Description

Since its inception in 1967, College of DuPage has matured into something special. COD is a community college with far-reaching impact, rooted in a community that supports its mission, and continually evolving with the needs and demands of an ever-changing world. With a diverse workforce of 3,000 employees, the College was recognized as a Best-in-Class employer based on results from Gallagher’s 2024 U.S. Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey. The College is committed to fostering a culture that supports unity, personal growth, and collaboration, creating an environment where students, employees, and the broader community can thrive together as "One COD."

The Vice President of Human Resources (VPHR) is a senior executive and member of the President's Cabinet, responsible for providing vision, strategic leadership, and operational oversight for all human resources functions across College of DuPage. This role directs the planning, design, and administration of HR strategy, policies, and services for all campuses and centers, ensuring a responsive, equitable, and future-focused human resources organization that supports the College's mission and culture of care.

The VPHR serves as a strategic advisor and trusted partner to the President and Cabinet, contributing to institutional decision-making that impacts the College's diverse workforce. The successful candidate will be a collaborative, innovative, and forward-thinking leader with the ability to align human capital strategies with institutional goals, foster employee engagement, design competitive and equitable compensation and benefits programs, and provide support to the General Counsel's office in the administration of collective bargaining agreements. This leader will drive organizational effectiveness in a complex, multi-campus, and suburban college environment.

Requirements

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Advise the President and College leadership on complex human resources matters, serving as a strategic partner in shaping policies and decisions that impact the institution’s workforce.
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of all human resources functions to ensure organizational effectiveness and alignment with institutional priorities.
• Translate the College’s strategic goals into actionable human resources strategies and operational plans that support institutional growth, employee engagement, and a culture of care.
• Design and implement progressive, proactive, and equitable compensation and benefits programs that meet the needs of employees while supporting the College’s mission and long-term sustainability.
• Develop and guide the administration of human resources policies and programs that ensure effective management of the College’s workforce, including initiatives for employee development, recognition, recruitment, staffing, and human resource information systems.
• Develop business processes and analytics to improve service delivery to the campus community and support the evaluation of performance metrics across human resources operations.
• Other duties as assigned by the President.

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in business administration, public administration, human resources management, or another relevant field required. SHRM-SCP or SPHR preferred.
• 10 to 15 years of progressively responsible human resources experience, including at least 5 years in a senior or executive HR leadership role, preferably within government, the public sector, or higher education.
• Must demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of employment laws and regulations and a proven ability to apply this expertise within complex organizational settings.
• A demonstrated commitment to the College’s culture of care and to understanding and respecting the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and disability backgrounds of students and employees in a suburban community college setting is essential.
• Highly skilled in building relationships at all organizational levels and experienced in facilitating the resolution of conflicts between parties.
• Experience working in a collective bargaining environment is preferred.
• Experience in managing or implementing HRIS solutions is desirable.

The successful candidate in this role will: 

• Serve as a trusted strategic partner across the institution, balancing patience with the pace of change while maintaining clear momentum toward defined goals.
• Rebuild and modernize HR processes, procedures, and policies to establish consistency, efficiency, and scalability across the organization.
• Lead change through an inclusive approach that sets realistic expectations, builds buy-in, and delivers detailed execution roadmaps the team can follow.
• Successfully drive, negotiate, and implement all existing and new union contracts that balance institutional needs with employee interests.