The Enviva team is driven by our shared vision for a renewable energy future. We are a fast-growing, purpose-driven, global energy company specializing in delivering sustainable wood bioenergy solutions. We are the world’s largest producer of sustainable wood pellets, which provide a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels.
The Director, Talent & Organizational Effectiveness is a strategic leader responsible for building the talent, capabilities, and organizational systems required to drive operational excellence and sustainable growth. This candidate will lead core talent initiatives and a small team in talent acquisition, talent management, and learning and development. This role partners closely with executive leadership, plant managers, and HR business partners on succession planning and strengthening leadership capability, workforce effectiveness, employee engagement, and organizational design across corporate and manufacturing operations. The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen with deep expertise in talent management, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness, and is comfortable working in a fast-paced, industrial manufacturing environment. The position reports to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and is based in Raleigh, NC with some travel required as needed.
Responsibilities
Talent and Organizational Effectiveness Strategy
- Design and execute enterprise-wide talent strategies, including leadership development, succession planning, and high-potential programs that align with Enviva’s Operating Agenda.
- Assess organizational capabilities, gaps, and needs to support an informed talent strategy.
- Identifies organizational strengths and opportunities to guide talent decisions.
- Partner with executive team to build leadership skills at all levels, with a strong focus on frontline supervisors, plant managers, and functional leaders.
- Assess talent gaps and accelerate development or capability upgrades where needed.
- Lead engagement and retention strategies focused on workforce stability, productivity, and safety across plant and port operations.
- Lead organizational effectiveness initiatives that improve structure, decision-making, accountability, and collaboration.
- Support organizational design and workforce planning efforts across plants and corporate functions to simplify structures, reduce complexity, and improve organizational effectiveness.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of HR professionals in Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Learning & Development.
Talent Acquisition
- Partner with Communications to build the Enviva brand and articulate a clear and compelling message about our mission, values and products/business to candidates.
- Work with hiring managers to understand needs and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to carry out recruitment efforts in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
- Build out Enviva’s recruitment platform by researching and contacting community services, colleges, employment agencies, social media, and internet sites.
- Support Talent Acquisition team in the design and execution of the full cycle recruitment process for candidates, ensuring a smooth and positive candidate and hiring manager experience, including screening applicants, scheduling interviews, presenting and negotiating offers.
- Implement selection tools to properly assess candidates prior to offer.
- Lead candidate comparison discussions, debriefs and reports to ensure Enviva has the right talent in the right seat and streamline processes to shorten time to hire without sacrificing on quality.
Talent Management
- Partner with HR Business Partners to create effective onboarding programs to welcome, support, and quickly ready talent for their role.
- Build internal programs that support internal advancement, promotions, and career pathing (i.e., internships, apprenticeships, talent reviews, etc.)
- Build internal capability at scale, with emphasis on technical/skilled trades, frontline supervisors, plant managers, and high-impact operational leaders.
- Champion a strong performance-driven, safety-focused, and values-based culture across the organization.
- Lead succession planning and bench-strength initiatives for critical leadership roles, including plant leadership and key functional positions.
- Oversee the performance management process to ensure consistency and development-focused outcomes and the talent review process to support speed, clarity, and measurable outcomes.
- Implement leadership assessments and development plans to support rapid growth and readiness for Enviva’s future-state organization.
- Lead employee engagement initiatives and action planning, particularly within manufacturing and operations environments.
- Partner with HR Business Partners and plant leadership to improve retention, morale, and workforce stability.
Learning and Development (L&D)
- Oversee learning and development programs that build leadership, technical, and operational capabilities tied to business outcomes.
- Ensure training investments are practical, cost-effective, and scalable across multiple sites.
- Evaluate and manage external partners, tools, and platforms with a strong ROI mindset.
- Liaises with managers and executives to identify and assess training, development, and succession planning needs.
- Train and coach managers, supervisors and others involved in employee development efforts.
- Propose reoccurring training and development needs and assessments.
- Translate organizational findings into actionable recommendations for training and development.
- Create presentations to explain and demonstrate the findings of organizational research methods.
- Direct follow-up studies of all completed training to evaluate and measure results with management and HR teams.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team, plant leadership, and HR peers.
- Partner with HR functional leaders to harmonize practices across Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Learning & Development.
- Collaborate and lead coordinated identification and analysis of process, system and technology needs related to human capital best practices and data/records management.
- Advise executive leadership on emerging HR trends, technology enablement, and future-state design.
- Provide talent and organizational insights to support board-level discussions when needed.
- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Talent & OE team capable of operating with speed and rigor.
System Integration, Analytics, & Enablement
- Standardize processes, workflows, and operating models to ensure consistency and efficiency.
- Manage project timelines, resources, and tasks to ensure timely completion of key initiatives.
- Use data and analytics (engagement surveys, turnover metrics, capability assessments) to diagnose issues and recommend solutions.
- Use engagement, turnover, and productivity data to identify risks and implement targeted, pragmatic solutions.
- Optimize the use of HR technologies (e.g., Core HRIS, ATS, LMS, performance platforms) to support modernized HR operations.
- Evaluate and implement new technologies that support automation, analytics, and improved employee engagement.
- Establish talent metrics, utilize data analytics, and reporting capabilities to monitor status, drive results, and improve talent and organizational effectiveness
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration or related field. Master’s Degree preferred.
- 10+ years progressively responsible work experience in Human Resources with a focus on Learning & Development, performance management, succession planning, recruitment, organizational design, and/or talent management.
- Background in industrial manufacturing, operations, or multi-site environments highly desirable.
- Experience in a private equity–backed, high-growth, or transformation-oriented organization strongly preferred.
- Proven track record of building scalable talent systems and leading change in fast-paced environments.
- Strong analytical capability with experience using data to drive talent and organizational decisions.
- Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Ability to interact with HR Leadership and employees at a variety of levels with integrity and professionalism.
- Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment. Ability to handle confidential information with tact and poise.
- Demonstrated initiative/self-motivation, with the ability to quickly and easily adapt to changing organizational needs.
- Proficiency in using computers and electronics equipment. Working knowledge of various software, applications, and programs including Microsoft 365/Office applications. Familiarity with UKG UltiPro, Greenhouse, and Dochebo preferred.
Preferred Skills & Competencies
- Strategic, system-thinking mindset
- Excellent stakeholder and relationship management
- Strong project management skills and experience
- Competence with data and analytics
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills
- Results-oriented, accountable, and resilient
- Experience in multiple fields of HR (i.e., recruiting, performance, L&D, HR Operations)
This position is not eligible for visa support.
EEO Statement
Enviva is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity (EEO) in any term, condition or privilege of employment. Enviva does not discriminate against applicants or employees on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, uniform service member, genetic information or any other status protected by law. Enviva complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which we operate.
