Director, Human Resources

Standex Aerospace & Defense is seeking a strategic, business-oriented HR Director to join its leadership team and play a key role in supporting the business’s continued growth. This role will lead the people strategy across the organization, partnering closely with senior leaders to strengthen organizational effectiveness, develop leadership capability, and build a high-performing culture. With a focus on talent, workforce planning, and organizational transformation, this leader will help position the business for sustained growth while ensuring alignment with broader enterprise objectives.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Business Partnership

Serve as a trusted advisor and member of the Leadership Team, driving the people strategy in alignment with business objectives, growth priorities, and long-term organizational goals.

Partner with business leaders to develop and execute a comprehensive workforce strategy that enables sustainable growth, operational excellence, and organizational effectiveness.

Provide strategic counsel to senior leaders on organizational design, talent optimization, leadership effectiveness, workforce planning, and change management.

Translate business priorities into actionable HR strategies, ensuring alignment of talent, structure, culture, and capability with organizational objectives.

Talent and Leadership Development

Lead the talent management strategy for the business, including succession planning, leadership development, high-potential identification, and talent reviews.

Partner with leaders to assess organizational and leadership capability, identify talent gaps, and implement development plans to build a strong leadership pipeline.

Champion a high-performance culture by driving performance management processes, accountability, and continuous feedback practices across the organization.

Establish and execute talent strategies that attract, engage, develop, and retain critical talent in support of current and future business needs.

Organizational Effectiveness & Change Leadership

Lead organizational effectiveness initiatives including organization design, restructuring, workforce planning, and transformational change efforts.

Drive organizational alignment and change management initiatives by assessing current state, defining desired outcomes, developing communication strategies, and measuring effectiveness and adoption.

Partner closely with business leaders to enhance organizational capability, increase employee engagement, and strengthen leadership effectiveness.

Champion culture initiatives that support employee engagement, inclusion, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.

HR Leadership & Functional Excellence

Lead and develop a team of HR professionals across the business while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer service.

Ensure effective execution of all core HR processes including talent acquisition, performance management, compensation planning, employee relations, learning and development, and compliance.

Partner with Corporate Centers of Excellence and HR Operations teams to implement enterprise talent initiatives, HR programs, and organizational priorities.

Drive standardization and continuous improvement of HR processes to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and the employee experience.

Employee Relations & Risk Management

Provide guidance and oversight on complex employee relations matters, investigations, performance issues, and organizational risk while ensuring consistency and fairness.

Ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations across all jurisdictions within the business and proactively identify and mitigate people-related risks.

Foster a positive employee relations environment through effective communication, leadership coaching, and proactive issue resolution.

Compensation & Workforce Planning

Lead the annual workforce planning, compensation planning, and talent review processes for the business.

Partner with leadership and Total Rewards to ensure compensation programs support attraction, retention, and performance objectives.

Utilize workforce analytics, engagement data, and business metrics to inform decisions and drive measurable organizational outcomes.

Global Business Partnership

Act as the HR leader for assigned regions and business functions, partnering with global business leaders to drive consistency while addressing regional business needs.

Champion key A&D initiatives and strategic priorities in partnership with business leadership, Centers of Excellence, and fellow HR leaders.

Support acquisitions, integrations, organizational transformations, and strategic growth initiatives as required.

What You'll Bring

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field; Master's degree preferred.

12+ years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience, including significant experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, or related environments.

Demonstrated success partnering with business leadership teams to develop and execute business and talent strategies.

Experience leading HR teams and developing HR talent across multiple locations and/or regions.

Strong background in organizational design, succession planning, leadership development, workforce planning, and change management.

Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive organizational transformation in complex environments.

Deep knowledge of employment law, compliance requirements, employee relations, and risk management practices.

Experience managing compensation, talent, and performance management processes in a global environment preferred.

Ability to travel 20-30% domestically and internationally.

What We Value

Strategic thinker who balances business priorities with people and organizational needs.

Executive presence with the ability to influence and challenge senior leaders constructively.

Strong leadership capability with a proven track record of building high-performing teams.

Data-driven decision maker who leverages analytics to solve business challenges.

Change agent who thrives in dynamic, evolving environments and effectively leads transformation.

Strong commercial acumen and understanding of how people strategies drive business performance.

Collaborative leader who builds trusted partnerships across functions, businesses, and geographies.

Exceptional communication, coaching, and stakeholder management skills.

High integrity, sound judgment, and courage to address difficult issues directly.

Results-oriented with strong accountability, execution discipline, and continuous improvement mindset.