Manager, Work Life and Child Care

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Position Focus

This position will create and implement a communication strategy to foster community awareness of Yale Work + Life benefits, programs, and services and build partnerships.

Yale University seeks an accomplished and visionary Work Life leader to develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan that supports employees across all life stages. Reporting directly to the Associate Vice President for Employee Engagement and Workplace Culture, this leader will serve as a member of the Human Resources leadership team and collaborate closely with key university stakeholders to advance programs and services that enhance work-life integration, well-being, and connection across the institution.

The ideal candidate will operate effectively on both strategic and tactical levels to promote, expand, and elevate the Yale Work + Life brand and programming. This individual will identify opportunities for growth and design innovative initiatives that address the evolving needs of employees while ensuring a high-quality workplace experience. The role requires the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and successfully manage multiple high-visibility projects and initiatives simultaneously.

As Yale’s primary liaison for work-life integration efforts, the leader will oversee childcare and adult/elder care benefits and resources, family support initiatives, lactation support services, and employee engagement programming. The position will also manage the day-to-day delivery, promotion, and continuous improvement of these programs and services to strengthen employee support and engagement.

The successful candidate will demonstrate exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across all levels of the institution, including departments and schools, faculty, staff, professional students, postdoctoral associates, and affiliated childcare centers. Externally, the role will maintain partnerships with peer institutions, vendors, and organizations across both the public and private sectors.

This leader will advocate for employee needs related to work and life challenges that impact effective work-life integration. The position requires strong leadership capabilities, expertise in program and project management, and outstanding verbal and written communication skills. Equally important are strong operational management abilities, including budget coordination, vendor oversight, scheduling, and cross-functional collaboration, all of which are essential to successfully lead the planning, management, and delivery of Yale Work + Life programs and services.

The role will also involve contract negotiation and benefits administration responsibilities, including oversight of vendor agreements and ensuring compliance with institutional policies. Additionally, the position will create and implement a comprehensive communication strategy designed to increase awareness of Yale Work + Life benefits, programs, and services while strengthening community engagement and institutional partnerships

Essential Duties

Day-to-day program administration, including planning, implementation, tracking, and continuous improvement of Work + Life initiatives. Manages complex operational processes and workflows to ensure effective delivery of programs and services across the Yale community. Direct work-life programming that supports the vision to create a positive, balanced, and family-friendly environment and workplace culture. Collaborate with campus departments to develop and implement comprehensive services and programs. Consult with University departments around various Work Life issues that impact the workplace and academic environment. Research, compile, and perform analysis using Yale and non-Yale work-life data and recommend necessary improvements, with the aim of strengthening existing programs and remaining abreast of trends in the field. Educate the university, faculty, staff, post-doctoral associates and fellows, and graduate and professional students on Yale resources, benefits, policies, and best practices of work-life integration. Advocate and initiate proposals for work-life friendly policies, guidelines, benefits, and resources. Represent work-life initiatives to internal and external groups at the local, regional, and national levels to maintain an open dialogue on work-life issues. As a trusted advisor, provide feedback and product review of Yale’s Employee Assistance Program services to aid in the continued development of our collective services. Serve as institutional expert in all matters related to and for individual staff, faculty, and others regarding information about work-life, childcare, family support, and related areas. Serve as institutional liaison between the six affiliated child care centers and Yale, ensuring that their unique cultures are preserved while promoting clear, open, and continuous exchange of information. Negotiate and implement contracts with each affiliated center. Visit child care centers to sustain working relationships with center directors, while remaining informed on childcare operational and physical space needs, ensuring that each center meets the State of Connecticut licensing and NAEYC accreditation guidelines. Coordinate, implement, and manage contract negotiations with internal and external vendors. Provide management oversight and partnership for internal and external vendors to monitor performance and manage client relationships. As Employer of Choice project lead, consults with university departments to identify and seek employer of choice recognition on behalf of the University, in various designations (i.e., Work Life, Wellbeing, Employee Health, Employee Engagement, and Workplace Culture, etc.). Develops and implements a comprehensive array of programs and services that support the university's goal of being an employer of choice. Regularly reviews new programs, policies, etc., university-wide, departmental, etc., that could impact future Employer of Choice awards. Facilitate educational and informational workshops on topics related to work-life integration, childcare, aging, adult, and eldercare, parenting education, lactation support, and more. Serve as the Project Manager for the University Child Care Subsidy Program. Serve as a member of the Yale Employee Engagement Survey team, Yale Emergency Operations Team, and Facilities Accessibility Advisor Committee Participate in other projects as assigned.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Creative problem solver. Tolerance for ambiguity.
• Demonstrates superior interpersonal skills ie. active listening.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage program. Demonstrated ability to lead multiple projects with multiple individuals and teams for different groups in a complex, fast paced environment.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team structure; be creative and provide attention to detail.
• Excellent judgment; self-starter; professional demeanor and highly developed organizational skills. Recognize urgent situations and evaluate and determines actions need to minimized risk

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or Early Childhood related area and five years of administrative experience related to Work Life and early childhood education or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Education and Experience

Preferred: Six years’ experience working in Human Resources in higher education.

Principal Responsibilities

• Provides advice and guidance to a complex and large sized client base and human resources partners regarding human resources issues and compliance regulations 2. Delivers effective human resources services in support of department and University policies. 3. Serves as an expert in multiple HR areas to counsel and guide clients and human resources partners on department and University activities associated with assigned functional areas of responsibility. 4. Maintains accurate information on organization structure and administrative policies, guidelines, and systems associated with delivery of human resources services and programs. 5. Conducts research, evaluates, and interprets department and University policies and practices and assists clients and human resources partners in resolving complex issues. 6. As a strategic business partner designs and supports work systems in which people succeed and contribute. Cultivates and fosters collaborative relationships with clients and HR partners. Delivers superior customer service. Consults with business unit management in the strategic planning process and development of human resource strategies that support the unit’s business needs. Establishes HR business objectives to support the attainment of the client’s overall strategic business plan and objectives. 7. As an employee advocate creates a work environment in which people will choose to be motivated, contributing, and engaged. Analyzes data, develops solutions, and determines courses of action. Provides direction and establishes an organizational culture and climate in which people have the competency, concern and commitment to serve the business well. Fosters effective methods in support of goal setting, communication and empowerment through responsibility, to build peoples ownership of the business. 8. As a change champion links change to the strategic needs of the client to minimize employee dissatisfaction and resistance to change. Assesses the effectiveness of the HR function. Champions the identification of the client’s strategic plan: mission, vision, values, goals and action plans. Determines the measures that will tell the organization how well it is succeeding. 9. As an advisor studies, analyzes and provides advice and counsel to clients on HR law, policies, procedures and contractual obligations. 10. Leads major HR projects and programs. 11. Supervises, leads, and mentors junior staff. 12. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s Degree and five years of professional human resources experience or an equivalent education or experience in a closely related field.

Job Posting Date

06/12/2026

Job Category

Professional

Bargaining Unit

NON

Compensation Grade

Administration & Operations

Compensation Grade Profile

Manager; Program Leader (25)

Salary Range

$82,000.00 - $131,500.00

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

Hybrid

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.

Posting Disclaimer

Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring department.

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.