Job Duties
Key responsibilities for the CHRO include, but are not limited to:
HR Strategy and Leadership
▪ Serve as principal adviser to the President’s Cabinet on human-capital strategy, aligning workforce plans with institutional goals, enrollment trajectories, and research priorities.
▪ Craft and communicate a multi-year HR strategic plan that emphasizes employee engagement, student centric service, and fiscal stewardship.
▪ Provide data-informed guidance on organizational design, workforce analytics, and succession planning, ensuring HR initiatives anticipate emerging trends in higher education and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
HR Transformation and Innovation
▪ Lead the modernization of HR systems, processes, and service-delivery models—especially the transition to Workday and related automation initiatives—so HR is agile, transparent, and customer-focused.
▪ Champion a continuous-improvement mindset that streamlines workflows, reduces administrative burden, and leverages technology to enhance decision-making.
▪ Promote a culture of change readiness, equipping HR staff and campus partners with the tools and mindsets necessary to adopt new practices successfully.
Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, and Workforce Development
▪ Design inclusive recruitment strategies that attract mission-aligned faculty, staff, and coaches, while expediting time-to-hire and safeguarding a positive candidate experience.
▪ Oversee comprehensive onboarding frameworks that integrate digital pre-hire steps, Day-One orientation, and a structured 30, 60, and 90-day support model.
▪ Direct professional-development pathways - including leadership academies, mentorship programs, and micro-credential offerings - so employees at every career stage can grow and contribute.
Compensation, Benefits, and Total-Rewards Strategy
▪ Ensure equitable, market-responsive salary structures in accordance with Virginia DHRM guidelines by conducting regular market and equity analyses.
▪ Strengthen benefits communications - open enrollment, well-being initiatives, and retirement readiness—so employees fully understand and utilize their total-rewards package.
▪ Collaborate with Budget and Institutional Research to model compensation scenarios that balance competitiveness, pay equity, and fiscal responsibility.
Employee Relations and Organizational Health
▪ Serve as a trusted resource for cabinet-level leaders and employees on performance management, conflict resolution, and workplace climate.
▪ Preserve confidentiality and fairness in complaint investigations, collaborating with General Counsel, Title IX, Compliance, and Internal Audit as appropriate.
▪ Foster a positive, inclusive work environment that supports NSU’s values of integrity, civility, and diversity.
Regulatory Compliance and Risk Mitigation
▪ Interpret and apply federal, state, and Commonwealth regulations - including EEO, FLSA, ADA, ADEA,
Title IX, and DHRM policies - ensuring University-wide adherence.
▪ Oversee policy development, documentation, and recordkeeping that withstand audit scrutiny and protect institutional reputation.
▪ Guide HR’s contribution to NCAA and research-grant compliance, working closely with Athletics and Sponsored Programs.
Operational Excellence and HR Analytics
▪ Lead data-governance efforts, establishing consistent definitions, role-based security, and quality-assurance protocols for HR data.
▪ Monitor key performance indicators - turnover, time-to-hire, engagement, pay equity - and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
▪ Manage HR budgets, resources, and staffing to deliver high-caliber services while demonstrating fiscal prudence.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement
▪ Build strong partnerships with deans, directors, faculty governance bodies, and staff councils to ensure HR initiatives reflect diverse perspectives and campus needs.
▪ Serve as the University’s ambassador on human-capital matters, sharing emerging best practices and representing NSU in statewide HR forums.
▪ Cultivate an environment of shared accountability, celebrating successes and fostering collective ownership of HR’s role in advancing NSU’s strategic plan.
Minimum Qualifications
▪ A bachelor's degree is required. A master's degree in higher human‑resources management, business/public administration, higher‑education leadership, or a closely related field is desired.
▪ Ten plus years of senior‑level HR leadership, preferably within Virginia state government, higher education, or another complex public‑sector setting, with full accountability for talent acquisition, classification, and compensation, benefits, employee/labor relations, HRIS, and organizational development.
▪ Demonstrated fluency with Virginia DHRM policies (or comparable state systems) and federal statutes such as EEO, FLSA, ADA, ADEA, and Title IX, including experience navigating faculty tenure and grant‑funded appointments.
▪ Proven success spearheading HR‑transformation initiatives—system upgrades, shared‑services models, process redesign, and metrics‑driven service enhancements—that improve efficiency and user experience.
▪ Record of advising presidents, provosts, boards, or cabinet‑level leaders on workforce strategy, succession planning, total‑rewards design, and culture change.
▪ Expertise in budget preparation and fiscal stewardship for multi‑million‑dollar HR operations.
▪ Professional certification such as SHRM‑SCP, SPHR, CCP, or comparable credential strongly preferred
Additional Considerations
▪ Visionary strategist who aligns human‑capital priorities with NSU’s mission of transforming lives through teaching, research, and service.
▪ Inclusive leader who champions diversity, equity, and belonging, ensuring every Spartan—faculty, staff, and student employee—feels respected and empowered.
▪ Diplomatic change agent adept at building consensus, honoring existing strengths, and guiding teams through modernization with transparency and empathy.
▪ Data‑savvy decision‑maker who leverages analytics to drive policy, forecast workforce needs, and demonstrate ROI on HR initiatives.
▪ Exceptional communicator and collaborator, comfortable engaging faculty governance, staff councils, state agencies, and external partners with clarity and poise.
▪ High integrity and discretion; models ethical behavior, safeguards confidentiality, and earns trust across all organizational levels.
▪ Resilient, results‑oriented professional who sets ambitious goals, measures progress and celebrates collective success while maintaining focus on student‑centered service excellence.
Special Instructions
You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.
WittKieffer is assisting Norfolk State University in this search. All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by August 4, 2025. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Sarah Palmer and Luis Bertot at
Contact Information
Name: Human Resources
Phone: 7578238160
Email:
In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter.