Help us build the best place in senior living to work.
At Benchmark, the people who care for our residents are everything. As our Senior Director, Associate Experience & Human Resources, you'll lead the HR team that supports them, from our communities to our Home Office in Waltham, MA.
This is a rare chance to shape the associate experience at scale. You'll lead seven HR Business Partners, turn workforce data into action, and work side by side with Operations to keep great people and help them grow. You'll build on strong work already underway and bring sharper focus to retention, engagement, succession, and leadership development.
If you're a hands-on HR leader who is energized by being out in the field, building trust with leaders, and making a measurable difference for frontline teams, we'd love to meet you.
SENIOR DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATE EXPERIENCE & HUMAN RESOURCES
Benchmark Senior Living
Reports To
VP of Talent
Scope
7 HR Business Partners + Home Office HR
Location
Waltham, MA
Travel
Regular field presence; ~25-30%
The Role
The Senior Director, Associate Experience and Human Resources leads HR across Benchmark's communities and Home Office. This person leads our HR Business Partners and is responsible for helping us retain great people, strengthen engagement, build our leadership bench, and deliver strong, consistent HR support.
This role builds on the strong work already happening across HR. The opportunity is to bring even more focus to the things that help our people and leaders succeed - spotting workforce needs early, measurably implementing what works across all communities, and making it easier for leaders to take action. Employee relations and compliance are important parts of the job, alongside a broader focus on retention, engagement, succession, and team effectiveness.
What You'll Own
Lead the HRBP Team
- Lead, coach, and develop seven HR Business Partners supporting our communities.
- Create a consistent, practical approach across regions while keeping HR support close to operations.
- Use workforce data to focus the team on the communities and issues that need the most support.
Retention & Associate Engagement
- Lead company-wide work to improve retention, engagement, trust, recognition, and the associate experience.
- Turn survey feedback, turnover trends, stay interviews, and associate input into practical action with Operations.
- Help leaders address people issues early, especially in high-turnover locations and priority roles.
Succession & Talent Management
- Lead succession planning and talent reviews for key leadership roles.
- Help leaders identify successors, high-potential talent, development needs, and internal career opportunities.
- Partner with Learning & Development on leadership development, coaching, mentoring, and career pathways.
Home Office HR
- Lead HR support for the Home Office, including onboarding, associate relations, performance, engagement, retention, and development. Lead the Home Office HR support team.
- Partner with leaders on team effectiveness, workforce planning, and organizational needs.
HR Operations, Associate Relations & Compliance
- Provide senior guidance on complex associate relations, investigations, performance issues, and employment matters.
- Ensure consistent HR policies, practices, and legal compliance across Benchmark.
- Keep HR processes simple, useful, and easy for leaders and associates to navigate.
Partner Across the Business
- Work closely with Operations, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, Benefits, Legal, and other partners so our people work is connected.
- Bring clear workforce insights and recommendations to the VP of Talent and senior leaders.
- Spend meaningful time in communities to understand what is working, what is getting in the way, and where HR can help.
How We'll Measure Success
- Lower overall and Department Head turnover
- Stronger engagement and Trust results
- Clear succession coverage and more internal promotions
- A strong, consistent HRBP team
- Strong Home Office engagement and retention
- Sound employee relations, compliance, and HR execution
What We're Looking For
- 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including leading HRBPs or a multi-site HR function.
- Experience supporting a large frontline workforce; senior living, healthcare, hospitality, retail, or another service business is strongly preferred.
- A track record of improving retention, engagement, leadership effectiveness, and succession - along with strong employee relations and compliance experience.
- A practical, hands-on leader who uses data, builds strong relationships, develops people, and gets things done.
- Extensive experience with HRIS systems, and managing vendor relationships.
- Bachelor's degree required; SPHR/SHRM-SCP are pluses.
As a Home Office associate at Benchmark, you will have immediate access to a variety of benefits including, but not limited to, the following:
- 10 paid holidays plus 1 floating holiday
- Vacation and Health & Wellness Paid Time Off
- Tuition Reimbursement Program
- Physical & Mental Health Wellness Programs
- Medical, Vision & Dental Benefits provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield
- 401K Retirement Plan with Company Match
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Company-provided Life Insurance & Long-Term Disabilites