Director of Human Resources, College of Natural Sciences

Job Posting Title:

Director of Human Resources, College of Natural Sciences

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Hiring Department:

College of Natural Sciences

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Dec 07, 2026

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

The Opportunity

Lead HR for the largest college at one of the nation’s top public research universities, the University of Texas at Austin. As Human Resources Director, you will bring consistency, clarity, and a strong service culture to a decentralized HR community, building alignment around shared processes, common standards, and collective accountability. If you have led HR in a university, public agency, or other large, complex organization, you will recognize the challenge and appreciate the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in higher education.  The role calls for a leader who can navigate complexity, build trust, strengthen partnerships, and bring people together around a common vision.    

Experience in higher education, research, or the public sector is helpful, but not required.  We will help you learn UT Austin policies, practices, and terminology.  What matters most is your leadership, sound judgment, and ability to unify teams and elevate HR across a large, complex organization.

About the College and the University

The College of Natural Sciences

Discovery starts here in the College of Natural Sciences , where we are changing the world through transformative experiences, education, and research. We are the largest college at UT Austin, home to top-ranked academic specialties, a dozen departments, and award-winning student programs and faculty. Join us and pave the way for the next generation of leaders and breakthroughs in science, technology, and mathematics.

The University of Texas at Austin

Founded in 1883, The University of Texas at Austin ranks among the best universities in the world. With 70 programs ranked in the top 10, UT is the #1 public university in Texas and the #8 public university in the nation. The university community includes some 55,000 students, 4,760 faculty, 15,000 staff across 16 colleges and schools. As Texas’ leading research university, UT attracts more than $1.37 billion annually for discovery. Located in Austin, UT offers a dynamic place to build a career in public higher education.  UT Austin offers outstanding employee benefits and total rewards packages. For more details, please see: Benefits | Human Resources.

Purpose

The Human Resources Director provides strategic and operational leadership for all HR functions across the College of Natural Sciences (CNS). This role oversees the full employee lifecycle (hiring through separation) for three workforce groups: academic research staff, administrative and operations staff, and student employees. You will unify the college’s decentralized HR community around consistent workflows and best practices and serve as a trusted advisor to the Dean and college leadership on complex employment matters. The ideal candidate is a seasoned HR leader with both strategic vision and hands-on expertise, gained in a large, complex organization. Experience in higher education or research is preferred but not required.

What you will bring to the role:

• Leadership through influence in a decentralized environment

• Relationship-building across a wide range of stakeholders, from faculty and researchers to business managers and central offices

• Balance of strategic thinking and operational execution

• Ability to foster collaboration and shared accountability for results

• Sound judgment, transparency, and resilience in complex situations

Responsibilities

• Strategic HR leadership and workforce planning: Partner with CNS leadership to develop and implement workforce strategies, organizational structures, talent management initiatives, and governance practices aligned with college and departmental priorities.

• HR governance and compliance: Lead implementation of university workforce policies, regulatory changes, and HR initiatives across departments. Ensure local practices comply with federal and state requirements and university policy.

• Operational excellence and HR technology: Identify gaps and inefficiencies; standardize and improve HR processes; and support technology enhancements that strengthen accuracy, efficiency, and employee experience. Use workforce data, HR metrics, and trend analysis to inform leadership decisions and evaluate the effectiveness of HR programs.

• Employee relations and organizational effectiveness: Provide senior-level guidance on complex and high-risk employment matters in collaboration with central university offices. Advise leaders on performance management, restructuring, retention, and organizational effectiveness.

• College leadership and institutional engagement: Represent the college on committees, task forces, and leadership forums, and build productive partnerships with central offices and HR colleagues across the university.

• Team leadership and supervision: Directly supervise a team of HR professionals. Establish performance expectations, provide coaching and professional development, manage performance, and ensure accurate, responsive, service-oriented HR operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, and eight (8) years of progressively responsible HR experience; or a Master’s degree and six (6) years of equivalent experience. An equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted.

• Experience leading HR operations in a large, complex organization (i.e., higher education, healthcare, research, government, nonprofit, or a multi-site business), including managing the full employee lifecycle for multiple employee types.

• Experience leading organizational change, such as restructuring, workforce planning, or organizational effectiveness initiatives, across multiple departments, business units, or locations.

• Supervisory experience, including coaching and developing HR professionals.

• Working knowledge of federal and state employment law and HR compliance. Familiarity with public-sector or higher education requirements is helpful.

• Strong consultative, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills, with the ability to advise senior leaders on sensitive and escalated matters.

• Ability to interpret complex policies and regulations and assess their operational impact.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to build trust and influence without direct authority in a decentralized, multi-stakeholder environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.

• HR certification such as SHRM-CP/SCP, PHR/SPHR, or equivalent.

• Experience in higher education or a research environment, including familiarity with academic and research personnel processes is a plus. 

• Experience standardizing HR processes across a decentralized, matrixed, or multi-location organization.

• Experience supporting a mix of workforce types, such as salaried professionals, hourly staff, researchers, and student or part-time workers.

• Experience with an enterprise HR system (such as Workday or similar) and using HR technology and data to improve operations.

Salary Range

$130,000+ commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Work Conditions

This position is based on the UT Austin campus.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.