Chief Engagement & Culture Officer

The University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Development & Alumni Relations (DAR) seeks an inspiring, community-oriented Chief Engagement & Culture Officer (CECO) to serve as a creative visionary and connector in implementing a vibrant people and culture strategy that promotes organizational success and connection and advances a diverse and inclusive workplace in alignment with organizational mission, values, and goals.

The inaugural CECO’s efforts will enhance the experience for 600+ employees across DAR’s central office, twelve schools, and six centers and maximize the success of DAR in support of organizational goals and Penn’s Campaigns. Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice President for Strategy, Planning, and Advancement Services (SAVP), the CECO will bring a strategic culture-building framework to DAR’s human resources functions, strategic DAR communications, engagement and learning, and organizational change management. Partnering with other senior leaders in outlining departmental goals and objectives, the CECO will provide human-focused, and business centered strategic recommendations related to the methodologies and resources needed to achieve a shared vision and values-aligned actions.

The CECO will lead a team of ~seven professionals, including three direct reports, to augment existing efforts encompassing talent acquisition and retention, learning and development, employee engagement, and HR operations. The incumbent and their team will champion an engagement and communications framework focused on transparency, celebration, and collaboration. Using a data enlightened perspective, the CECO will measure employee engagement and retention, utilizing success metrics to further professional growth pathways and institutional success in ways that enhance DAR’s reputation and brand. The CECO will partner with the VP of DAR, the SAVP and other senior leaders to ensure that DAR’s culture and values are reflected in its messaging to key internal and external audiences.

A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) is at the core of DAR’s culture. As the CECO, this role will support that commitment through the lens of human resources, talent management, learning, and staff engagement. Together with DAR’s Chief of Staff & AVP for Diversity Initiatives, the CECO will evaluate the needs of the department and define a comprehensive approach for the infusion of DEIB efforts within its tailored employee engagement practices, programs, and policies.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity for a strategic people-centered leader to join a team committed to employee excellence, mission-driven work, and organizational growth. DAR is re-envisioning its people programs and operations and is seeking a champion for HR and talent management that promotes a growth mindset among leaders and staff through innovation, agency, and inclusion. Working closely with the SAVP and other senior leaders, the incumbent will co-design opportunities for information-sharing and cross collaboration and build relational understanding of the different ways that programs and people intersect in their work and relationships to one another.

The successful candidate will ideally bring at least ten years of experience creatively leading human resources and/or talent management operations and initiatives, experience working collaboratively with people of diverse backgrounds in a complex organization, and a demonstrated data-driven record of building workplace cultures that advance organizational objectives and goals. The CECO will have a thorough understanding of organizational development, human resources operations, and the ability to solve challenges strategically while ensuring effective communications internally and externally. The successful candidate should have a collegial style with a demonstrated ability to cultivate productive, mutually reinforcing relationships in a complex, distributed, and ever evolving environment. The inaugural CECO will be an inspiring, inclusive leader, and a strategic visionary of a workplace culture that fosters employee success and cultivates a positive organizational platform, leading with excitement, humility, and transparency.