City of Bellevue, WA - Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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 Citys 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 Bellevues 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 communitys 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 Priorities

The Director of Human Resources and Diversity Equity and Inclusion will lead several initiatives and ensure the successful implementation of citywide strategic system changes that include:

• Successfully and holistically merging the Diversity Advantage Team with the Human Resources Team.
• Implementation of the Diversity Advantage Plan 2035.
• Completion of and subsequent rollout of a job classification study.
• Evaluation and modernization of the employee performance evaluation system.
• Implementing the action plan from the 2025 Employee Engagement and Inclusion survey.

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 Bellevues 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 Bellevues 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 Bellevues 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 bachelors 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.

Inside The City of Bellevue

The City of Bellevue recognizes that successful local government operations require strong collaborative political leadership clear policy direction a relentless focus on execution and results a commitment to transparent and ethical government and a strategy for representing and engaging every segment of the community. Bellevue operates under a Council/Manager form of government. All City staff report to the City Manager who is the sole employee of the City Council which is comprised of seven members elected at large serving staggered four-year terms. The Council selects a Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among its members. The Council sets the general policies of the City which the City Manager and City Staff implement.

The City provides a full range of services including Police and Fire protection Utilities Parks and Community Services Transportation Development Services Community Development Information Technology and Finance and Asset Management. The 2025-26 adopted budget of $1.9 billion funds essential services while also making targeted investments to address Bellevues unprecedented growth. Bellevue is in a strong financial position as indicated by AAA ratings assigned to city bonds.

MISSION

Provide exceptional customer service uphold the public interest and advance the community vision.

VISION

Be a collaborative and innovative organization that is future-focused and committed to excellence.

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.

Inside the Human Resources Department

Vision: Collaborative Partnership for Success

Being a strategic partner for collaboration fostering a culture of trust diversity equity inclusion and growth for our employees and community.

Mission: Empowering Our Organization in Service of Our Community

We are committed to cultivating talent upholding our values and ensuring exceptional customer service enabling us to build an inclusive city workforce that can meet the diverse needs of those we serve.

The Human Resources Department is organized into four divisions: Compensation and Labor and Employee Relations; Recruitment and Organizational Development; Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI); and Benefits Retirement Payroll and HRIS. Each division is managed by an Assistant Director who reports to the Director. The talented and dedicated staff of 35 promotes the sound management of employee resources and best practices for the city that fulfill community needs and resident expectations. With a 2025-26 operating budget of approximately $19.9 million and an additional $61.5 million in Healthcare Trust Funds the department ensures resources are strategically allocated to support organizational goals staff development and service delivery.

Bellevue staff operate in a culture of high-caliber dedicated professionals empowered to solve problems and achieve the best outcomes for the organization and the community. The teams are committed to being a strategic partner with City departments by providing outstanding customer service in attracting retaining developing and deploying a high-performance diverse workforce in support of the changing needs of the organization. They lead the Citys efforts to advance diversity equity and inclusion for both employees and the community partnering with departments across the organization to implement DEI plans and initiatives fostering inclusive spaces and coordinating programs community events special projects and outreach that strengthen belonging and equity citywide.

The Bellevue Community

Located in the heart of the Puget Sound region on the eastern shore of Lake Washington between Seattle and the Cascade Mountains Bellevue is the economic and cultural hub of East King County. It is frequently named one of the 100 best places to live by Money magazine. Home to about 155000 residents it is the fifth most populous city in Washington covering an area of about 31 square miles. Bellevue is culturally diverse with 61 percent of its population identifying as people of color. About 43 percent of the population is foreign-born with over 90 languages spoken in Bellevue schools. Asians comprise just under 42 percent of the population the eighth highest percentage in the nation for cities with 100000 in population or more and the highest percentage of large cities outside of California and Hawaii.

Bellevue is the second-largest employment center in King County with about 150000 jobs. With direct connections to Seattle and other regional centers via interstate and state highways Bellevue is a highly desirable location for businesses. Light rail service will connect Bellevue to the Microsoft campus in Redmond in 2024 and Seattle Lynnwood and SeaTac airport in 2025. The city has a rich mix of small and medium sized businesses as well as some of the countrys best-known companies Amazon T-Mobile (HQ) Salesforce Symetra TikTok Microsoft Meta and PACCAR (HQ). Bellevues school district is continually ranked among the nations best academically with excellent athletic programs as well. Bellevue College offering two- and four-year degrees is the largest institution in the states community and technical college system.

The quality of life in Bellevue is exceptional. The City is often described as a City in a Park due to its park system and access to recreation activities in nearby Cascade Mountains freshwater lakes and Puget Sound. City venues include community and beach parks trails and botanical gardens. Just minutes from downtown is Mercer Slough Nature Park the largest freshwater wetland on Lake Washington with over 320 acres of wildlife habitat agriculture wetland ecosystems trails and an education center. Whether visiting one of the community farms enjoying a round of golf swimming at the Bellevue Aquatic Center catching a performance at the youth theatre or a movie in the park there is always something to see and do in Bellevue. Popular annual events include the Arts Fest Family July 4th celebration and Garden dLights a brilliant winter wonderland display at Bellevue Botanical Gardens during the holiday season. Bellevue retains the charm of a small town featuring growing tree-lined neighborhoods and natural beauty yet offers the convenient amenities and sophistication of living in a truly urban community.

Compensation and Benefits

The full salary range for the Director of Human Resources and Diversity Equity and Inclusion is $177813 - $248917 and will depend on the qualifications of the successful candidate. The City of Bellevue provides a generous benefits package. Learn more about the options and employee-based benefits here.

The City of Bellevue supports flexible work arrangements that promote productivity and work-life balance while ensuring operational effectiveness. This position is eligible for a hybrid schedule following an approved telework agreement and based on the assessment of business needs.

How to Apply

Applicants complete a brief online form and are prompted to provide a cover letter and resume. The position is open until filled with first review of applications beginning Monday September 22 2025.

At the City of Bellevue youll be part of a team committed to providing exceptional customer service upholding the public interest and advancing the communitys vision. Youll work in an environment that is innovative collaborative future-focused and committed to excellence. Bellevue welcomes the world. Our diversity is our strength. We embrace the future while respecting our past. Its what makes the City of Bellevue an exciting place to work live and explore.

The City of Bellevue supports workplace diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race color gender sexual orientation gender identity or expression religion national origin marital status age disability veteran status genetic information or any other protected status.

Persons needing an ADA accommodation in the application process may call the Raftelis Office at or email. If you are invited to participate in the selection process and need ADA accommodations please notify the Search Manager before you are scheduled for an interview.

Questions

For more information or questions regarding the City of Bellevue or the Director of Human Resources and Diversity Equity and Inclusion position please contact the Search Manager Heather Gantz at .

RECRUITMENT BROCHURE