The City of Bellevue is looking for a Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to join our executive leadership team. A strong leader with a passion for public service, this position provides proactive advice and counsel to departments in developing people-focused strategies that align with and drive a high-performance and inclusive, engaged workplace culture. The Director reports to a Deputy City Manager and contributes as an engaged leadership team member and collaborative, strategic business partner to address organization-wide opportunities and challenges for the City. The Director also sponsors or serves as a leadership team member on several citywide committees.
The Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leads the people strategy, culture, and employee engagement for the City by integrating human resources, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The Director oversees the human resources functions, programs, and services, including compensation and benefit systems, classification structures, recruitment, employee development and training, organizational culture, employee engagement, performance management, policy administration and compliance, payroll, and labor and employee relations. This role also oversees the City’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and collaborates to implement the Diversity Advantage Plan. The Director integrates diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into human resources practices and policies, resulting in positive impacts across the employee lifecycle and organizational culture.
The Director is expected to model Bellevue’s One City culture and work collaboratively with other department directors and staff. The City fosters an environment of inclusion, innovation, open communication, and collaboration where ideas and feedback are encouraged, supported, and valued. The Director promotes a culture committed to providing exceptional service, upholding the public interest, and implementing the community’s vision. City employees take pride in their work, bring collective skills and qualities to the table, and embrace the values of integrity, stewardship, innovation, commitment to employees, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and exceptional public service. The Director is responsible for fostering an environment where leaders exist at all department levels, and where being innovative, collaborative, and future-focused are the norm.

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE

The City of Bellevue is seeking a strategic, equity-centered, and collaborative leader who can unite human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion into a cohesive, future-ready vision. The Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion embraces the opportunity to model equity-driven human resources leadership, contribute to the strategic investment in Bellevue’s values, culture, and future, and ensure equity remains a visible and credible organizational commitment.
The Director provides a forward-looking workforce strategy, anticipating the jobs, benefits, and talent pipelines of the future. A high-level understanding of current trends and practices in equal opportunity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, community engagement, and community outreach, with a curiosity to learn from subject-matter experts, is essential. An effective communicator and active listener, the Director partners with departments across the City to develop and retain a high-performing, diverse workforce, ensuring Bellevue remains an employer of choice. With strong business and political acumen, the successful candidate thinks holistically about how human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion affect every part of the organization, leaning in to provide proactive strategies that strengthen organizational resilience and position Bellevue as a leader in human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion integration.
The Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has deep knowledge of human resources and effectively collaborates to elevate human resources beyond its traditional transactional role by positioning it as a trusted, strategic partner. A natural convener and collaborator, the successful candidate recognizes the importance of relationships at all levels and actively partners with internal colleagues in support of a positive and collaborative organizational culture. With strong change management skills, they navigate politically sensitive contexts with clarity and courage, balancing Bellevue’s consensus-driven culture with the need for timely, decisive action. By applying data-driven decision-making and a results-driven management philosophy, the Director tracks progress, ensuring transparency and accountability through measurable outcomes.
The Director is a coach and mentor who develops staff and cultivates leaders across the organization. With a strong commitment to both legal compliance and an inclusive culture, they foster a positive, learning organizational culture that motivates employees to perform at their best while upholding Bellevue’s core values. Grounded in humility and accountability, the successful candidate inspires confidence and strengthens both the employee experience and community trust in the City of Bellevue.

QUALIFICATIONS

Ten or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in human resource management is required, including broad expertise in the various disciplines of human resources, including experience with classification and compensation, labor relations, benefits, protective leaves and ADA, employee relations, human resources information systems, alternative dispute resolution, organizational development, and talent acquisition. Prior experience supporting strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is essential. Direct experience leading and supervising a team is required. Previous experience working in labor relations and partnering with unions is highly valuable. Experience in a position of comparable scope and size to the City of Bellevue is ideal.
A bachelor’s degree in human resources, public administration, business, communications, or related field is required. Professional Human Resources (PHR) or Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certification is preferred, as is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) certification. An equivalent combination of experience and education that enables success as the Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will be considered.

LEADERSHIP & INNOVATION

Bellevue leads with core values of exceptional public service, stewardship, commitment to employees, integrity, innovation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The City is committed to fostering a high-performance culture and has an ongoing organizational improvement effort called “One City.” One City embraces shared leadership, collaboration, empowerment, innovation, and performance management.

The City of Bellevue began seeking national accreditation for its operating departments in the late 1990s. Today, Bellevue is one of just a few cities in the nation where every major operating department has earned accreditation from the following respected evaluating agencies.

• Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI)
• The Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA)
• The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)
• The American Public Works Association (APWA)

In addition to these accreditations, the Finance Department has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (ACFR Program) and Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) every year since 1983.
Bellevue conducts annual surveys of residents and employees and biennial surveys of businesses. The City has enjoyed consistently high ratings even during the economic downturn– proof of the commitment of hard-working municipal employees to deliver exceptional customer service even with limited resources. Highlights of the 2022 resident survey indicated that 91% of Bellevue residents believe that their quality of life exceeds or greatly exceeds their expectations. Nearly 86% said the quality of City services either greatly exceeds or exceeds their expectations.

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