Director of Employee Experience

Job Title: Director of Employee Experience
Department: People Department
Location: Oakland CA, Washington DC, or Remote
Reports To: Deputy Chief of People
Supervises: 3-4 staff
Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of interdependence. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice - a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel injustice, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our future. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it. Sierra Club has close to 700 staff across the country and a network of 64 local chapters that are led and fueled by thousands of volunteers. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with three labor unions representing more than half of our employees.
Scope: The Director of Employee Experience is a critical member of the People Team and collaborates with People Operations and Employee Relations to build, maintain, and enhance a values-aligned employee lifecycle. Ensures that Sierra Club can attract and retain a highly skilled, passionate, and diverse workforce. Partners closely with People Team and cross-functional stakeholders to stand up and support people-centered programs and initiatives that foster workplace belonging and community. Works with People Team leadership to continuously build, assess, and improve employee recognition and professional development initiatives. Serves as key leader of the People Team to support organizational culture and infrastructure.
Job activities include but are not limited to:
Recruitment: Define and guide best practices at every level to build and maintain Sierra Club’s recruitment culture. Work with the Recruiting Manager to support and maintain a rich and values-aligned candidate experience, cultivating and maintaining warm candidate pools. Support communications and training of managers and hiring teams - including best practices, and interview training as needed. Roll out organization-wide recruitment guidance that reflects current and innovative practices. Ensure that Sierra Club can attract robust and diverse applicant pools at all levels of the organization. Review and develop systems and practices for socializing open roles in underrepresented communities.
Onboarding: Support the enhancement and delivery of organizational onboarding. Work with Employee Experience Specialist to ensure that all new hires benefit from a robust and seamless experience that welcomes them to the Sierra Club and familiarizes them with key roles and systems. Devise new opportunities to engage incoming staff,
Learning: Develop an organization-wide learning and development strategy that is future-facing and responsive to the moment. Work with the Deputy Chief of People to identify organizational gaps and needs. Build and deliver synchronous and asynchronous learning modules, create resources, and serve as an expert guide on learning strategy as a coach and mentor to the Employee Experience Team and volunteer partners.
Engagement: Design and conduct annual employee surveys, culture surveys, and be the lead survey-minded thinker for the People Department. Analyze data and develop reports and responsive, values-aligned recommendations in coordination with the Deputy Chief of People.
Staff Management: Build and maintain a high-functioning team. Make hiring, promotion, and termination decisions for supervised staff. Mentor and develop the Employee Experience Team and conduct annual performance evaluations.
Program Management: Develop and implement people-centered programs aimed at fostering workplace belonging and the socialization of our organizational values. Support the coordination of Sierra Club’s Affinity Groups and their strategic integration as thought partners in culture work.
The successful candidate must demonstrate the following skills, experience and competencies:
Recruiting & Onboarding. You have extensive experience leading initiatives aimed at welcoming new people to a company or organization. You understand federal requirements and legal obligations connected to document retention and non-discriminatory hiring practices. You have experience running, developing, evaluating, and scaling recruiting and onboarding initiatives.
Content Development & Delivery. You are a strong facilitator and skilled in designing synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences. You are equally adept at coaching and collaborating with your team to bring learning experiences to life, creating shared ownership while ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery. You have strong audience analysis skills, adapt content to meet learner needs and have a strong grasp on the basics of adult learning - including but not limited to best practices, inclusive approaches to learning styles, and program/project management supporting engagement in learning opportunities.
Team Management. You are an effective and compassionate manager who builds team cultures characterized by collaboration and trust. You have experience managing workloads with shifting priorities and can maintain equanimity and focus. You love learning and thinking about how you can evolve and grow as a manager.
Technology. You are proficient in some ATS, LMS, and HRIS systems and can pick up new ones easily.
People Analytics. Effective at gathering employee feedback and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, identifying meaningful patterns, and translating findings into practical recommendations.
Committed to evolution. You are committed to continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate.
Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth; problems as catalysts for solutions, and inspire others along the journey. You carry a constructive approach, can-do attitude, a sense of humor, and authentic kindness wherever you go.
The strongest candidate will also demonstrate the following skills, experience and competencies:
Skilled at building cross-functional relationships and collaboration.
Strong project management skills.
Experience partnering with executives, advising senior leaders on employee experience, culture, learning, and engagement.
To Apply
The Sierra Club provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, lived experience and skills. The Sierra Club does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The Sierra Club values applicants who are people that identify as Black, Indigenous, and other minoritized groups; women; queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender fluid people.
Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.
Applications will be accepted through Monday, October 12, 2026.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
Compensation And Benefits
The salary range for this position is $150,000 annually.
The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.
This is a category 3, exempt, non-represented, confidential and managerial position.
Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club People Department in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition. The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce belonging.

Work arrangement
Yes