University of Michigan · 19 hours ago
Director of HR Strategic Programs & Initiatives
Ann Arbor, MI
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
7+ years expThe University of Michigan is one of the largest health care complexes in the world, known for its groundbreaking medical advancements. They are seeking a Director of HR Strategic Programs & Initiatives to provide enterprise leadership for high-impact HR strategies and initiatives, focusing on workforce planning, talent management, and cross-functional partnerships within a complex academic health system.
EducationE-LearningHigher EducationUniversities
Responsibilities
Serves as a strategic member of the Michigan Medicine HR leadership team, identifying emerging workforce issues and advancing actionable, future-focused solutions
Partners with HR leaders and stakeholders across Michigan Medicine to design and deliver integrated HR strategies aligned with enterprise priorities
Builds and sustains trusted relationships with leaders, faculty, staff, and HR colleagues across the organization
Promotes collaboration, innovation, and diverse perspectives to challenge the status quo and drive continuous improvement
Partners with HR and business leaders identify workforce trends, organizational development needs, and improvement opportunities
Leads the design and implementation of streamlined HR processes, systems, and workflows that improve operational effectiveness and the employee and leader experience
Oversees the planning, execution, and evaluation of HR programs, initiatives, and policies that enhance organizational effectiveness, engagement, and accountability
Applies change management principles to advance complex initiatives and ensure sustainable adoption
Supports senior leaders in the development of department-specific HR standards, competencies, policies, and standard operating procedures
Provides enterprise-level leadership for HR project and program management, establishing clear governance, accountability, timelines, and success metrics for strategic initiatives
Leads and oversees complex, cross-functional HR initiatives with significant organizational impact, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy, resource availability, and risk mitigation
Serves as the HR lead for workforce-related planning and implementation associated with mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, joint ventures, and the launch of new businesses and facilities
Directs HR due diligence activities, including workforce assessments, labor and regulatory considerations, organizational design, and integration planning
Establishes standardized project management tools, methodologies, and reporting to improve consistency, transparency, and execution across the HR organization
Anticipates dependencies, constraints, and risks, proactively escalating issues and recommending solutions to senior leadership
Provide oversight to designated staff and serve as a liaison with Finance partners on department-wide and system-wide HR budgeting matters
Establishes and documents standardized approaches to budget development, monitoring, and vendor management across the HR organization
Collaborates with Finance and HR functional leaders to develop and manage annual operating budgets
Supports the annual new-initiative request process, including idea intake, analysis, and development of decision-support materials
Oversees efforts to monitor and report on monthly and ad-hoc budget performance, identifying variances, risks, and areas requiring intervention
Leads development and maintenance of tools to track vendors, contracts, and payments, providing transparency and real-time insights to HR leaders
Leverages quantitative and qualitative data to inform strategy, including engagement surveys, culture of safety results, workforce analytics, employee relations trends, belonging and inclusion dashboards, physician and patient experience metrics, and other feedback sources
Develops and delivers dashboards and reports that enable leaders to analyze workforce trends, make informed decisions, and take targeted action
Leads, coaches, and develops HR project managers and cross-functional project teams responsible for executing strategic initiatives
Builds internal project and program management capability within HR
Oversee HR department workforce tracking, including staffing levels, new hires, departures, role changes, and budget alignment
Partners with HR functional leaders to assess, prioritize, and justify hiring needs across the organization
Qualification
Required
Demonstrated expertise in enterprise project management, strategic HR initiatives, workforce planning, and program governance within complex organizations
Strong working knowledge of HR policies, practices, and applicable state and federal employment and labor laws (e.g., FLSA, EEO, ADA)
Broad HR experience across HR strategy, HR business partnership, talent management, compensation, HR operations, employee and labor relations, and belonging and inclusion
Exceptional facilitation, stakeholder management, and consensus-building skills
Proficiency with PeopleSoft and Microsoft tools (Excel, PowerPoint) for data analysis, reporting, and executive communication
Bachelor's degree required
7-10 years of progressive HR experience, including at least 5 years leading complex, enterprise-level projects or programs
Minimum of 5 years in a strategic business partnership role driving HR strategy, large-scale change, and data-informed decision-making
5-7 years of experience in HR leadership or highly accountable role
Preferred
Healthcare industry experience strongly preferred
Master's degree preferred
Benefits
Excellent medical, dental and vision coverage effective on your very first day
2:1 Match on retirement savings
Company
University of Michigan
The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving, and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Michigan has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (662)
2024 (594)
2023 (787)
2022 (473)
2021 (411)
2020 (324)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$359.75MKey Investors
Michigan Economic Development CorporationNational Institutes of HealthBreakthrough T1D
2025-07-17Grant· $1M
2025-06-07Grant· $1.17M
2025-04-23Grant
Leadership Team
Greg McGuire
Managing Director, Mcity
Robert Goodspeed
Chair, Urban and Regional Planning Program
Recent News
2025-12-19
IEEE Spectrum
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