Manager, People & Talent

About the Barr Foundation  

The Barr Foundation’s mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts. As stewards, Barr nurtures vital community assets. As catalysts, the Foundation advances breakthrough ideas to shape our collective future. We work in partnership with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector, and civic and business leaders to elevate the arts and creative expression, advance equitable solutions for climate change, and enable all students to discover and actualize their unbounded potential. Based in Boston, Barr focuses regionally and selectively engages nationally.  

Founded in 1997, Barr has grown to become one of the largest charitable foundations in New England and has contributed over $1.7 billion to communities throughout the region. With assets over $3 billion, Barr’s 2026 grantmaking budget is $130 million. We focus our grantmaking on arts and creativity, climate, and education – complemented by grants to strengthen New England’s social sector and for targeted special initiatives.  

A set of core values defined by our founding trustees express our beliefs about what constitutes effective philanthropy and guide how the Barr Foundation carries out its mission. Barr is committed to strive for impact, act with humility, invest in leaders, take the long view, center racial equity, embrace risk, and demonstrate curiosity. These values also guide our hiring process and the workplace culture that we shape together. We aim to make Barr an inclusive workplace where all team members can bring their full and authentic selves and be supported to learn and grow. For more information about Barr, visit barrfoundation.org. 

About the Manager, People & Talent Position  

Reporting to the VP of People and Talent, the HR Manager will serve as a key partner to the Vice President of People and Talent, bringing a blend of thought partnership, leadership, and problem solving to amplify the impact of the HR Team, ensuring successful execution of the foundation’s mission and priorities while fostering an inclusive, engaged, and productive workforce. The HR Manager will play a critical role in shaping and advancing Barr’s people and talent strategy while ensuring excellence in day-to-day human resources operations. The essence of this role requires the HR Manager to be a driver and leader of key initiatives, leveraging a strong bias to action and a self-starter mindset, with the ability to build strong relationships across the Foundation. This position will manage core human resources functions including talent acquisition, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, employee engagement,  They will also play a supporting role in Barr’s learning and development and organizational development work. The successful candidate will bring sound judgment, strong project management skills, and a commitment to creating an exceptional employee experience aligned with Barr’s mission and values. 

Key Responsibilities  

Talent Acquisition & Onboarding  

• Lead end-to-end recruitment strategy and operations, playing a driver/central ownership role in the execution of all phases of the recruiting process including creation of job descriptions, evaluation of strategic posting channels and partnerships, candidate screening, oversight of interview panel process, reference checks, coordination of internal & external communications, and ensuring the recruiting strategy aligns to the mission and values of Barr Foundation 
• In advance of posting a role, work with teams to develop a process to proactively identify and market to a robust candidate pipeline of top talent with aligned profiles and experience  
• Deliver a high care candidate experience, building relationships with candidates to ensure a best in class and inclusive recruitment process
• Drive continuous improvement in the end-to-end talent acquisition process, leveraging benchmarking data from peer foundations and within the Boston job market. Provide bi-annual readouts on trends and recommendations for process optimizations  
• Oversee Applicant Tracking System (ATS) maintenance, optimization, training and vendor relationship 
• Drive and oversee the strategy and operations of the onboarding process to ensure a smooth transition for new hires (with particular focus on first 90 days). Partner with the hiring manager to operate as main point of contract for new employee experience
• Lead strategic overhaul of onboarding process and institute annual review of our practices.  

Employee Experience & Growth 

• Partner with VP People + Talent to foster a positive workplace culture and lead projects related to career development, culture and belonging.
• Stay current on the latest trends in HR and talent management. Infuse innovative thinking and actively contribute to the continuous improvement of HR strategy and operations
• Act as HR liaison to employee committees
• Partner on the implementation of employee engagement programs such as staff-wide training, individual coaching, etc
• Lead offboarding of all employees, including preparation of exit documents, celebrations and other transition needs 

Employee Relations  

• Serve as a trusted resource for employees providing guidance on HR policies, workplace concerns, and employee relations matters, addressing questions and resolving issues as they arise 
• Take lead to actively handle and resolve level-appropriate employee issues. Play a support role in managing disciplinary matters, disputes and investigations 
• Support leave management, accommodation processes, and other employee support programs  
• Demonstrate curiosity to understand and maintain up-to-date knowledge of legal requirements and best practices which adhere to federal, state and local employment laws and regulation
• Oversee all employee acknowledgement gifts and life event celebrations 

Performance Management  

• Lead administration of the organization's performance management process, including annual reviews, goal-setting, manager training, communications, and process improvements  
• Support employees and managers in setting performance goals, providing feedback, and identifying professional growth opportunities  
• Collaborate with leadership to identify organizational learning and development priorities based on overall organizational ambitions  

Administrative Management  

• Serve as point person to coordinate with Grants Management, Finance, and Information Technology on matters related to HR contracts and budgeting 
• Collaborate with the Operations Team on community & culture building events  
• Manage Barr’s Virtual Assistant program and temp needs as well as other HR consultants, temporary staff, or future team members as assigned. 
• Maintain annual calendar of key HR activities and updating of Barr’s org chart 

Foundation-wide Responsibilities 

• Serve as an advocate for the foundation’s culture, ensuring that HR policies, processes, and day-to-day activities reflect the foundation’s values  
• Actively participate in foundation-wide activities, including community and internal culture building, and events designed to support learning, team building and organizational effectiveness across teams 
• Attend and actively participate in team and Foundation-wide staff meetings and retreats; and in cross-functional work groups as appropriate  

Desired Qualities, Experiences, and Competencies 

• 5-7 years of HR experience, preferably in a non-profit or foundation setting 

• Self-starter with a strong bias to action and the ability to be proactive and anticipate needs, prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously 

• Infuses optimism, creativity and a thoughtful tenacity into all aspects of their work 

• Operates with a strong sense of resilience, adaptability and ability to stay grounded in a complex dynamic environment 

• Elite relationship builder with excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills 

• Impeccable judgement, tactfulness, and integrity and the ability to maintain confidential and sensitive information 

• High emotional intelligence and ability to empathize with employees and understand their needs while balancing organizational goals 

• Comfort working in a diverse team setting, with a commitment to issues of equity and inclusion 

• Fluency with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – Greenhouse preferred  

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, and Excel) with ability to engage with Salesforce, Ramp, Asana, and other applications utilized by Barr 

 

Compensation and Benefits 

The starting salary range for this role is $125,000 to $130,000 and will be determined by factors including experience, readiness for the role, and organizational equity. The Barr Foundation offers an attractive benefits package including generous health, dental, vision, and life insurance; strong retirement savings program; 15 vacation days to start and a parental leave and health leave policies. 

Barr is a Compact Signer for the 100% Talent Compact, which is administered by the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, a unique public-private partnership between the Boston Mayor’s Office and Greater Boston employers dedicated to eliminating the gender and racial wage gap. We are proud to be part of this first-in-the-nation approach to reaching pay equity for women and people of color across our region. 

Flexible Work Environment    

The Barr Foundation embraces a hybrid workplace with the current expectation that staff are in-office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and working remotely on Mondays and Fridays, with the understanding that some weeks may require an additional in-office day(s) for specific needs.   

Located along the waterfront in Boston’s North End, Barr’s offices are in the historic Pilot House and adjacent Two Atlantic Avenue building. Our walls and halls feature the work of contemporary artists, and the office space is designed to provide bright, open, flexible spaces for collaboration and independent work, and to host meetings and events. With expansive views of Boston Harbor, Barr is steps away from Boston’s “Freedom Trail” and bike share and near to restaurants, shops, museums, and parks.    

Equal Opportunity Employer   

The Barr Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and fostering an inclusive workplace where all employees feel their experiences, perspectives, and ideas are valued. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or other protected characteristics in its hiring, compensation, promotion, or other employment activities.  The Foundation will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation for applicants and employees with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on our organization.