Director, Field People Partner

Job Description:

Company Description:

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

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.

Additional Information:

Benefits eligible: This position offers health and welfare benefits, including but not limited to comprehensive health insurance, which includes medical, prescription drug, mental health, dental and vision coverage, as well as, life insurance.

Bonus eligible: This position is eligible for a bonus, calculated based on individual and company performance.

Long term Incentive eligible: This position is eligible for stock or other equity grants pursuant to McDonald’s long-term incentive plan.

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [email protected]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.

Requsition ID: 5663