How to hire an organizational development specialist

How to hire an organizational development specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step organizational development specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an organizational development specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new organizational development specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an organizational development specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The organizational development specialist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an organizational development specialist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an organizational development specialist that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of organizational development specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Organizational Development Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Organizational Development Specialist	Training and development specialists plan, conduct, and administer programs that train employees and improve their skills and knowledge.	$23-50
   Trainer Lead	As a training lead, you are responsible for overseeing a company's employee training and development activities. You are also expected to perform various tasks that may include identifying training needs for the organization, supervising trainers' work, and developing effective employee training programs... Show more	$22-53
   Training Consultant	A training consultant's job is to prepare, evaluate, and execute an organization's employee education programs. Their duties and responsibilities may include developing instructional materials, identifying knowledge and skills gaps, and organizing learning activities... Show more	$18-40

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Organizational Development
   • Project Management
   • Human Resources
   • Organizational Effectiveness
   • Employee Engagement
   • PowerPoint
   • Organizational Change Management
   • Training Programs
   • Succession Planning
   • Data Analysis
   • Employee Development
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Management Strategies
   • Learning Management System

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead experiential learning in supervisory skills, conflict management, leadership, team building and organization process effectiveness.
   • Perform ADDIE model on management courses (change management, coaching, etc.
   • Create and implement training modules on PowerPoint presentations to impart state regulations to both new and season staff members.
   • Prepare statistical information in form of PowerPoint to management and board.
   • Develop windows service or windows console application to automatically send out emails base on the business requirements.
   • Develop an in-depth diversity train-the-trainer program for facilitators that provide legally-based fundamentals, facilitation skills, facilitator assessment, and testing.

   More organizational development specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your organizational development specialist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An organizational development specialist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, organizational development specialists' average salary in west virginia is 53% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level organizational development specialists 53% less than senior-level organizational development specialists.
   • Certifications. An organizational development specialist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an organizational development specialist's salary.

   Average organizational development specialist salary

   $71,788yearly

   $34.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level organizational development specialist salary

   $49,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average organizational development specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Virginia	$93,949	$45
   2	California	$88,691	$43
   3	District of Columbia	$87,194	$42
   4	Washington	$85,055	$41
   5	Illinois	$81,658	$39
   6	North Carolina	$81,393	$39
   7	Pennsylvania	$79,864	$38
   8	New York	$76,153	$37
   9	Rhode Island	$74,654	$36
   10	Maryland	$74,411	$36
   11	Colorado	$71,652	$34
   12	Mississippi	$71,560	$34
   13	Georgia	$70,146	$34
   14	Indiana	$69,632	$33
   15	Minnesota	$68,216	$33
   16	Tennessee	$66,561	$32
   17	Ohio	$66,519	$32
   18	Texas	$65,328	$31
   19	Missouri	$64,631	$31
   20	Massachusetts	$63,455	$31

   Average organizational development specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Citrix	$106,584	$51.24
   2	Esri	$94,270	$45.32	1
   3	DTCC	$91,531	$44.01	12
   4	Medstar Health	$88,447	$42.52
   5	West Tennessee Healthcare	$88,279	$42.44
   6	UMiami Health System	$85,263	$40.99
   7	University of Southern California	$85,052	$40.89	5
   8	Exelon	$84,897	$40.82	2
   9	Bechtel Corporation	$84,555	$40.65	5
   10	Palomar Health	$83,553	$40.17	1
   11	LCMC Health	$83,446	$40.12	2
   12	University of Washington	$83,051	$39.93
   13	The RBL Group	$82,768	$39.79
   14	Lenovo	$82,369	$39.60	2
   15	Holzer Health System	$81,771	$39.31
   16	Open Systems Healthcare	$80,586	$38.74
   17	Mathematica	$79,933	$38.43
   18	American Institutes for Research	$79,722	$38.33
   19	Accion	$79,021	$37.99
   20	Con Edison	$78,907	$37.94

4. Writing an organizational development specialist job description

   A job description for an organizational development specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an organizational development specialist job description:

   Organizational development specialist job description example

   Beyond Finance is a next generation financial services company. Our goal is to provide financial peace of mind to our clients by giving them simple and transparent financial products that are customized to their individual circumstances.
   
   We're in constant pursuit of new collaborators that will help us get to the next level. Our workforce includes celebrated, diverse talents working towards the common objective of developing something transformational for the debt relief industry.
   
   Our team spirit and culture are what set us apart as a company. We love what we do, and we have fun doing it.
   
   Beyond Finance is seeking a Junior Organizational Development Specialist who is passionate about culture and excited to support a dynamic, high-growth organization through employee engagement and onboarding initiatives. The Junior OD Specialist, under the guidance of the Talent Strategy Manager, helps to define company culture and make meaningful changes to employee experience based on insights gleaned from feedback and people analytics. This person will play a large role in our New Hire Onboarding program, meaning it is crucial they are a great communicator with a flair for creating a fun, welcoming and engaging environment. This role would support all aspects of the employee life cycle and employee performance development through administration and execution.
   Key Responsibilities
   Drives a strong remote culture by identifying opportunities to improve team member experience Owns the coordination and ongoing support of cultural, engagement, and developmental employee programs Build relationships across the employee population to understand the pulse, impacts and opportunities for our culture Delivering New Hire Orientation sessions, gathering feedback, and leading continuous process improvement for our onboarding efforts Supports smooth operations for onboarding program including both administrative support and communication with hiring managers, new hires, and internal teams touching onboarding cycle Create materials and facilitate group training to various audiences related to enhanced tools and best-practices Supports offboarding employees to ensure all steps are completed, including communications, exit interviews, and reviewing trends of attrition to look for opportunities for improvement Support performance management initiatives: Annual Talent Reviews and ongoing Performance discussions Evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of programs by analyzing data and providing feedback and/or modifications as needed Serves as a backup to tactical onboarding steps including HRIS and i9 process management
   Key Experience
   Minimum 2 years of relevant Human Resources experience Bachelor's degree, with a focus on Organizational Development, Human Resources, Education, Instructional Design, Organizational Behavior Management or Industrial / Organizational Psychology, or a performance-related discipline preferred Must be comfortable presenting in front of groups via Video, with strong presentation skills Strong written and verbal communication skills Creative and Solutions-Oriented Experience with HR systems such including HRIS, LMS, and ATS Strong analytical skills with the ability to glean insights from data
   
   Why join us?
   
   We are looking for great people to join a fast-paced, growing, and innovative business. For eligible fulltime employees, we offer:
   Considerable employer contributions for health, dental and vision programs Generous personal time-off 401(K) match Merit advancement opportunities Career development & training
   More importantly, our team spirit and culture are what really sets us apart as a company. We're a world-class company that loves what we do...and we have fun doing it!
   
   Under the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), Beyond Finance is informing California residents who are our job applicants, contractors or prospective employees (together "job applicants") about the categories of personal information we collect about you and the purposes for which we will use this information. This notice and our Privacy Policy contain important information relating to the CCPA and apply only to personal information that is subject to the CCPA. Please see our website for the full CCPA statement.
   
   *Beyond Finance is an equal opportunity Employer*
   
   Beyond Finance does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third-party recruiting agencies in response to job positions. No fee will be paid to their parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to Beyond Finance employees or the Beyond Finance Finance and HR teams. No placement fee will be paid to any third party unless such a request has been made by the Beyond Finance HR team.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find organizational development specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your organizational development specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit organizational development specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting organizational development specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new organizational development specialist

   Once you've found the organizational development specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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