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What is a diversity manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Sarah Kornfield

Getting the right talent is key for operating any successful business. In order to do this, businesses need someone who can ensure that recruiting operations run smoothly. If you become a manager of recruitment operations, you'll define work processes that help talent acquisition teams run more efficiently. You'll also manage key recruitment issues, including interview scheduling, offer processing, and onboarding.

In this role, some of the tasks you can be expected to perform are analyzing and communicating recruitment trends, monitoring the delivery of recruitment services, and developing an effective talent pool framework for all business units to include job segmentation, defined sourcing strategies, and an articulated engagement plan. To become a recruitment operations manager, you'll need to have strong written and verbal and presentation skills, and you'll also need to be able to interpret data from a variety of internal and external sources.

Successful candidates for these types of positions will typically have a Bachelor's degree in operations management, business, information systems, or human resources, as well as prior experience in a management or leadership position. A deep understanding of financial management is also a plus.

What general advice would you give to a diversity manager?

Dr. Sarah Kornfield

Associate Professor of Communication and Affiliated Faculty for Women's & Gender Studies at Hope College, Hope College

Practice an elevator pitch (three sentences or less) explaining how your expertise in Ethnic, Gender, and/or Minority Studies applies to the context of the career or position you want. For instance, if you're applying for a position within a college's office of student life, you want to succinctly pitch how your expertise in Ethnic, Gender, and/or Minority Studies will enable you to do the job in a way that uniquely improves the quality of student life and student retention at that college. Or, if you're applying for a position in a Public Relations firm, you again want to explain how your expertise in Ethnic, Gender, and/or Minority Studies uniquely positions you to work with clients and develop winsome PR campaigns. Practicing these elevator pitches is essential preparation before any job interview.
ScoreDiversity ManagerUS Average
Salary
7.0

Avg. Salary $89,150

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 5.71%

Black or African American 7.65%

Hispanic or Latino 11.14%

Unknown 5.09%

White 70.01%

Gender

female 65.98%

male 34.02%

Age - 47
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47
Stress level
8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Diversity manager career paths

Key steps to become a diversity manager

  1. Explore diversity manager education requirements

    Most common diversity manager degrees

    Bachelor's

    71.7 %

    Master's

    21.7 %

    Associate

    3.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific diversity manager skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Human Resources15.99%
    External Stakeholders11.18%
    Inclusion Strategy7.59%
    Employee Engagement7.31%
    Inclusion Efforts7.28%
  3. Research diversity manager duties and responsibilities

    • Manage EEO/AA program manager and all compliance initiatives for corporation.
    • Lead an eLearning platform initiative used in self-pace training for high potential associates and managers.
    • Manage and publish several cost-savings models for Sr. level management.
    • Prepare employee paperwork through the HRIS.
  4. Apply for diversity manager jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a diversity manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first diversity manager job

Zippi

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Average diversity manager salary

The average diversity manager salary in the United States is $89,150 per year or $43 per hour. Diversity manager salaries range between $62,000 and $128,000 per year.

Average diversity manager salary
$89,150 Yearly
$42.86 hourly

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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