Director, HR Optimization & Effectiveness

WM, a Fortune 250 company, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. We are strongly committed to a foundation of operating excellence, professionalism and financial strength. WM serves nearly 25 million customers in residential, commercial, industrial and municipal markets throughout North America through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and waste-based energy production projects. 

I. Job Summary
The Director of HR Optimization & Effectiveness is a visionary leader responsible for the strategic alignment, planning, and execution of all major HR initiatives. This role will provide strategic leadership over enterprise-wide HR initiatives, driving effectiveness, optimizing delivery, and ensuring programs align with organizational goals and financial expectations. The incumbent will oversee complex project portfolios, enabling faster decision-making and enhanced employee experience through streamlined governance, strategic prioritization, and cross-functional collaboration. This role is based in Houston, TX. 

II. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Other duties may be assigned. 

• Lead the HR Optimization & Effectiveness team and establish enterprise-aligned project governance standards and best practices for strategic initiatives.
• Drive strategic alignment of HR programs and initiatives with overall business and workforce goals.
• Champion HR effectiveness through continuous improvement, delivery optimization, product & services integration.
• Develop and manage an HR strategic roadmap, evaluating interdependencies, timelines, and resource allocation.
• Oversee the intake, prioritization, and sequencing of strategic HR initiatives in partnership with COE and other HR stakeholders
• Partner with key HR stakeholders for full financial oversight of the HR function, including annual budget development, forecasting, and tracking against actuals.
• Own profit and loss (P&L) accountability for HR-led initiatives, ensuring resource allocation aligns with financial targets and ROI expectations.
• Partner with Finance and HR leaders to ensure transparent and accurate financial reporting across programs and initiatives.
• Implement financial planning and scenario modeling to support investment decisions and project optimization.
• Lead vendor and stakeholder management to ensure successful delivery of third-party supported programs.
• Utilize data and analytics to evaluate project impact, business case validity, and decision-making accuracy.
• Monitor market trends and emerging technologies to influence HR Effectiveness pipeline and strategic investments.
• Manage project risks, communication plans, and escalation processes to ensure seamless execution across HR.
• Consolidate and harmonize process improvement and delivery optimization efforts under a unified strategy.
• Develop and execute robust change management strategies to ensure successful adoption of new processes and technologies.
• Enable over all HR optimization & effectiveness through conducting regular organizational assessments and analysis to ensure optimal organizational design for product and service delivery.
• Partner with Shared Services, Systems & Analytics on the evaluation, selection, implementation, and optimization of HR technology solutions (e.g., HRIS, ATS, LMS, Payroll systems, performance management platforms).
• Provide HR related support during the M&A lifecycle specifically related to due diligence and pre-merger planning, integration planning and execution, post-merger integration and ongoing support and Talent management & retention strategies

III. Qualifications
The requirements listed below are representative of the qualifications necessary to perform the job.

A. Education and Experience
 

• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Organizational Strategy, Human Resources or related field
• Experience: Strong knowledge of project governance, financial analysis, and large-scale change management. Proven experience managing vendor relationships and cross-functional project teams.  Demonstrated success in leading Optimization & Effectiveness programs, operational excellence, and data-driven initiatives.  Excellent strategic thinking, executive communication, and influence management capabilities.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience in HR strategy, transformation, or enterprise project management.

B. Preferred Qualifications 
 

• Master's Degree in Business Administration, Organization Development or related field
• Experience working in complex matrixed environments or regulated industries. 

IV. Work Environment
 

• Office and Administrative Support

Benefits
At WM, each eligible employee receives a competitive total compensation package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and Short Term Disability. As well as a Stock Purchase Plan, Company match on Pension, and more! Our employees also receive Paid Vacation, Holidays, and Personal Days. 

If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for, please click “Apply.”