective and positive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside of the institution.
• Lead the development and refinement of HR policies, procedures, and programs that align with the university’s mission and strategic goals.
• Lead initiatives to enhance human resources service delivery and operational excellence.
• Operational Management
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of various HR functions, including employee relations, HR service delivery, benefits, leave and HR information systems
• Ensure efficient and effective delivery of HR services to faculty, staff, and administrators.
• Coordinate assigned operations with other HR functions in order to ensure optimal performance.
• Monitor and analyze HR metrics to inform decision-making and drive continuous improvement.
• Provide reports and feedback to schools/units on local HR performance.
• Create avenues for the collection of feedback on VCU HR performance.
• Employee Relations and Engagement
• Address and resolve complex employee relations issues, providing guidance and support to HR staff and university leadership.
• Foster a positive work environment and promote a culture of care, appreciation, inclusivity, respect, belonging, and collaboration.
• Executive Search
• Provide leadership and oversight to the executive search function, ensuring that customers are satisfied with the service, and that it provides added value to the institution.
• Policy, Compliance and Risk Management
• Manage VCU HR’s policy function, ensuring policies are up-to-date, relevant, legally compliant, and support achievement of business needs.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, as well as university policies.
• Oversee the management of HR-related risks, including employee grievances, disciplinary actions, and legal matters
• Develop and implement risk mitigation strategies to protect the university’s interests.
• HR Technology and Innovation
• Ensure optimization of core HR systems and platforms, including HR’s system of record, BANNER.
• Support efforts to streamline work processes and maximize talent.
• Drive change management initiatives in support of continuous process improvement and automation.

Qualifications

Minimal Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field or the experience and skills equivalent to a Bachelor's degree required.
• Master’s degree or advanced certification in HR (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR) preferred.
• Experience:
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role, preferably in a higher education institution.
• Management of the employee relations function, preferably within higher education institutions.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic HR planning, employee relations, policy development, and operational management.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong leadership and management skills, with the ability to develop, motivate and inspire a diverse and inclusive team.
• Deep knowledge of employee relations best practices, preferably within a large public higher education institution.
• Knowledge of the laws and regulations shaping HR practice.
• Knowledge of process management, operational excellence principles and practices for optimizing usage of technology.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Deep knowledge of HR best practices, employment law, and regulatory compliance.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and projects in a fast-paced environment.
• High level of integrity, professionalism, and discretion.
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU

Learn about VCU and Richmond! The university and the region

VCU is a public research university unlike any other, dedicated to serving the needs of students and patients. Inclusion is our heartbeat and it drives us to tackle difficult challenges others can’t or won’t. We’re home to creativity, teaching, discovery and healing. Our location in the heart of downtown Richmond, Virginia, means the nonstop energy of our city ignites our innovation and provides unlimited opportunities for our students.

About Virginia Commonwealth University

We are the university for Virginia. We know that the unique backgrounds and life experiences of the VCU community are what drive the university forward. Together, we’re forging a future that is built by us. Here, artists and engineers, doctors and designers come together to reimagine the human experience and tackle the problems of tomorrow. It’s this mindset that makes us one of the top 20 most innovative public universities in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.

VCU dates to 1838 with the formation of the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College, whose mission was to educate physicians in central Virginia and which was later renamed Medical College of Virginia. In 1968, Richmond Professional Institute merged with the Medical College of Virginia to become what is now known as Virginia Commonwealth University.

Located in downtown Richmond, the state capital of Virginia, VCU enrolls more than 28,000 students in more than 200 degree and certificate programs across its urban campuses: the downtown Monroe Park and MCV campuses in Richmond; the Rice Rivers Center in Charles City, Virginia; satellite locations in Fairfax, Virginia, and Abingdon, Virginia; and a campus in Doha, Qatar, for the School of the Arts.

Ignited by the energy of the city, we’re ready to lead industries — or disrupt them. We seek out the unexpected, the experimental, the never-been-tried. VCU is designated as a research university with very high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation, garnering more than $460 million in sponsored research from federal and other agencies in FY2023. The National Science Foundation ranked VCU among the top 50 public research universities in the country, and we are one of only 69 public universities nationwide to be designated by the Carnegie Foundation as “Community Engaged” with “Very High Research Activity.”

This research enterprise, and the influence of having one of the nation’s top-ranked public graduate arts schools, ensures students receive unique educational experiences that equip them with a creative mindset that sets them apart.

VCU’s contributions in talent, innovation and entrepreneurialism, regional stewardship and local culture shape the economic impact and overall quality of life in the region. VCU as a whole generates more than $9 billion in economic activity. It is the largest employer in Richmond with more than 25,000 employees at VCU and VCU Health, and it supports approximately 58,000 jobs in Virginia. In addition, Virginia classifies VCU with a Tier III status — the highest possible status for universities and colleges — allowing VCU more flexibility in managing its operations to implement best practices and streamline processes. To learn about VCU’s finances, visit about.finance.vcu.edu.

VCU’s unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and student success is why INSIGHT into Diversity magazine has named us a Diversity Champion five times in a row as part of its annual Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Awards. And many students say that the best thing about VCU is its diversity.

VCU’s mission, under the leadership of President Michael Rao, Ph.D., is to serve as one national urban public research institution dedicated to the success and well-being of our students, patients, faculty, staff and community through:

• Real-world learning that furthers civic engagement, inquiry, discovery and innovation.
• Research that expands the boundaries of new knowledge and creative expression and promotes translational applications to improve the quality of human life.
• Interdisciplinary collaborations and community partnerships that advance innovation, enhance cultural and economic vitality, and solve society’s most complex challenges.
• Health sciences that preserve and restore health for all people, seek the cause and cure of diseases through groundbreaking research and educate those who serve humanity.
• Deeply ingrained core values of diversity, inclusion and equity that provide a safe, trusting and supportive environment to explore, create, learn and serve.

E-Class

UF - University Employee FT

Job Category

University Employee

ORP Eligible

Yes

Salary Range

commensurate with experience up to $200,000

Compensation Type

Salaried

Target Hire Date

10/25/2024

Contact Information for Candidates

Kathleen Blankenship

blankenshike@vcu.edu

Documents Needed to Apply

Cover letter, resume, diversity statement