Chief Human Resources Officer

Oil-Dri Corporation of America, 410 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America Req #1490

Friday, October 6, 2023

Responsibilities

The Vice President of Human Resources will lead all of the human resources functions for the company. Leading at the strategic level while also getting into the details. The individual will develop clear and effective strategic plans which dovetail with the overall plans of the business to grow enterprise value. He/she will partner with the CEO and the other members of the executive leadership team to preserve and leverage the Oil-Dri WE CARE culture that has been fundamental to the company’s success and their ability to attract and retain teammates.

We seek a world class human resources leader who can build a contemporary human resources function inside this well-managed company, advance new ideas and programs that enable, support and grow shareholder value. This requires the confidence to interact with the board of directors and senior management, the knowledge and poise to promote and implement new ideas, who has the capability to build a team that is similarly engaged and talented, and who is approachable and engaged at all levels in the organization.

Key Priorities:

• Functioning as a business partner to the CEO and to operating leaders of the company, providing new and effective human resource programs and tools to catalyze the company’s growth plans and ambition to expand.
• Partnering with key leaders to preserve and promote the Oil-Dri culture including leading key cultural and teammate related communications to all Oil-Dri teammates around the world.
• Work within the company’s Integrated Business Planning process to understand and assimilate needs of the business units and other functions, and ‘own function’ assessment resulting in the creation of annual HR priorities. Then, establishing programs, tools and processes to deliver on those priorities.
• Providing deep and effective human resources guidance in talent management (entirety of the employee lifecycle), vertically integrated manufacturing and supply chain environment.
• Monitoring market employment trends and keeping leaders apprised along with recommending actions to respond to those changes in the competitive landscape.
• Establishing and monitoring consistent policies and procedures that will be communicated and implemented throughout the company.
• Ensures the company’s total rewards and benefits programs are competitive, in compliance, and in support of other human resources initiatives.
• Monitoring the legal requirements and complying with the governmental reporting regulations related to Human Resources. Serving as the primary contact for labor counsel and relevant government agencies. Taking the lead in the Ripley, Mississippi and Laval, Canada collective bargaining contract negotiations process as well as in any grievance or arbitration processes with the company’s corporate counsel.
• Developing and guiding the human resources technology roadmap and ensuring the company’s strategy in the space enables process automation and user experience progress where appropriate.
• Leading the evolution of data analytics in the people function, furthering the organization’s ability to incorporate meaningful data into people strategy and decisions.
• Directing and managing the staffing for the headquarters location (salaried exempt and non-exempt) and assisting the field locations with their staffing needs.
• Directing the training and development initiatives throughout the company. Ensuring connection to career building and succession planning efforts.
• Ensuring that the human resources programs and activities support the company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and leading the development and driving the execution of the social component of the company’s ESG strategy.
• Leading and coaching the human resources team. Assessing the human resources professionals and management for business, technical and leadership competence and providing supervision, coaching, development and counseling as needed to improve and enhance performance and impact to the Company’s success.
• Acting as a confidential and trusted advisor and resource for the CEO and the senior leadership team.
• Establishing and monitoring human resources policies and procedures affecting the company around the world and informing and educating management about these matters.

Qualifications

The foundational characteristics that we seek is a human resources leader who embodies the company’s strong culture of long-term commitment to shareholder value creation combined with pristine ethics, commitment to community, teammates, and customers, and environmental responsibility. This person must have the confidence and emotional intelligence to be involved with people at all levels inside and outside the company.

In particular, we seek a leader to fill this key position who has the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree combined with progressive experience in the human resources function with at least five years in a senior human resources leadership role. A master’s degree in an applicable discipline is preferred.
• At least fifteen years of progressive and successful leadership experience primarily in generalist human resources roles for a manufacturing company.
• A record of commitment with one or more organizations and demonstrated results in building out an HR function including a successful track record in human resources process, program, and project achievements.
• Experience in a family owned or closely held company is a plus.
• Ability to integrate best practices and world class initiatives across the company in an efficient and scale-appropriate manner where limited resources are the rule.
• Experience managing contemporary diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and working as a human resources leader in an enterprise with an excellent record for diversity in the leadership team and in the work force.
• Strategic perspective, business acumen, and a commitment to shareholder value that is enhanced through the human resources function. This person will have a record of placing a laser focus on the impact of the human resources function on business results and overall enterprise performance.
• Skills and commitment to being analytical and results oriented with a keen sense that data drives action as an essential element of business processes. Being able to present plans, initiatives, progress reports, and results in a concise, objective, and analytical manner to all levels of the organization including to the company’s Board of Directors.
• An understanding of all of the sub-functions of the human resources function and how these relate to each other and to the overall performance of the other functions in the business.
• A successful record of being committed and responsive to people issues with effective problem solving and interpersonal skills. A record of serving as a respected and trusted advisor and sounding board to people in all levels of the organization.
• A track record of engagement with the philanthropic or non-profit community is desirable especially as it indicates a willingness to use leadership talent to benefit the larger community.
• Oil-Dri Corporation of America, 410 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America