About W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions so all children can achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Upon establishing the foundation in 1930, breakfast cereal innovator W.K. Kellogg instructed future trustees and staff to “Use the money as you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children.” To this day, the foundation envisions, and works toward, a nation that marshals its resources to assure that all children have an equitable and promising future – a nation in which all children thrive.
To advance this mission, the foundation implements an array of change-making tools – grantmaking, impact investing, communications, contracting, networking, and convenings – and uses an innovative networked organizational design to prioritize investment decisions and maximize effectiveness toward achieving the desired ends and improvements for children and their families. A commitment to racial equity, community engagement and leadership development is woven into each endeavor as essential to the creation of a social context in which all children can thrive. Their grant-making focuses on education and learning; food, health, and well-being; and family economic security.
The overall work of the foundation is guided by the following values:
- We believe in helping people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.
- We believe all people have the inherent capacity to effect change in their lives, in their organization, and in their communities. We respect individuals and value their collective interests, strengths, and cultures.
- We believe stewardship requires fidelity to the spirit and to the intent of the founder and the wide use of resources. We believe in being responsible, prudent, selfless, and exercising good judgment.
- We believe innovation of thought and action leads to enduring and positive change in both formal and informal systems.
- We value integrity of purpose and action, and believe it is essential to all of our affairs.
This is a powerful time to be on the front lines of innovative philanthropy and we hope you’ll consider joining us! To learn more about the foundation, please visit www.wkkf.org and everychildthrives.com.
Talent & Human Resources Core Team Mandate
Through the lens of our DNA, foster a high-performing, engaged and diverse workforce that delivers on WKKF’s strategic goals and organizational ends. Leverage innovative talent and collective leadership practices while ensuring a people-centered and values-based culture that contributes to being the best foundation to work for and with.
The Opportunity
Under the leadership of the Vice President for Talent & Human Resources (THR), the Director serves as a strategic advisor, enterprise people experience leader, and senior THR generalist. This person leads, innovates, and influences with a people-centered focus on positive internal experiences, engagement strategies, and evolving workforce needs. The Director connects employee insights, organizational diagnostics, THR programs, policies, technology, industry trends, and organizational priorities across the employee lifecycle. In partnership with organizational leaders and the THR leadership team, the Director provides broad HR guidance, strengthens manager and team capability, leads enterprise people experience strategies, and coordinates cross-functional THR initiatives that support an engaged, high-performing, diverse workforce. The role applies an HR business partner mindset by building trusted relationships, diagnosing organizational needs, connecting leaders and teams to the right THR expertise, and translating business priorities into practical people strategies and future-ready solutions.
Key Accountabilities/ Essential Functions
A director at the foundation generally has the following responsibilities:
- Model and drive leadership, capacity building, accountability, care and concern, strategic thinking and business acumen within respective team(s) and across the foundation.
- Model organizational vision, strategy, values, DNA, purpose and culture, both internally and externally.
- Empower, coach and develop people; model agile practices and WKKF organizational qualities, characteristics, and behaviors; and demonstrate WKKF commitment to racial equity, community engagement and leadership.
- Drive results through successful accomplishment of organizational ends and avoidance of executive limitations.
- Engage WKKF staff and external constituents, delivering timely, consistent, aligned, authentic communications at all levels.
- Deliver industry insights and seek out and promote continuous learning and improvement within assigned areas of expertise.
- Deliver high performance through data-informed decision making, problem solving, and results focus.
- Serve as an active member of applicable leadership and governance forums.
- Lead a high-performing team by providing clarity of roles and expectations, timely coaching and feedback, cross-functional training, workforce planning, and partnership with THR to attract, retain, develop, and grow diverse talent.
Specifically, this director is responsible for the following:
Strategic HR Advisory Services, in partnership with the THR leadership team
- Serve as a trusted advisor and resource to leaders and teams, building sustained relationships to understand organizational priorities, workforce realities, team dynamics, and emerging people needs, while engaging the appropriate THR subject matter expert for specialized or higher-risk issues.
- Advise on leader practices, organizational change, employee engagement, and application of THR policies, programs, and technology. Drive communications, change management strategies, and stakeholder engagement plans that build understanding, readiness, and adoption.
- Identify patterns, root causes, risks, and opportunities across employee questions and leader needs; recommend coordinated solutions and escalate complex employee relations, legal, benefits, compensation, accommodation, leave, or compliance matters to the accountable expert.
- Facilitate cross-functional working sessions, listening forums, and decision-making processes that surface perspectives and create shared ownership.
- Build capability across leaders, Talent Liaisons, THR colleagues, and employees through practical guidance, tools, coaching, and learning experiences.
THR Engagement Model and THR Partner Oversight
- Lead and develop the THR Partner function, setting clear expectations for performance, capability building, and service quality across all THR areas.
- Guide the evolution of how people access THR services, advancing the model toward greater consistency, integration, and self-service capability over time.
- Facilitate intake and navigation for THR services, clarify ownership and handoffs, and support a consistent, responsive, and people-centered service experience.
- Work with THR Directors to clarify escalation pathways, ensuring THR Partners are positioned to support employees effectively through key lifecycle events and moments that matter, including onboarding, changeboarding, benefits enrollment, career transitions, and offboarding.
- Partner across THR areas of expertise to implement enterprise processes and ensure a one THR approach rather than duplicating specialized accountabilities.
Self-Service Strategy and Digital Experience
- Own the strategy and ongoing evolution of THR self-service capabilities, ensuring employees have access to accurate, easy-to-find resources through the knowledge library, and self-service bot.
- Determine, in partnership with other THR Directors, which services are candidates for standardization or transition to digital and self-service channels as content and processes mature, and drive adoption of those capabilities across the employee population.
- Oversee content governance and knowledge library maintenance across the THR function, ensuring source materials are current, well-organized, and regularly reviewed by the appropriate sub-team owners.
- Provide strategic input into HR technology, digital employee experience, content governance, knowledge management, and self-service priorities.
- Lead or coordinate cross-functional THR reviews that clarify processes, decision rights, roles, handoffs, and opportunities for simplification, self-service, or improved service delivery.
- Partner with system owners and technology teams to improve employee and manager usability, data quality, process integration, and adoption across THR platforms.
- Guide the development and maintenance of THR content libraries, reference guides, FAQs, manager resources, and AI-enabled support tools, with appropriate review, governance, privacy, and human oversight.
- Use technology and automation to improve consistency, access, and efficiency while preserving appropriate judgment, empathy, and escalation paths.
Data, Metrics and Continuous Improvement
- Lead and continuously improve an enterprise people experience strategy spanning the full employee lifecycle, from candidate and onboarding experiences through transitions, retention, and offboarding.
- In partnership with the THR leadership team, design and steward employee listening approaches and engagement strategies, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, journey mapping, feedback loops, and moments-that-matter reviews; analyze and synthesize themes and translate findings into recommendations and action.
- Cultivate, define, and steward the organization's employer brand and employee value proposition (EVP), ensuring they authentically reflect the employee experience and are consistently reflected across recruiting, onboarding, internal communications, and workforce programs.
- Develop people experience principles, service standards, measures, and dashboards that clarify desired experiences and enable data-informed decisions.
- Partner with THR and organizational leaders to embed people experience considerations into programs, policies, systems, communications, and workplace practices.
- Integrate employee listening, workforce metrics, operational data, and external trends to provide leaders with practical insights about workforce health, employee experience, organizational risk, and future needs.
- Provide strategic initiative and portfolio management for priority THR efforts, including workplans, milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions, communications, and stakeholder alignment.
Employee Lifecycle Programs
- Provide strategic leadership and governance across the employee lifecycle, including for onboarding, orientation, internal transitions, offboarding, and alumni engagement. Oversee strategies for lifecycle playbooks, communications, and continuous improvement practices.
- Oversee the Moments that Matter program, in partnership with Moments that Matter coordinators and Talent Liaisons.
- Lead and strengthen the Talent Liaison and organizational partner model, including role definition, onboarding, enablement, communications, and feedback.
- Partner with Talent Acquisition, Talent and Leadership Development, Total Rewards, leaders, and operational teams to create integrated and equitable people experiences.
Policy, Practice & Compliance Enablement
- Partner with THR leaders, Legal, Finance, and other stakeholders to develop, review, govern, communicate, and maintain employee policies, the employee handbook, manager guidance, standard operating procedures, and employee-facing resources.
- Interpret and explain policies and practices consistently within the scope of the role; identify ambiguity, recurring questions, and gaps that require policy clarification or specialist review.
- Provide oversight for personnel file practices, protocols, and requests, leveraging automation and standardized workflows to ensure appropriate documentation standards, access controls, security and confidentiality, record stewardship, and coordination with Legal, Technology, and other appropriate stakeholders.
- Coordinate required workforce reporting, monitoring, and employee experience-related compliance activities assigned to the role.
Flexible Work, Wellbeing & Workplace Experience
- Lead governance and continuous improvement of the Flexible Work Program in partnership with Finance, Legal, Technology, Facilities, and organizational leaders.
- Partner on enterprise wellbeing strategy, LiveWell programming, work-life integration, burnout prevention, and related awards or external assessments.
- Lead or support staff engagement, recognition, appreciation, milestone, and community-building experiences aligned with organizational priorities and employee needs.
- Ensure workplace programs are accessible, inclusive, well-communicated, measurable, and connected to the broader people experience strategy.
THR Leadership, Operations & Stewardship
- Serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner to the Vice President, THR, and contribute to THR planning, operating model, engagement model, governance, annual planning and reporting, budget planning, and team effectiveness.
- Coordinate work across THR sub-teams and external partners to reduce fragmentation, clarify accountability, and advance shared outcomes.
- Lead assigned budgets, contracts, vendor relationships, deliverables, invoice approvals, and performance monitoring in accordance with foundation requirements.
- Represent WKKF in relevant peer networks and external partnerships; bring forward benchmarks, emerging practices, and lessons that can strengthen THR and employee experience.
- Other duties or special projects as assigned.
Experience and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive HR experience, with significant leadership experience in people experience, organizational culture, or workforce/people strategy strongly preferred; minimum of 5 years in a people-leadership role.
- Demonstrated expertise in designing and leading HR initiatives that shape culture, drive employee engagement and enhance organizational performance and inclusivity.
- Proven ability to develop and lead THR Partner or equivalent roles.
- Experience with employee lifecycle design and transitions, including onboarding, changeboarding, exit, alumni engagement, and the integration of programs that shape culture and belonging.
- Strong data and analytics fluency, with experience using engagement surveys, sentiment analysis, and workforce analytics to inform strategy and drive decisions.
- Experience with AI-enabled HR tools, self-service platforms; comfort adopting and championing emerging technologies that modernize the employee experience.
- Deep commitment to and experience advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging in organizational policies, practices, and employee programs.
- Foundation, nonprofit, or mission-driven sector experience preferred; corporate or public-sector backgrounds with demonstrated values alignment also considered.
- Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish highly desirable.
Core Capabilities
- Ability to design and govern holistic employee journeys that integrate onboarding, transitions, recognition, wellbeing, and alumni engagement.
- Skilled in leading, engaging, and developing diverse teams; committed to embedding equity, inclusion, and belonging into all aspects of employee experience.
- Connects culture, engagement, THR Partners, and lifecycle processes into a seamless, values-driven employee experience.
- Proficient in leveraging engagement surveys, sentiment analysis, people analytics, and predictive insights to guide decision-making and measure impact.
- Comfortable adopting HR technologies, self-service platforms, and AI-enabled tools to modernize the employee experience and improve transparency.
- Adept at leading culture transformation and guiding employees and leaders through change with resilience and care.
- Strong ability to craft clear, authentic messaging; builds trust and alignment across all levels of the organization.
- Builds strong relationships across THR, leadership, and external networks to integrate employee experience with workforce planning, development, and rewards.
- Expertise in developing holistic programs that address physical, emotional, financial, and social wellbeing.
- Ability to guide, mentor, and align HR Partners as strategic advisors who deliver consistent, equitable, and high-quality people practices.
- Demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion and impact in the role's area of responsibility.
Desired Qualities and Characteristics
- Strong alignment with WKKF’s values and DNA
- Intercultural competence
- Openness / self-awareness
- Ego-management
- Systems thinker
- Change competence
- Collaborative, brings people together
- Conflict competence
- Talent architect / people developer
- Empowers leadership
- Trust builder
- Shares accountability and responsibility
- Results-oriented
Compensation and Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $173,000 - $216,000 with a generous benefits package. The final offer will be based on relevant experience, skills, internal equity and WKKF compensation practices.
Investing in our people means caring for the health, well-being and success of our employees and their families — a precedent set by our founder, Will Keith Kellogg, more than 95 years ago. Today, our Total Rewards package provides top-tier compensation and benefits as we aim to be the best foundation to work for.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Erin Reedy. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.