Director of Human Resources

The Position

The Director of Human Resources serves as the City’s chief human resources executive and key advisor, guiding organizational priorities, ensuring regulatory compliance, and advancing workforce initiatives across the City. The ideal candidate is a people-centered leader who brings both operational discipline and a forward-looking perspective to support a high-performing organization.

Sacramento is actively advancing a culture of accountability, strengthening its commitment to racial and gender equity, and modernizing systems and processes. The next Director will join a department grounded in deep institutional knowledge and strong divisional expertise, with a team that is open to new ideas and continuous improvement. This is a compelling opportunity to help position Sacramento as an employer of choice, attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional talent in service to its nearly 540,000 residents.

The Human Resources Department, in partnership with departments and employees throughout the City, strategically supports the City in attracting, developing, and retaining a highly skilled and diverse workforce. The Director of Human Resources plans, organizes, and directs the full scope of human resources services for the City of Sacramento, leading a department of approximately 76 budgeted full-time employees and an adopted FY2025–26 approved budget of $88 million. The Department delivers a comprehensive portfolio of services, including labor relations and negotiations, recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, benefits administration, workers’ compensation and risk management, diversity and equity initiatives, and employee records management.

The Director provides direct oversight of five division managers and serves as advisor to the five-member Civil Service Board. The City administers 14 labor agreements across 9 represented employee groups, requiring a seasoned professional who can navigate complex collective bargaining dynamics while fostering constructive and productive labor-management relationships.

The Director is a key member of the City’s Executive Team, partnering closely with a cohort of department heads to align human resources strategy with citywide priorities. In this role, the Director serves as the City’s chief labor relations advisor, guiding executive leadership and the City Council on negotiation strategy, labor law developments, and personnel policy, while also acting as a trusted partner to departments in addressing complex employment matters and strengthening workforce capacity.

Employment Qualifications

Minimum qualifications include a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and eight years of professional human resource and labor relations experience in the public sector, including at least three years as a human resource generalist and four years in a supervisory or management capacity overseeing one or more human resource functions. An equivalent combination of qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis. Professional certification through International Public Management Association – Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP), Society of Human Resources Management – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), or the Human Resource Certification Institute – Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) is desirable.

Compensation and Benefits

The expected hiring range for the Director of Human Resources is $190,000 - $241,896.80 annually, depending on qualifications. To view the full salary range, please visit the Salary Schedule.

The City of Sacramento offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which can be viewed here: Benefits Information, Unit 20 Benefit Summary, and Labor Agreement Total Compensation Matrix.

* Retirement benefits include participation in CalPERS and Social Security. Contributions are made by both the City and the employee.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted electronically by Raftelis at raftelis.com. Applicants complete a brief online form and are prompted to provide a cover letter and resume. The position will be open until filled with a first review of applications beginning June 15, 2026. 

Please note that the first round of virtual interviews is tentatively scheduled for July 23, 2026. Finalists will be invited to participate in in-person interviews on July 29, 2026. Selected candidates must be available for both dates.