Chief Human Resources Officer

The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) will plan, lead, direct, develop, and coordinate the policies, processes, and activities of the Metropolitan Opera's Human Resource (HR) department. The CHRO will be responsible for overseeing the daily work of the HR department as well as spearheading organizational initiatives spanning management development & training, performance management, talent acquisition, employee relations, and culture-building. Candidates must bring strong operational and process skills, expertise in core human resource functions, and a deep commitment to culture building and respect in the workplace.   The CHRO will manage, coach, and mentor a team of approximately 10 HR professionals and will work cross-functionally with a myriad of partners across the organization, including the organization’s Finance and Information Services teams (to improve systems related to all employee lifecycle moments), Communication team (to facilitate employee communications), and the General Counsel (to ensure effective implementation and interpretation of the organizations 15+ collective bargaining agreements).    This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced human resources leader to build a strong HR team and improve the experience for the Met’s staff of over 3,000 employees.    

Primary Responsibilities

• Department Leadership/Supervisory Responsibilities
• Recruit, develop, manage, and mentor HR team members to support high performance and career growth.
• Develop and manage the HR departmental budget.
• Review and negotiate HR-related contracts and agreements, including significant involvement with healthcare, benefits 403(b) and workers compensation providers and brokers.
• Organizational Design/ Training and Development
• Support process to evaluate organizational needs and structure.
• Develop a comprehensive plan for organizational development and culture building based on evaluation of training needs for both management and staff.
• Lead the process of developing and delivering functional and management training to staff; evaluate and contract additional training programs from external sources as required.
• Evaluate and implement performance management systems.
• Recruitment and Onboarding
• Oversee recruitment strategy and onboarding process, including the development of policies and procedures focused on retention.
• Operations
• Oversee development and implementation of process flows and systems to streamline operations.
• Employee Benefit Plan Design and Administration
• Monitor and manage benefit programs costs, proactively exploring and recommending alternative benefit plans.
• Oversee the day-to-day administration of benefit plans and transaction processing.
• Oversee the organization’s workers compensation program, working to with the organization’s safety function to implement loss prevention and loss reduction efforts.
• Employee Relations – for Administration and Union staff
• Protect the interest of the employees and the institution in accordance with policies, labor agreements, laws, and regulations.
• Function as medium for employee appeals and conflict resolution.
• Labor Contracts
• Oversee implementation and administration of labor agreements, within HR and through the organization.
• Management Support
• Advise management on employee relations issues including coaching and support and matters of employee discipline, suspensions, and terminations; preparation of documents relating to these disciplinary matters.
• Coordinate with managers and union staff in grievances – investigate and prepare for hearings.
• Document outcomes of hearings and implement with managers and union staff as relevant.
• Follow up with all parties to ensure execution of agreed actions.

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Graduate degree preferred.
• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR or SPHR preferred.
• At least ten years of human resource management experience across a range of HR competencies is required.
• At least 5-7 years of experience working in a unionized environment is required.
• Strong supervisory and leadership skills, including previous experience managing people, with a record of leading others to achieve ambitious goals.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of HR compliance, benefits administration, records retention, employee and union relations, culture building, and HR policies and procedures.
• Excellent relationship building skills with a demonstrated ability to collaborate well with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• High degrees of conscientiousness, responsiveness, and strong customer service orientation
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines and operate as a self-starter in a fast-paced, complex environment.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite
• Proficiency with or the ability to quickly learn the organization's HRIS and talent management systems.

Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.
• The CHRO will be expected to work on-site at Lincoln Center in Manhattan