City of Fort Worth
Human Resources Director​
Mackenzie Eason & Associates has been retained by the City of Fort Worth to recruit the next Human Resources Director.  Reporting to the Deputy City Manager, the Human Resources Director will provide leadership over the Human Resources Department's operations and activities, including talent acquisition, information systems/records, classification and compensation, civil service, employee and labor relations, benefits administration, wellness, occupational health & safety, ADA, risk management, workers compensation, affirmative action, and more. The position was vacated due to the recent retirement of the previous Human Resources Director.  The Human Resources Director is responsible for ensuring that all programs and initiatives are effective, efficient, and aligned with the overall objectives of the City and its over 6,500 employees.
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The vision for the Human Resources Director is to assess the process-driven, compliance-focused culture of today and provide leadership that fosters a new proactive, progressive, customer-service driven culture of tomorrow.  This role will effectively plan, design, develop and evaluate Human Resources initiatives that support the City’s strategic vision and goals.  

The Opportunity
This role requires a visionary leader to assist with developing and implementing short- and long-term plans to meet strategic goals and objectives for the City. Strategic thinking will be critical to identify opportunities and make data-driven decisions to develop innovative approaches and ideas that adapt to changing needs and conditions, both internally and externally.  The Director will provide support, advice, and strategic level recommendations to the City Managers Office.

The previous Human Resource Director was with the City for almost seven years. The former Director completely changed the Human Resources department from an antiquated personnel department to a highly functioning department. He was able to transform benefits in the City to reduce costs while increasing the overall benefits to employees and their families. He was able to focus on hiring some great talent to rebuild talent acquisition and risk management. Additionally, the City has replaced several Directors in the twenty-four departments throughout the City over the last five years due to retirements and exits. The next HR Director will need to take the department and City to the next level by focusing on development of existing talent throughout the City. The new Director will need to focus on continued development of an HR Business Partner model or another model to pivot to for the future.

Some challenges that the Human Resources Director will face over the next 3-5 years include:
  • Transforming the Human Resources Department into a strategic, forward-thinking department that drives innovation throughout the City.
  • Driving a culture of performance, results and positive employee relations.
  • Building credibility with department leaders and promoting employee engagement and diversity/equity/inclusion within the organization.
  • Collaborating with senior leaders to identify, prioritize, and build organizational capabilities, behaviors, and processes to accelerate talent development.
  • Building frameworks for career progression and professional development to engage and retain key talent at all levels as well as succession planning.
  • Building a strategic network throughout the departments within the City to build consensus for HR programs. 

Human Resources Department Organizational Chart

City of Fort Worth Executive Team

David Cooke- City Manager
David Cooke- City Manager
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Jay Chapa, Deputy City Manager
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Fernando Costa, Assistant City Manager
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Valerie Washington, Assistant City Manager
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Dana Burghdoff, Assistant City Manager

2021 Initiatives & City Manager Focus
EXPECTATIONS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE CITY
  • We have a shared responsibility for managing the city/ corporation.  We establish organization-wide principles, priorities, and values.  Department heads run departments as long as they don’t violate the previous statements. 
  • We represent the customer; we represent and protect the taxpayer; we represent our employees.  In all our decisions, we must balance these groups.
  • There’s always a plan.  Nothing just shows up.  Surprises are the exception.
  • For a plan to be successful, process and inclusion are important.  Having the right process and including the right people will save time (in the end).  Include others that do not think like you.
  • ​We can question and challenge each other; we support each other.
  • We are accountable to each other for our commitments.
  • Our responsibility is to provide the best service at the lowest cost . . . regardless of who provides it.  Cost equals total costs.
  • Our responsibility is to recommend the best “business decision for the city.”  These recommendations are supported by thorough evaluation of options using data and objective criteria.
  
WHAT DO WE WANT CITIZENS, CUSTOMERS, VISITORS, TAXPAYERS TO SAY ABOUT THE CITY OF FORT WORTH?
  • Great customer service:  responsive, respectful, attentive, friendly
  • Business-like, professionally managed
  • Creative problem solvers; solutions-oriented
  • Tight; fiscally conservative
  • Open and transparent:  nothing to hide and everything to share
  • Optimistic and future oriented

Employees at the City of Fort Worth provide municipal services to over 900,000 residents.  Each day, these employees are moving about the city, doing work that helps make Fort Worth a strong community and a great place to live.  There are six values that guide our employees as they go about this work.  They are:
As Fort Worth continues to grow and change, these principles help keep employees on point, providing the best service to citizens, businesses and fellow employees.

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will have in-depth knowledge of and experience with municipal human resources programs.  The ideal candidate will be an innovative, visionary leader that has the ability to monitor and adjust operating techniques to provide more efficient operations while adhering to the rules, regulations, and governing principles pertinent to human resources. She/he will be an effective change agent that can quickly implement innovative strategies and processes that streamline efficiency and instill modern industry trends and best practices. Essential qualities and competencies necessary to succeed as the Human Resources Director include:
  • Organization and Time Management - Analyzes his or her workload, assigns priorities, and maintains his or her focus on productive endeavors to maximize efficiency.
  • Strategic and Critical Thinking - Thinks strategically and promotes best practices and leading-edge ideas. Forms a strategic Human Resources Department with forward-thinking goals.
  • Problem Solving - Analyzes problems, identifies alternative solutions, projects consequences of proposed actions, and implementing recommendations in support of goals.
  • Effective Communication - Communicates clearly both orally and in writing to share ideas, information, and expectations.
  • Delivering Results - Sets high standards for quality, performance, and integrity.  Focuses on consistency, customer needs, and satisfaction.
  • Coaching - Manages and directs a comprehensive human resources program. Delegates authority and responsibility. Provides others with clear direction, motivates, and empowers. Recruits staff of a high caliber and provides staff with development opportunities and coaching.

​The next Director must be a collaborative, innovative professional who is adept at operating in a fast-paced environment. A successful candidate should exhibit strong personal leadership skills that can mentor their team and increase department performance and talent pipeline. Lastly, they must be able to build consensus among multiple and very diverse constituencies, both internally and externally.
The selected candidate must possess the ability to perform complex management, administrative, and fiscal functions.  Additionally, the candidate will have extensive knowledge, experience and understanding of:
  • Rules, regulations, and governing principles pertinent to human resources
  • Operations, services, and activities of a comprehensive, municipal human resources program
  • Principles and practices of human resources management and administration
  • Principles and practices of program development and administration
  • Methods and techniques of investigation, training, counseling, and conflict resolution
  • Principles and practices of municipal budget preparation and administration
  • Principles and practices, and recent developments in risk management, workers compensation, and property and casualty insurance programs
  • Recent developments, current literature, and sources of information related to the development, implementation, and administration of human resources programs
  • Principles of supervision, training, and performance evaluation
  • Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations
  • Benefits administration and wellness programs that offer compelling and useful advantages for City employees
  • Development and administration of departmental goals, objectives, and procedures
  • Analyzing and assessing programs, policies and operational needs to make appropriate adjustments
  • Identifying and responding to sensitive community and organizational issues, concerns, and needs
  • Planning, organizing and coordinating the work of subordinate staff
  • Interpreting and applying laws, rules and regulations governing the implementation and administration of human resources programs
  • Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships
 
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in human resources management, business or public administration, psychology, sociology or a related field and eight years of responsible experience in all phases of human resources administration, including four years of administrative and supervisory responsibility.