Seattle Art Museum

Seattle Art Museum

People & Culture Director

Seattle, WA · Director · Full-time

Sponsorship not specified$128k-$157kDetected 55 days ago
BudgetingExcelRecruitingHRPerformance ManagementEmployee RelationsHRISCustomer SupportResearchLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationProblem SolvingCritical ThinkingMentoringMicrosoft Office

About the role

  • The People & Culture Director plays a key role in fostering a healthy, values-driven workplace culture where employees and managers can thrive.
  • This role balances compassion and accountability, helping leaders navigate complex situations with clarity, care, and consistency.
  • The ideal candidate is a collaborative and emotionally intelligent leader who believes strong culture and clear expectations go hand in hand.

Responsibilities

  • Leads employee relations processes including investigations, performance management, corrective action, and dispute resolution with a balanced, fair, and employee-centered approach
  • Partners closely with labor leadership and management representatives to support positive labor-management relationships
  • Helps create and maintain people policies, practices, and resources that reflect organizational values, operational needs, and legal compliance
  • Drafts, updates, and maintains employee handbook content, policies, guidelines, and manager resources
  • Supports recruitment and onboarding efforts for senior leadership and other key organizational roles, as needed
  • Maintains knowledge of emerging trends, best practices, and regulatory changes in human resources, employee relations, labor relations, and organizational culture
  • Supports departmental planning, budgeting, and operational priorities within the People & Culture function
  • Performs other duties as assigned
  • Experience working in a unionized environment, including labor-management collaboration and collective bargaining support
  • Strong conflict resolution and relationship-building capabilities with the ability to influence across all levels of the organization

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
  • 7+ years of progressive Human Resources or People & Culture experience, including significant experience in employee relations and manager coaching
  • Demonstrated ability to navigate sensitive and complex workplace situations with sound judgment, discretion, empathy, and professionalism
  • Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations
  • Experience supporting organizational culture initiatives, leadership development, change management, or employee engagement efforts
  • Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution in a fast-paced and evolving environment
  • Ability to navigate complex and sensitive conversations with empathy, discretion, and clarity, tailoring communication to diverse audiences
  • Strong ability to coach and advise leaders on handling challenging situations such as performance issues, employee relations matters, and organizational change with fairness and respect

Nice to have

  • Master's degree or certification in Human Resources (e.g. SHRM, SPHR, CCP, CERP)
  • Experience in the non-profit sector, preferably arts and culture
  • Skilled spreadsheet creation, management and data collection
  • FLSA Status: Full Time, Exempt
  • Reports To: Chief People Officer

Compensation

  • Historically, this contribution has been made annually.

Benefits

  • Partners with leaders and managers across the organization to strengthen workplace culture, employee engagement, team effectiveness, and organizational health
  • Acts as an escalation point for leave administration processes, accommodations, and related employee support programs in alignment with organizational policies and applicable laws
  • Supports employee experience initiatives that contribute to employee wellbeing and retention
  • Participates in institutional learning opportunities to grow our collective understanding and integration of antiracism, cultural competency, and equity values in to SAM's work
  • Additional benefits include paid time off for vacation, PSST, bereavement leave, and jury duty, 11 scheduled holidays, 1 paid floating holiday, a subsidized unlimited Orca card, onsite fitness facility, and an EAP.

Company info

  • As SAM heads into its second century, we are boldly reimagining what we can and should be.
  • Our goal is to be a model for the future of museums - a bold, dynamic hub of creativity, belonging, and cultural leadership, shaping the future of art and community.
  • Embracing new ways of engaging communities and seeking innovative partnerships - all while keeping art and community at the center of what we do.
  • This ambitious effort represents a transformative shift and radically redefining how art museums operate.
  • This is a pivotal moment for SAM, and we are seeking great talent to join us on our journey.
  • Working at SAM is not just a job-it's a chance to be part of a vibrant, creative community.

Equal opportunity

  • If you need an accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact hr@seattleartmuseum.org.
  • For candidates, we ask that, if possible, you wait until you're invited to a screen, online technical assessment or interview before requesting an accommodation.
  • equal opportunity employer and we are committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming workplace for all employees and volunteers.
Apply directly at Seattle Art Museum →Create a free account for alerts like thisView Seattle Art Museum immigration profile

This listing is sourced directly from Seattle Art Museum's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.