Director of Talent & Culture

We are seeking an empathetic system builder who is passionate about creating a staff team and org culture built on principles of excellence, collaboration, accountability, and equity.   

Areas of Responsibility

1. Ensure consistency of employment experience at MSA  

• Ensure that all staff have clear, up to date job descriptions and responsibilities 
• Ensure that all staff participate in required and person-specific professional development  
• Through systems of regular feedback, develop and refine clear organizational policies and practices by regularly updating team handbook, and develop basic training programs where needed 
• Provide World Class Onboarding to new MSA staff including the development, modification and maintenance of the Onboarding Hub and materials to ensure a comprehensive onboarding process with support from the onboarding team 
• Regularly survey team on culture and satisfaction and provide feedback to senior leadership 
• Ensure that all team members have regular performance evaluations and opportunities for feedback from their managers and to their managers, peers and direct reports 
• Serve as resource for staff navigating complex interpersonal dynamics 
• Act as the first point of contact for all human resources questions and needs; act as a liaison with the National Trust when necessary 
• Provide administrative support for all staff Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility work 

2. Ensure that supervisors have the tools, skills, and support needed to be excellent managers of our growing staff 

• Provide administrative support for managers
• Create a continuous learning environment for managers and culture of upward feedback 

3. Serve as first point of contact for all human resource issues, liaising with legal counsel and with parent corporation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, as necessary 

4. Direct three cross team working groups - those focused on onboarding, on internal system building and on effective use of hardware and software – and provide administrative support to our long-term objective to center diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in our work

• Use this leadership role as an example for creating guidelines on managing a cross team working group 
• Manage a team knowledgebase where there are clear guidelines for the documentation of core processes

Requirements

Top Candidates MUST HAVE the following characteristics:

• Diversity, equity and inclusion, and accessibility experience, skills, and values 
• Identifies decisions, policies, or practices that have impacts based on identity. 
• Is driven to make changes in systems and practices to operationalize equity. 
• Has direct experience in operationalizing DEIA in a previous admin or HR position. We understand that successfully implementing DEIA policies is extremely challenging. We’re interested in hearing about your experience, even if it wasn’t successful. 

• Applies best practices in equitable management: 
• Translates equity and inclusion into plans for staff development, retention, strategy, and improving culture. 
• Leads with humility. 

• Relationship builder and empathetic leader 
• Enthusiasm for meeting and engaging with people. 
• Able to put people at ease, especially when there are lines of difference. 
• Listens closely to understand needs or concerns and takes steps based on that input. 
• Responds to people in a timely manner. 
• Takes pride in providing clear, helpful information. 

• Coach and learning approach: 
• Helps others grow. 
• Uses coaching, training, and feedback to develop others and support problem-solving. 
• Sees mistakes as learning opportunities. 
• Seeks and engages well with feedback. 

• Ability to navigate conflict: 
• Comfort with difficult conversations. 
• Sees conflict as an opportunity for growth. 
• Experience mediating conflict with compassion, clarity, and a solutions-focus. 
• Encourages transparent and constructive dialogue between team members.   

• Strong Written and Oral Communication 
• Able to create compelling, simple, and clear communications for internal audiences and to present/teach new processes to the team.  

• Operates with discretion and knowledge of HR legal and compliance issues 
• Comfort with and confidence dealing with sensitive personnel issues and managing processes involving layers of compliance 
• Has a sophisticated approach grounded in professional experience to balance organizational culture and context with the details of legal compliance 
• Comfortable in difficult conversations. 

• Comfort with change 

• Attention to detail
• Notices and fixes errors that others might overlook. 
• Acknowledges mistakes and turns them into learning opportunities. 
• Has a track record of leaving things better than they found them. 

• Excited to join a fast-paced, dynamic, entrepreneurial, passionate team that is fast-growing, primed for growth. 
• Able to move work forward independently 

• System thinker and builder
• Able to quickly understand, draw inspiration, and take action in response to a range of challenges and needs.
• Excited by the opportunity to set up foundational systems, policies, practices, and protocols for a dynamic, growing team. 

Extraordinary Candidates may have the following Nice to Have characteristics: 

• Proactively learns new tools; Stays ahead of the curve in an ever-changing technology environment. 
• Entrepreneurial and resourceful: Consistently overcomes challenges and leverages resources to creatively solve problems. Proposes solutions to issues without much guidance (but isn’t afraid to ask questions). Proactively asks for help, anticipates problems, and course-corrects where needed. 
• SHRM certified 
• Experience with change management 
• Knowledge with/familiarity of The Management Center tools and resources 
• Drawn to documentation - Is predisposed toward and disciplined about documenting new processes and establishing written record of past processes. 
• Interested in supporting productive feedback loops as a core organizational practice - Able to help recognize and synthesize feedback and steer peers and leadership toward action and reform. 

TO APPLY:
Please submit your resume and cover letter describing why you want to work at Main Street America through the workable platform.

HIRING TIMELINE

• July 31 – job opens 
• Sept 2 – applicants due 
• Sept 3 - Screening 
• Sept 10 – First Round Interviews 
• Sept 17 - Second Round Interviews 
• October - onboarding 

Benefits

The salary range for this position is $114,000 - $117,600.

Main Street America is a dynamic, diverse, remote-first team. We hire empathetic managers, create a fulfilling work environment, and provide excellent benefits. We strive to balance achievement, connection and rest through key structures:  

• We all organize our work annually around our six long-term objectives of our strategic plan;  

• We meet in person twice a year at team retreats, and many staff attend our annual conference; and 

• We have more than 25 paid holidays (including the last week of December and the week surrounding the fourth of July), and have meeting-free weeks (“Rejuvenation Weeks”) the last week of August and first week of January for deep focus and planning.  

We keep a 35-hour work week, and most of our team works Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Some positions require additional hours and time outside regular business hours.  

Full-time, regular employees are entitled to:   

• Health Insurance: Our group benefit plans include medical, EAP, dental and vision, life, and disability plans.  

• Paid Sick Leave: Full-time employees accrue sick leave at a rate of 3.23 hours per pay period (maximum accrual at 420 hours). 

• Vacation Accrual: In addition to the more than 25 paid holidays m.entioned above, full-time employees begin with two weeks vacation, and accrue vacation at a rate of 4.85 hours per pay period for the first 3 years. At years 3-10, the accrual rate increases to 6 hours, and employees with tenures of more than 10 years accrue at a rate of 6.92 hours per pay period (for a maximum accrual at 210 hours). 

• FMLA: We follow the DC Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides 16 weeks of unpaid leave in blocks or intermittently for family leave (the birth or adoption of a child, or caring for a sick relative) and 16 weeks of unpaid leave in blocks or intermittently for medical leave (recovering from a serious illness) in a 24 month period for any employee employed for at least a year. 

• 401(a) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan: At its discretion, Main Street America makes an employer contribution typically equal to 5% of earned compensation no later than April for the prior calendar year in which you worked at least 1,000 hours. Vesting begins at 20% after two years, and increases until it reaches 100% after five years. 

• 403(b) Individual Retirement Plan: Employee pre-tax contributions are permitted up to IRS limits. For 2024, those are $23,000, plus another $7,500 in catch-up contributions for employees age 50 years and over. 

• Professional Development: At its discretion, Main Street America provides $1,500 in professional development funds to each employee annually, as well as other team-wide professional development trainings. 

Main Street America (MSA) leads an inclusive, impact-driven movement dedicated to reenergizing and strengthening older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts through place-based economic development and community preservation. We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.

Since its founding in 1980, the MSA network has helped to generate over $101 billion in local reinvestment, rehab 335,000 buildings, create 780,000 new jobs, and start 175,000 new businesses in over 2,000 communities. Main Street America is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

MSA is a dynamic, growing, national team. Our team is passionate about Main Street’s mission, with ambitions to significantly scale and deepen our impact in communities across the country. We have deep expertise across a broad range of disciplines including economic development, historic preservation, urban planning, finance, and public affairs. We have a proven track record in helping a diverse range of communities through direct technical assistance, professional development programs, thought leadership, and targeted tools.

We strive for a culture that is team-oriented, collaborative, high performing, and committed to equity and inclusion. MSA is a remote-first organization, providing a flexible environment in which team members can thrive in both their professional and personal lives. Hybrid work arrangements are available to those living near the Chicago headquarters.

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