Nicole Jones, M.B.A., joined HUC-JIR as Global Director of Human Resources on May 3, bringing with her an impressive track record of working to meet and exceed organizational goals and objectives. With more than nine years of experience in HR, her areas of expertise include but are not limited to HR/Organizational Development, Diversity and Inclusion Strategies, Legal/Regulatory Compliance, Policy and Procedure Development, and Program Creation and Deployment. She holds a Bachelor of Health Science, with a concentration in Public Health, from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Business Administration from Savannah State University.
Amy Goldberg, HUC-JIR CFO, stated, “I am excited to welcome Nicole to HUC-JIR. Her breadth of knowledge and experience will be an asset to the College. Working from our Cincinnati campus, Nicole’s primary responsibilities will include strengthening our HR policies, streamlining our HR processes, and supporting our faculty and staff on our 3 stateside campuses. She will also work closely with the team in Jerusalem to ensure consistency in our policies and procedures across all our campuses, where it makes sense. Finally Nicole will be a key member of the team working on our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, driving a safe and respectful culture at HUC-JIR. ”
After four years of experience as an Education Support Specialist at Tidewater Community College, Nicole began her HR journey in non-profit Accounting and, by 2013, she was Human Resources Coordinator at Hospice Savannah. Thereafter, she continued her passion for non-profit work by accepting the role of Director of Human Resources at Young Women’s Christian Association of South Hampton Roads (YWCA) in Norfolk, VA.
During her tenure at Hospice Savannah and the YWCA, Nicole was committed to leading and collaborating on initiatives to not only improve Human Resources processes but also ensure employees worked in an environment where they could thrive personally and professionally. These notable initiatives included successfully creating and implementing a diversity recruitment plan, which increased internal diversity and inclusiveness, creating succession planning and ongoing management training in order to increase advancement opportunities, and developing an employee wellness program with initiatives that decreased employee burnout and increase morale. Nicole was also instrumental in leading YWCA through restructures, city partnerships, and the COVID-19 pandemic, while effectively increasing the employee satisfaction rate by 10 percent.
Nicole aspires to live by the words of Maya Angelou, “If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be,” by bringing the best of herself to her work. She says, “I have to work for a mission to be happy and that is why I am passionate about non-profit work.”