Director, Employee Experience

Bucknell University · United States

Position Title: Director, Employee Experience Position Type: Full time Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40 Categories: Staff Exempt Job Summary: Reporting directly to the Interim Vice President for Talent, Culture, and Human Resources, the Director of Employee Experience is a strategic and hands-on leader dedicated to strengthening leadership effectiveness, manager capability, employee relations, and overall organizational health across campus. Balancing high-level strategy with active execution, this role serves as a trusted advisor to leaders, managers, faculty, and staff by moving seamlessly between consultation, organizational strategy, leadership coaching, and direct case management. The Director designs leadership initiatives, personally conducts complex workplace investigations, facilitates conflict resolution, and advises on sensitive performance and workforce challenges—all to cultivate a supportive, high-performing environment built on accountability, fairness, respect, continuous learning, and compassion. Job Duties: Reporting Relationships: - This role will report to the Interim VP of Talent, Culture & Human Resources. Work Schedule: - This is a full-time role (40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year) Work Setting: - Hybrid role with the expectation of at least 3 days/week on campus. What You Will Do:

• Strategic Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness: As a strategic advisor to the Vice President and Bucknell leadership, this role aligns institutional priorities with HR execution by strengthening leadership effectiveness, manager capabilities, and organizational health. By leveraging workforce, engagement, and performance data, the position identifies trends to resolve organizational challenges, clarify roles, and facilitate difficult conversations across academic and administrative departments. Ultimately, it balances long-term strategic initiatives - such as change management, strategic planning, and culture building, with the day-to-day operational demands of a responsive HR function.
• Employee Relations and Workplace Investigations: Serving as the senior employee relations practitioner and trusted advisor on complex workplace issues, this role conducts impartial, thorough, and confidential investigations into misconduct, harassment, discrimination, and policy violations, handling everything from planning and interviews to evidence assessment, documentation, and recommendations. In addition to coaching leaders through performance concerns, workplace conflict, and corrective action, the position facilitates conflict resolution and restorative conversations while partnering with the Vice President, General Counsel, and Deputy Title IX Coordinator on high-risk institutional matters. Proactively, analyzing employee relations data and trends to identify systemic patterns, mitigate organizational risk, and recommend policy enhancements, education, and strategic interventions that foster a respectful, engaged, and high-performing culture.
• Leadership Effectiveness: This role drives manager capability, accountability, and organizational performance through direct executive coaching, leadership consultation, and practical resource development for building engaged, high-performing teams. The position directs leadership development, supervising onboarding, manager education, and succession planning. Additionally, it continuously evaluates and refines leadership programming using institutional outcomes, performance trends, and organizational feedback to adapt to evolving institutional needs.
• Performance Development and Manager Accountability: Leading Bucknell's performance development strategy, this role drives an equitable, consistent, and growth-focused evaluation process across the University by developing practical tools for continuous feedback, coaching, and accountability. The position directly coaches managers on setting expectations, documenting performance, delivering feedback, and implementing performance improvement plans or corrective actions when necessary. By monitoring the quality and consistency of performance activities, it identifies recurring manager capability gaps and collaborates with the leadership and learning team to deploy targeted interventions that elevate organizational performance.
• Learning, Development, and Community Engagement: Providing strategic leadership and operational oversight, this role drives key talent, culture, and engagement initiatives across the institution. It leads manager and leadership development alongside comprehensive professional development for both faculty and staff, while ensuring seamless new employee orientation and onboarding. Additionally, the position fuels organizational health and workplace culture by directing employee engagement, community engagement programming, employee recognition, and respectful workplace and prevention education.
• Supervision and Team Leadership: Providing direct leadership, coaching, and performance management, this role fosters collaboration across leadership development, learning, employee relations, and community engagement functions while personally retaining accountability for the institution's most complex employee relations matters. It actively supports staff professional growth through mentoring, delegation, succession planning, and hands-on participation in daily operational work. Furthermore, the position partners closely with the Deputy Title IX Coordinator on employee-related prevention education, consultation, and coordinated response efforts while fully respecting the distinct boundaries of the formal Title IX program.
• Policy, Compliance, and Risk Management: Maintaining up-to-date expertise in employment law and higher education HR practices, this role consistently and equitably develops, interprets, and applies University policies. It recommends proactive policy revisions informed by legal requirements, institutional priorities, and employee relations trends while exercising exceptional judgment and strict confidentiality in sensitive situations. Additionally, the position manages institutional risk by collaborating closely with General Counsel on complex legal issues and partnering with the Deputy Title IX Coordinator to ensure employee concerns comply with institutional policy and state and federal laws.
• The job description's listed responsibilities and tasks are not exhaustive, additional non-essential tasks and responsibilities may be assigned as needed.

• Bachelor’s degree in related field
• Minimum of eight (8) years of related experience
• Four (4) years of supervision/management experience
• Demonstrated experience personally conducting complex workplace investigations
• Experience coaching leaders and managers on employee relations and performance matters
• Experience leading organizational effectiveness, leadership development, or culture initiatives

• SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification
• Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) certification or equivalent investigation training

• Flexible scheduling options determined by role;
• Medical, prescription drug, vision, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance options
• An outstanding 10% employer contribution to your retirement plan (no contribution requirement for non-exempt positions)
• Generous paid time off, including vacation and sick time, a community service day, and 19 paid holidays (including two full weeks off for Winter Break!)
• Full-time and part-time members of the faculty and staff are eligible for tuition remission for themselves. Additionally, full-time members of the faculty and staff are eligible for tuition remission for their spouse/spousal equivalent and are eligible for various tuition programs for their children. Credit for full-time benefits eligible employment at other institutions of higher education will be applied to waiting periods.
• A comprehensive employee wellness program including program incentives
• A myriad of other benefits, including parental leave, an employee assistance program, fitness center membership, and the power of your Bucknell ID card