Director, Organizational Development, Human Resources

The role will apply human-centered, systems, and design thinking approaches to strengthen organizational effectiveness, build stakeholder ownership, and advance a culture of learning, innovation, and inclusive excellence. The Director will advise academic and administrative leaders, facilitate strategic design and collaboration, and guide complex efforts from discovery through sustained adoption.

Boston University's Organizational Development & Learning (OD&L) team is seeking a Director of Organizational Development. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, the Director will lead a team of OD specialists and bring demonstrated change and transformation capabilities to university-wide initiatives. The Director will advise academic and administrative leaders, facilitate strategic design and collaboration, and guide complex efforts from discovery through sustained adoption. The role will apply human-centered, systems, and design thinking approaches to strengthen organizational effectiveness, build stakeholder ownership, and advance a culture of learning, innovation, and inclusive excellence.

Responsibilities include:

Human-Centered Strategic Change & Transformation

• Lead university-wide transformation using human-centered and design thinking approaches.
• Apply systems thinking and participatory practices to engage the community in shaping change.
• Integrate talent capability building into transformation.
• Use stakeholder insights to guide design, implementation, and measurement.
• Address adoption barriers and build ownership for sustained success.

Facilitation, Design Thinking & Innovation

• Lead workshops, retreats, and design sessions that engage diverse perspectives.
• Apply design thinking, journey mapping, prototyping, and dialogue to address complex challenges.
• Evaluate outcomes and refine approaches using feedback and data.

Project Leadership

• Lead OD initiatives from discovery through sustained implementation.
• Manage scope, timelines, and stakeholder engagement.
• Embed the human-centered approaches into planning and execution.
• Build readiness, mobilize champions, accelerate adoption, and sustain results.

Partnership & Collaboration

• Build trusted partnerships across academic and administrative units.
• Connect diverse voices to co-create solutions and advance strategic priorities.
• Foster relationships, continuous learning, innovation, and inclusive excellence.

Required Skills

Required Education

• Master’s degree in organizational development, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, or related field

Preferred Education

• Certifications in Design Thinking, Human-Centered Design, Dialogic OD, Change Management

Required Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in organizational development, transformational change design and management, or related areas.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in higher education or mission-driven organizations is a plus.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Demonstrated expertise in human-centered change and design thinking methodologies.
• Demonstrated expertise in dialogic and humanistic OD approaches.
• Proven ability to lead strategic planning and team development initiatives in complex organizations.
• Exceptional facilitation, coaching, and consulting skills.
• Project management skills.
• Effective Written, verbal, and interpersonal communication.

 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. 

 

Required Experience