Director – Field People Partner

Department Overview

The Field People Partner team plays a critical role in delivering McDonald’s people-first strategy across our U.S. restaurant system. As a strategic HR leader, the Director, Field People Partner, works closely with field leadership, owner/operators, and support teams to align people practices with business goals. This team leads the execution of national and local people plans, driving talent development, employee engagement, and operational excellence. With a strong focus on coaching, cross-functional collaboration, and operational alignment, the team fosters a high-performing culture where people thrive, and careers grow. This role reports to the US Field People Senior Director and has one direct report: Field People Manager.

This position is for the Chicago Field Office ideally located somewhere within its territory.

Duties

• Partner with Field Leadership Team to develop and execute the function’s people strategy in alignment with US & enterprise priorities, ensuring the organization is structured, skilled, and staffed to deliver business outcomes.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to senior leaders, providing guidance on organizational effectiveness, leader capability, performance, and employee relations to accelerate results and strengthen culture.
• Drive consistent and effective people practices through the People Fundamentals framework with the field office team, owner operator leadership, and through organization support visits.
• Impact guest experience through internal (staff) and external (crew/guest) hospitality practices.
• Collaborate cross functionally with Operations, People, and Technology to influence system utilization of workforce management to enable smarter workforce decisions.
• Translate evolving business requirements into workforce, talent, and capability plans; identify gaps and people-related risks and drive mitigation actions in partnership with People Solutions.
• Lead core talent processes for the Field Office (e.g., development and succession planning, performance and year-end cycles), including calibration and leader enablement, ensuring consistent, equitable outcomes.
• Leverage people analytics, business insights, and external benchmarks to provide actionable insights on organization health, engagement, talent trends, and business drivers; use data to influence decisions and drive impact on the business.
• Provide guidance and oversight of complex employee relations matters for staff team to ensure appropriate and consistent outcomes. Connect O/O to available resources, as appropriate.
• Regular or intermittent travel required (Field Office and to MHQ) +50%.

Qualifications

• Extensive Human Resources expertise with proven strategic leadership experience across HR and related business functions (5+ years in HR required), 10+ preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Advanced degree preferred; HR certifications a plus (e.g., SPHR/SHRM-SCP).
• Executive coaching and/or internal/external consulting experience, with strong judgment and the ability to navigate ambiguity.
• Experience working across varied business models and matrixed organizations (eg. franchisees and managing complex stakeholder relationships with credibility and impact).
• Deep understanding and experience translating business strategy and operating model changes into people strategies (organization design, talent, culture, and change).
• Strong strategic thinking and prioritization skills; ability to move between strategy and execution across multiple concurrent priorities.
• Strong data literacy: ability to use people analytics, benchmarks, and workforce insights to diagnose issues, shape recommendations, and measure impact.
• Outstanding communication and executive presence, with the ability to influence at all levels and tailor messaging to diverse audiences (Internal and externally).
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships, challenge constructively, and drive alignment across stakeholders with competing priorities.
• Strong change management, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills; able to lead leaders through transitions and sustain adoption.
• Proven capability developing leaders and teams, including succession planning and leadership development outcomes.
• Strong business acumen and a deep understanding of how HR drives business performance.
• Proficiency with HR platforms and common productivity tools (Word, PowerPoint, collaboration tools); data storytelling, analysis, and influence is expected.

Compensation

Bonus Eligible: Yes

Long - Term Incentive: Yes

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Salary Range

The expected salary range for this role is $172,417 - $215,522 per year.
 
The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors.