Deputy HR Director | HR Operations Deputy

Description

First review of applications scheduled for March 6, 2026

The ideal candidate is an experienced, equity-minded HR executive with a strong record of leading complex human resources operations in a public-sector or mission-driven environment and advancing HR service delivery models grounded in service excellence, organizational performance and accountability. They bring demonstrated success managing large HR teams, navigating organizational change, and delivering consistent, high-quality customer centered HR services across multiple program areas while fostering a culture of performance and responsiveness.

This leader excels at building collaborative relationships with executives, legal counsel, labor partners, and statewide HR stakeholders. They communicate with clarity, coach and develop HR managers, and foster a culture grounded in equity, integrity, continuous improvement, and customer-centered service. They are comfortable with labor relations, investigations, classification and compensation, recruitment strategy, and data-driven HR performance management. They bring a disciplined yet supportive leadership style that strengthens teams, builds trust, and ensures consistent application of policy, law, and collective bargaining agreements.

The successful candidate is a steady, strategic, and highly visible HR leader—someone who thrives in complexity, exercises sound judgment in precedent-setting situations, and is committed to building an HR division that delivers dependable, transparent, and high-quality services to employees, managers, and agency leadership.

Organizational Structure:

The Deputy HR Director reports directly to the HR Director and serves as the primary back-up and delegated authority for the Human Resources Division. This position provides operational control over all HR program areas and represents the HR Director with internal and external stakeholders across the enterprise HR community.

Position Objective:

The Deputy HR Director provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure consistent, high-quality delivery of HR services across the agency. This role supports the HR Director in building a high-performing HR division that delivers dependable, reliable, and customer-centered services. The position oversees the development, implementation, and standardization of HR processes and applies human resource policies and procedures across all aspects of employee and labor relations, investigations, classification and compensation, recruitment, leave administration, and HR analytics.

Duties

Executive Leadership & Delegated Authority: Provides division-wide and agency-wide leadership as the HR Director’s delegated authority, making high-impact decisions and representing the division to internal and external stakeholders.

Strategic HR Operations & Program Oversight: Oversees all major HR program areas to ensure consistent, compliant, and high-quality statewide HR operations.

Service Delivery Modernization & Process Standardization: Leads the design and continuous improvement of standardized HR processes, workflows, and service-delivery systems that drive operational excellence.

Employee & Labor Relations Leadership: Directs complex and high-risk employee and labor relations matters, including investigations, discipline, grievances, and legal coordination.

People Leadership & Talent Development: Builds and develops high-performing HR teams through effective leadership, coaching, accountability, and support.

Data-Informed Decision-Making & Risk Management: Uses data, trends, and risk analysis to inform executive decision-making and ensure defensible, precedent-aware HR actions.

Enterprise Collaboration & Agency Representation: Represents the HR Division across enterprise forums and collaborates with agency partners on issues intersecting with HR, compliance, risk, and organizational performance.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience leading HR teams, including supervising HR managers and/or senior HR professionals, preferably in a complex, unionized public sector environment.
• Demonstrated experience interpreting and applying collective bargaining agreements, leading or advising on discipline, grievances, and settlement negotiations.
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing standardized HR service delivery models (SOPs, workflows, SLAs, dashboards).
• Proven experience making high impact, precedent setting HR decisions with legal and organizational risk implications.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate, initiate, support and manage effective organizational change consistent with the needs of ESD.
• Understand how to collaborate and facilitate cooperation, trust and group identity.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, plan, organize, prioritize and monitor human resource projects.

Required equity competencies:

• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Key competencies:

• Leads strategic and operational HR functions
• Provides expert employee and labor relations guidance
• Applies deep knowledge of employment law and policy
• Drives organizational change and modernization
• Builds coalitions and collaborates across divisions
• Communicates clearly and succinctly
• Exercises strong judgment and manages organizational risk
• Leads, develops, and coaches HR managers and staff
• Delivers customer-centered, high-quality HR services
• Models high ethical standards and integrity

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

• BA or Master’s degree in public administration, Business Administration, Human Resources, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, or related field.
• Senior level HR certification such as SHRM SCP or SPHR.

To request a detailed position description, click here.

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment:

• Must be able to pass an Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Paid Family Medical and Leave (PFML) claim and fraud check.

Please submit only the required documents as noted below and ensure all Personal Identifying Information (PII) such as Social Security numbers etc. are edited out of your materials for privacy. Additionally, we ask that you not include photographs or external links within your documents. Any documents uploaded through this platform will be securely transmitted electronically to support application review.

Please submit your Cover Letter and Resume with your Online Application through the “Add Attachments” field. A resume will not substitute for the “work experience” section of the application or vice versa. Applications with blank fields, or supplemental question responses with comments such as “see attachments” may be considered incomplete.

Supplemental Information

Our agency’s mission and values drive every decision that we make, determine how we interact with others, and are at the core of who we are. We value Access, Love, Belonging, Equity, and Stewardship. We understand that a work environment that respects your work/life balance is key; that’s why many of our positions are eligible for flexible work schedules and teleworking opportunities. Through support, value, and trust, our employees are empowered to grow and develop into their best self.

Opportunity for All

We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, people over 40 years of age, people with religious beliefs, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply.

The Employment Security Department is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

If you are a person needing assistance in the application process, if you need this job announcement in an alternate format, or if you have general questions about this opportunity, please contact Sanyu.Tushabe@esd.wa.gov or at 360.480.4514 or the Talent Acquisition Team, prior to the position closing. If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing, or completing your application, please contact careershelp@des.wa.gov or (360) 664-1960 or toll free (877) 664-1960, Washington Relay 711.

This recruitment may be used to fill additional agency-wide positions in accordance with Article 4 of the WFSE Collective Bargaining Agreement.

• This Organization Participates in E-Verify**

More than Just a Paycheck!

Employee benefits are not just about the kind of services you get, they are also about how much you may have to pay out of pocket. Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation.

We understand that your life revolves around more than just your career. Like everyone, your first priority is ensuring that you and your family will maintain health and financial security. That’s why choice is a key component of our benefits package. We have a selection of health and retirement plans, paid leave, staff training and other compensation benefits that you can mix and match to meet your current and future needs.

Read about our benefits:

The following information describes typical benefits available for full-time employees who are expected to work more than six months. Actual benefits may vary by appointment type or be prorated for other than full-time work (e.g. part-time); view the job posting for benefits details for job types other than full-time.

Note: If the position offers benefits which differ from the following, the job posting should include the specific benefits.

Insurance Benefits

Employees and their families are covered by medical (including vision), dental and basic life insurance. There are multiple medical plans with affordable monthly premiums that offer coverage throughout the state.

Staff are eligible to enroll each year in a medical flexible spending account which enables them to use tax-deferred dollars toward their health care expenses. Employees are also covered by basic life and long-term disability insurance, with the option to purchase additional coverage amounts.

To view premium rates, coverage choice in your area and how to enroll, please visit the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) website. The Washington Wellness program from the Health Care Authority works with PEBB to support our workplace wellness programs.

Dependent care assistance allows the employee to save pre-tax dollars for a child or elder care expenses.

Other insurance coverage for auto, boat, home, and renter insurance is available through payroll deduction.

The Washington State Employee Assistance Program promotes the health and well-being of employees.

Retirement and Deferred Compensation

State Employees are members of the Washington Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). New employees have the option of two employer contributed retirement programs. For additional information, check out the Department of Retirement Systems’ web site.

Employees also have the ability to participate in the Deferred Compensation Program (DCP). This is a supplemental retirement savings program (similar to an IRA) that allows you control over the amount of pre-tax salary dollars you defer as well as the flexibility to choose between multiple investment options.

Social Security

All state employees are covered by the federal Social Security and Medicare systems. The state and the employee pay an equal amount into the system.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, and meet the qualifying criteria, you may be eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Holidays

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid holidays and one paid personal holiday per calendar year.

Note: Employees who are members of certain Unions may be entitled to additional personal leave day(s), please refer to position specific Collective Bargaining Agreements for more information.

Full-time employees who work full monthly schedules qualify for holiday compensation if they are employed before the holiday and are in pay status for at least 80 nonovertime hours during the month of the holiday; or for the entire work shift preceding the holiday.

Part-time employees who are in pay status during the month of the holiday qualify for the holiday on a pro-rata basis. Compensation for holidays (including personal holiday) will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status in the month to that required for full-time employment, excluding all holiday hours. Pay status includes hours worked and time on paid leave.

Sick Leave

Full-time employees earn eight hours of sick leave per month. Overtime eligible employees who are in pay status for less than 80 hours per month, earn a monthly proportionate to the number of hours in pay status, in the month to that required for full-time employment. Overtime exempt employees who are in pay status for less than 80 hours per month do not earn a monthly accrual of sick leave.

Sick leave accruals for part-time employees will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status, in the month to that required for full-time employment. Pay status includes hours worked, time on paid leave and paid holiday.

Vacation (Annual Leave)

Full-time employees accrue vacation leave at the rates specified in WAC 357-31-165(1) or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Full-time employees who are in pay status for less than 80 nonovertime hours in a month do not earn a monthly accrual of vacation leave.

Part-time employees accrue vacation leave hours in accordance with WAC 357-31-165(1) or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on a pro rata basis. Vacation leave accrual will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status, in the month to that required for full-time employment.

Pay status includes hours worked, time on paid leave and paid holiday.

As provided in WAC 357-58-175, an employer may authorize a lump-sum accrual of vacation leave or accelerate the vacation leave accrual rate to support the recruitment and/or retention of a candidate or employee for a Washington Management Service position. Vacation leave accrual rates may only be accelerated using the rates established WAC 357-31-165.

Note: Most agencies follow the civil service rules covering leave and holidays for exempt employees even though there is no requirement for them to do so. However, agencies are required to adhere to the applicable RCWs pertaining holidays and leave.

Military Leave

Washington State supports members of the armed forces with 21 days paid military leave per year.

Bereavement Leave

Most employees whose family member or household member dies, or for loss of pregnancy, are entitled to five (5) days of paid bereavement leave. In addition, the employer may approve other available leave types for the purpose of bereavement leave.

Additional Leave

Leave Sharing

Parental Leave

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Leave Without Pay

Please visit the State HR Website for more detailed information regarding benefits.

Updated 01-07-2026

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