The Associate Vice President / Senior Director, HR Business Partner (AVP/Sr. Director, HRBP) for the School of Medicine is the senior human resources leader supporting the academic, research, and clinical missions of a large, highly unionized academic medical center. This role serves as a strategic advisor to the Dean of the School of Medicine, Department Chairs, Chief Administrative Officers, and education leadership, while leading a dedicated team of HR Business Partners aligned to the School of Medicine.

This position plays a critical role in shaping workplace culture, advancing organizational effectiveness, and ensuring HR strategies align with institutional values, collective bargaining agreements, faculty governance structures, accreditation requirements, and the needs of a complex and highly specialized workforce—including faculty, house officers/trainees, researchers, and professional staff.

The AVP/Sr. Director is a visible, trusted on-site leader who engages directly with leaders and teams to assess organizational dynamics, leadership effectiveness, workforce trends, and culture. Through close partnership and in-person engagement, this role translates institutional and School of Medicine priorities into integrated people strategies that strengthen employee experience, operational performance, and long-term institutional success.

Strategic HR Leadership (40%)

• Serve as the principal HR advisor to the Dean, Department Chairs, Chief Administrative Officers, and senior academic, clinical, and research leaders.
• Translate School of Medicine priorities into actionable HR and workforce strategies that support research growth, clinical expansion, learner experience, and academic excellence.
• Provide strategic guidance on organizational design, workforce planning, leadership effectiveness, culture, and complex faculty and staff matters.
• Establish HRBP governance frameworks, decision rights, service standards, and escalation pathways aligned with institutional priorities.
• Maintain a strong on-campus presence, including rounding across departments, centers, and institutes to proactively assess needs and workforce dynamics.
• Partner closely with Faculty Affairs, Graduate Medical Education, research leadership, and academic administration to align people strategies across faculty appointments, house officers, clinical associates, research staff, and unclassified staff.
• Collaborate with the Dean's Office and practice plan leadership on academic compensation structures, faculty effort allocation, research funding impacts, and compensation strategy.
• Support department administrators with workforce budgeting, staffing models, and operational decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with accreditation standards (including ACGME), faculty governance requirements, collective bargaining agreements, and employment law.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, and other institutional stakeholders to manage complex employee relations matters and institutional investigations.

Union & Labor Relations Leadership (10%)

• Serve as an active, in-person participant in relevant collective bargaining sessions.
• Partner closely with Labor Relations to ensure consistent interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements.
• Coach and train department leaders, chairs, and administrators on labor contract requirements and best practices for managing represented employees.
• Anticipate and mitigate operational risks related to labor activity; support labor negotiations through impact analysis and operational planning.

HR Business Partner Team Leadership (40%)

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of HR Business Partners supporting the School of Medicine.
• Establish clear performance expectations, consultation standards, and service models tailored to a unionized academic health environment.
• Build HRBP capability in areas such as labor relations, organizational design, workforce planning, faculty HR processes, academic compensation models, and complex case management.
• Ensure appropriate HRBP coverage across departments, adjusting assignments based on size, complexity, and strategic need.
• Foster a high-performing, consultative HRBP team that delivers equitable, consistent, and high-impact HR support.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (Master's degree preferred).
• 10-12 years experience in HR or related field, with progressively more complex roles
• Demonstrated experience supporting academic medicine, healthcare, higher education, or similarly complex organizations.
• Deep knowledge of labor relations, collective bargaining agreements, and employee relations.
• Understanding of academic employment models and faculty governance.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and large-scale change.
• Strong people leadership experience, including managing and developing HR teams.
• Strong judgement skills in complex and sensitive matters.
• Executive-level communication and influence skills

• Experience in an academic medical center or large research-intensive institution.
• Master's degree in HR, Business, Healthcare Administration or related field (e.g., MBA, MHA, MS HR)
• Familiarity with faculty governance structures, academic compensation models, and graduate medical education.
• Experience partnering with clinical and academic leadership in matrixed environments.
• Professional HR certification (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP).