Associate Director, Human Resources

About the role

Department

Booth HR: HR Partners

Job Summary

The Associate Director, Human Resources serves as an HR Partner for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth), providing dedicated support to multiple departments and functions. This role contributes to the effective management of HR functions and operations by leading key internal processes and driving school-wide initiatives, projects, or programs.

As an integral member of the HR team, the Associate Director performs a wide range of responsibilities, collaborates across functions, and serves as a back-up for team members as needed. The role requires adaptability and a proactive mindset, with a willingness to take on new responsibilities as organizational needs evolve.

A flexible, collaborative, and enthusiastic approach is essential to successfully support both existing and new HR initiatives.

This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.

Responsibilities

• Coordinating with the Director, serves as a strategic HR Business Partner to selected Chicago Booth leadership teams, aligning HR strategies with business objectives and driving high levels of service, engagement, and responsiveness as well as influencing senior leadership decisions through data-driven insights and strategic guidance.
• Coaches and develops assigned leaders to enhance effectiveness, build leadership capability, and support the growth of high-performing, inclusive teams. Covers topics such as talent management, including hiring, performance engagement (Invest4Growth), employee relations, corrective action, and separations.
• Assists with the annual workforce planning process for assigned units, partnering with senior leadership on talent assessment, succession planning, compensation planning, and organizational design.
• Supports integrated talent strategies, including workforce planning, talent acquisition, and onboarding to meet evolving organizational needs.
• Partners on compensation strategy, leveraging internal and external data to inform decisions on merit increases, equity adjustments, promotions, and workforce investments.
• Supports organizational change initiatives, and partners with leadership to navigate transitions and drive adoption of new structures, processes, and ways of working.
• Provides guidance on employee and labor relations, proactively managing risk, resolving complex workplace issues, and ensuring equitable policy application, in partnership with Booth HR Leadership.
• Consults on organizational design and job architecture, including job analysis and position development aligned to current and future business needs.
• Leverages HR data and analytics to inform decision-making, identify trends, and implement process improvements that enhance organizational effectiveness.
• Champions a high-performance culture, advancing performance management practices, employee engagement initiatives, and retention strategies informed by workforce insights.
• Represents HR as a trusted advisor, contributing to Chicago Booth and University-wide initiatives, and enhancing the overall employee experience across the lifecycle.
• Follows HR policies as well as collaborate with our University HR partners within the central HR team, primarily the benefits and employee labor and relations partners.
• Guides staff hiring processes, including developing job descriptions, interviewing and reference checking, handling employment offers, and conducting orientation. Develops templates and drafts routine offer letters. Maintains appropriate human resources data and records, solving a range of problems using best practices.
• Has a deep understanding of unit's employee/labor relations efforts, including handling grievances, disciplinary warnings, and employee complaints.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications: Preferred Competencies

• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management, critical thinking and influencing skills.
• Supporting workforce planning, organizational design, and talent strategy initiatives.
• Leading or supporting organizational change initiatives, such as restructuring, growth, transformation; guide leaders through change; and drive adoption of new processes and structures.
• Work independently with little supervision; possess a self-motivated disposition; identify opportunities for improvement and recommend effective changes, all while achieving key objectives resulting in desired outcomes.
• Handle multiple detailed tasks/projects simultaneously and meet strict deadlines with frequent interruptions.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and diplomatically with colleagues, as well as with students, faculty and corporate contacts in a multitude of communication methods, including in person, email, and phone.
• Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a customer service-oriented approach.

Working Conditions

• This position is currently expected to work a minimum three days per week in the office.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

Additional information

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

• Job Family
• Human Resources
• Role Impact
• Individual Contributor
• Scheduled Weekly Hours
• 37.5
• Drug Test Required
• No
• Health Screen Required
• No
• Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
• No
• Pay Rate Type

Salary

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Range $95,000.00 - $120,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University's good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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