Employee Experience Senior Manager at U of C NORC

JOB SUMMARY:

NORC is seeking a proactive and experienced Employee Experience Senior Manager to lead and execute our new Employee Experience programs. These programs aim to strengthen interpersonal connections and enrich our organizational culture through a mix of in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. The position reports to the Director of Employee Experience and will involve developing, implementing, and managing a series of structured programs (touchpoints) that foster staff engagement, professional development, and positive business outcomes while supporting diverse work arrangements. This individual will be critical in driving our mission to create an inclusive, cohesive, and dynamic work environment. 

DEPARTMENT: NORC People

The NORC People department supports NORC's mission and values by collaborating with research, operations, and administrative departments to recruit, develop, and retain top staff. Because NORC is a government contractor, the NORC People team plays a large role ensuring that all staff information and systems remain secure and that our organization is fully compliant with our policies. NORC People is responsible for talent acquisition, hiring, benefits administration, employee relations matters, and performance evaluation programs to ensure our organization is maintaining compliance while keeping employees’ best interests in mind.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Design 

• Strategic Program Design: Design thoughtful, actionable, measurable programs aligned with organizational goals related to team building, professional growth, and positive business impacts. 


• Inclusive Engagement Programs: Enable peer-to-peer connections by designing programs that bring together staff across teams and functions, and across in-person, hybrid, and virtual modalities, with a particular focus on meaningful in-person experiences and recognition programs. 


• Program Planning and Structuring: Develop and maintain standard workflows for each program element to maintain consistency, quality, and efficiency across program activities. Set clear goals, timelines, and milestones for each initiative to ensure alignment with NORC’s broader objectives. 

Program Implementation and Execution 

• End-to-End Program Execution: Lead the implementation of programs in collaboration with the Employee Experience Coordinator and teams across NORC. Organize company events and team-building activities to support NORC’s Touchpoint Strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational goals 


• Project and Program Management: Maintain project schedules, task assignments, and resource allocation to ensure on-time delivery of high-quality programming. 

Stakeholder Management 

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as a key liaison between departments, working closely with the NORC People team; The Office of Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion; Strategic Communications; Events; and other teams. Ensure clear communication of program progress, goals, and results to all stakeholders. 


• Marketing and Communication Campaigns: Partner with internal communications to develop campaigns that highlight the Touchpoints Strategy and broader employee experience initiatives, building enthusiasm through creative engagement tactics. 


• Regular Stakeholder Engagement: Facilitate regular check-ins and updates with senior leaders and departmental heads to align on project goals, address challenges, and adapt programming as necessary to support shared objectives. 

Project and Program Reporting 

• Performance Tracking and Reporting: Develop and implement systems to track metrics on engagement, feedback, attendance, and impact. Report on outcomes to stakeholders, providing insights into program effectiveness and areas for improvement. 


• Continuous Optimization: Track, analyze, and report on program performance. Implement data-driven improvements to enhance engagement and effectiveness in real-time. 


• Data-Driven Decision Making: Leverage program data to guide continuous improvement efforts, refining touchpoints to better align with NORC’s evolving needs and maximize employee satisfaction and engagement. 

Employee Engagement and Listening  

• Feedback Collection: Execute a structured approach to gather employee feedback through surveys, focus groups, and pulse checks. 


• Data Analysis: Regularly analyze and report findings to inform ongoing program refinement and improvement. 


• Department-Level Support: Consult department heads with HR business partners to help them understand data related to their teams and actions they can take to address feedback. Work closely with HRBPs and departments to create tailored solutions that align with their specific needs, staff dynamics, and operational methods 

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REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field. Master’s degree in a relevant discipline preferred. 


• Experience: 5+ years of experience in program or project management, or a similar role, with proven expertise in managing complex, cross-functional programs in distributed work environments. 


• Project and Program Management Skills: Strong project management skills with a solid understanding of tools and frameworks relevant to managing a portfolio of large-scale organizational programs. 


• Communication and Stakeholder Engagement: Excellent communication skills with a demonstrated ability to engage, inform, and align stakeholders at all levels through clear and compelling messaging.  


• Strategic Vision: Proven track record of designing and implementing large-scale, organization-wide strategies or initiatives that foster culture, development, and engagement. 


• Adaptability and Initiative: Highly adaptable, with a comfort in shaping and evolving program structures based on feedback and changing needs, while actively contributing to the establishment of new capabilities within the organization. 

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The pay range for this position is $90,000 – $120,000.

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:  

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment 

  
  


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  Dental and vision insurance  

  
  


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  A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program  

  
  


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  Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance 

  
  


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  Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). 

  
  

 NORC’s Approach to Equity and Transparency  

Pay and benefits transparency helps to reduce wage gaps. As part of our commitment to pay equity and salary transparency, NORC includes a salary range for each job opening along with information about eligible benefit offerings. At NORC, we take a comprehensive approach to setting salary ranges and reviewing raises and promotions, which is overseen by a formal Salary Review Committee (SRC). 

WHAT WE DO:

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

WHO WE ARE:

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

EEO STATEMENT: 

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally protected characteristics.