Engagement and Retention Manager

Summary/Objective

Our staff is our family at Oakland Zoo! The People and Culture Department’s main focus is to engage our team members and elevate the employee journey from the first moment of interest to the last day of employment and every step of growth along the way. The Engagement and Retention Manager will strive to demonstrate for all staff our commitment to motivating and retaining our greatest resources – our talented team.

For this position, we are truly searching for a jack of all trades and a master of FUN! The chosen candidate has the distinct and crucial honor of overseeing the appreciation, recognition, and development of our staff. This role will use evaluation techniques both internally and externally to benchmark and track the progress of our staff retention, engagement and overall job satisfaction. With this knowledge, they will consistently maintain and continue to develop activities and programs which focus on caring for and recognizing the efforts of our amazing team members. They will also track our guest satisfaction and staff needs to help us identify development opportunities and design training programs accordingly.

Above all, the Engagement and Retention Manager will be responsible for harnessing our mission, values, and culture within the above projects to foster a sense of belonging and feeling of value across the institution.

Essential Job Duties

Appreciation and Recognition

• Plan, budget and execute appreciation and recognition events
• Manage existing reward and recognition programs and continually build upon our institutional calendar of employee appreciation
• Design and facilitate opportunities to strengthen communication within the organization (i.e. All Staff Meetings, Intranet, etc.)
• Participate in various cross-functional programs focused on employee engagement and experience

Evaluation and Analytics

• Lead evaluation and assessment to increase knowledge and develop recommendations for best practices regarding staff engagement and job satisfaction
• Facilitate and manage evaluation regarding guest satisfaction/engagement to provide necessary departments with information for enhancing the onsite and virtual experience
• Evaluate learning experiences to ensure they are addressing strategic needs and are prioritized, resourced and measured appropriately
• Assists leadership in defining appropriate research and evaluation agendas, goals, and measures required to implement and evaluate programs

Training and Development

• Conduct needs analysis through captured analytics, identify performance gaps, and provide appropriate institutional and departmental recommendations for learning, development and coaching opportunities
• Drive the research, administration, and implementation of a new Zoo-wide Learning Management System (LMS) to develop a standardized and enhanced employee journey
• Consult with Human Resources staff to proactively identify, schedule and maintain legally required trainings for the institution
• Train departments in the utilization of the LMS to broaden our library of trainings from institutional to departmental
• Identify and manage potential vendor partners that can broaden our employee development

Ancillary Job Duties

• Support Human Resources and Guest Services staff within the People and Culture department with various projects
• Perform other related duties as assigned

Supervisory Responsibility

• Supervise Guest Services staff

Required Qualifications – Required qualifications to effectively perform the job. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience will be considered.

• Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent certification/experience) in Organization Development, Statistics, Human Resources, Education, or Project Management; Master’s Degree a plus
• Must have 2 years in one of the following; a combination of 2 or more of the following a plus.
  • Learning and Development or related experience (i.e. training with adult learners in a corporate, non-profit or similar environment; facilitation of change management or organizational development initiatives)
  • Instructional design experience focused on building innovative and problem-solving courses and programs that support behavioral change
  • Experience conducting research, evaluation, or related activities in an academic or professional setting.
  • Experience with employee engagement, recognition, and/or incentives
• Experience in a supervisory role

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities – May be representative, but not all-inclusive, of those knowledge, skills and abilities commonly associated with this position.

• Program management – able to balance multiple priorities with flexibility, resourcefulness, and agility to adapt to shifting organizational needs
• Analytical Analysis – able to collect, interpret and detect patterns in clean data
• Technological Aptitude – able to quickly understand, develop and maintain functional digital systems
• Communication – able to interact and gain credibility with all departments and amongst all levels of the organization
• Facilitation – able to deftly respond to questions, manage disruptions and move a group through course content while balancing inclusion and timing; you can weave in related content to make connections for learners and adjust or pivot when needed
• Presentation – able to convey ideas clearly and succinctly, highlight key takeaways and translate impact; have strong presence, can quickly build rapport with others, and are comfortable in front of a variety of audiences

Work Environment – Environmental or atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of the functions of this job.

• Desk space will be in high-traffic area where people commonly enter, call and email.
• Estimated 15-20% of time spent outdoors in a range of weather conditions. Exposed to sun, wind, light rain, and outdoor temperatures and noise levels. Otherwise, general office conditions. Exposed to moderate noise levels.

Physical Abilities - Activities that are commonly associated with the performance of the functions of this job. The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Ability to walk the zoo grounds and be outside for long periods of time
• Must be able to walk moderate hills and be on feet for 60 minutes at a time
• Ability to lift and carry 50 pounds

Experience

• 2 year(s): Must have 2 years in one of the following; a combination of 2 or more of the following a plus.Learning and Development or related experience (i.e. training with adult learners in a corporate, non-profit or similar environment)Instructional design experience focused on building innovative and problem-solving programs that support behavioral change Experience conducting research or evaluation in an academic/professional setting. Experience with employee engagement, recognition or incentives

Education

• Bachelors or better in Organizational Leadership or related field

Skills

• Analytics