Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Diversity & Inclusion Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Diversity & Inclusion Officer (Diversity & Inclusion Specialist / DEI Officer) leads the development, implementation and measurement of organizational diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. This hands-on role partners with HR, Talent Acquisition, People Analytics, business leaders and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to embed inclusive policies and practices across the employee lifecycle, improve representation and retention of underrepresented groups, design learning programs (e.g., unconscious bias, inclusive leadership), and deliver measurable outcomes against diversity and belonging goals. The role combines strategy, data analysis, training design, policy guidance and stakeholder engagement to create a sustainable, scalable culture of inclusion.

Keywords: diversity and inclusion officer, DEI officer, equity, belonging, inclusive hiring, unconscious bias training, diversity metrics, ERGs, supplier diversity, pay equity, EEO compliance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

HR Generalist or HR Business Partner with responsibility for people programs
Talent Acquisition / Recruitment Specialist focused on inclusive sourcing and hiring
Learning & Development Specialist with experience in inclusive leadership programs
Employee Resource Group (ERG) lead or volunteer with demonstrated program impact

Advancement To:

Senior Diversity & Inclusion Manager
Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Head of People / VP of People & Culture with DEI portfolio
Chief Diversity Officer / Chief People Officer (for larger organizations)

Lateral Moves:

Talent Development / Learning & Development Manager
Employee Engagement or Organizational Effectiveness Lead
Talent Acquisition Lead focused on sourcing diverse talent
People Analytics or HR Strategy roles

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, own and execute a multi-year organizational Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) strategy and roadmap aligned to corporate strategy, including measurable goals for representation, retention, promotion and pay equity across underrepresented groups.
Partner closely with Talent Acquisition to design and operationalize inclusive hiring practices—clear role descriptions, diverse candidate slates, structured interviews, bias mitigation, and diverse sourcing strategies—to improve candidate diversity and reduce hiring disparities.
Design, deliver and evaluate a curriculum of DEI learning interventions (e.g., unconscious bias training, inclusive leadership, microaggressions awareness, cultural competency) for managers and employees, including train-the-trainer programs and online learning modules.
Lead data-driven workforce analysis: collect, cleanse and analyze diversity metrics from HRIS and People Analytics (representation, attrition, promotion rates, intersectional analyses), create executive dashboards, and translate insights into prioritized interventions.
Build, advise and scale Employee Resource Groups (ERGs/BRGs), including charter development, budget and funding oversight, leadership training, event planning, and alignment of ERG outcomes to business priorities.
Conduct regular pay equity analyses and compensation reviews; partner with Compensation & Benefits to remediate inequities and to establish equitable compensation practices and promotion processes.
Advise business leaders and HR on inclusive policies and practices: parental leave, flexible work, accommodations, performance evaluation equity, career mobility, and promotion fairness.
Establish and manage DEI governance structures, including steering committees, executive sponsorship, cross-functional working groups and cadence for reporting progress to senior leadership and the board.
Create and deliver internal and external communications to advance D&I priorities and celebrate milestones—monthly newsletters, leadership messages, intranet content, policy updates, and DEI annual reports.
Manage vendor relationships for DEI services (training providers, assessment vendors, sourcing partners), evaluate proposals, and negotiate contracts to ensure quality, scalability and cost-effectiveness.
Partner with Learning & Development and People Operations on career development programs (mentorship, sponsorship, leadership pipelines) targeted to underrepresented talent to increase retention and promotion rates.
Design and execute targeted outreach, internship, apprenticeship and early-career programs focused on diverse talent pipelines and partnerships with universities, community organizations and non-profits.
Oversee the design and administration of climate and engagement surveys focused on inclusion and belonging; analyze results, produce action plans and track remediation efforts by team and manager.
Build supplier diversity programs: set supplier diversity goals, identify diverse vendors, track spend, and collaborate with procurement to increase spend with diverse suppliers.
Lead incident response and complaint handling related to discrimination, harassment or bias; coordinate investigations with HR/Legal, recommend remediation and communicate learning across the organization.
Develop and maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation and best practices (EEO, ADA, Title VII, local employment equity laws), and ensure policies and reporting comply with legal requirements.
Integrate DEI requirements into talent processes—performance reviews, succession planning, promotions—and partner with managers to reduce subjective bias across people decisions.
Produce executive-level reporting and storytelling (quarterly/annual progress reports) that combines quantitative metrics with qualitative narratives to demonstrate business impact and ROI of DEI initiatives.
Run pilot programs and experiments (e.g., blind resume screening, structured interview pilots) and scale proven practices across the organization while documenting process, lessons learned and KPIs.
Lead organizational change management for DEI transformations: stakeholder mapping, communications planning, change impact assessments, manager toolkits and reinforcement strategies.
Coordinate community engagement and external partnerships that advance employer brand and social impact: university partners, non-profits, industry DEI coalitions and conference representation.
Manage DEI budgets, forecast program costs, track vendor spend, and report on financial impact and outcomes of inclusion investments.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory analysis related to workforce diversity, attrition drivers, and promotion pipelines in partnership with People Analytics.
Contribute to the organization's DEI data strategy, including data capture, taxonomy standardization (demographic categories), privacy and consent best practices.
Collaborate with People Operations and HRIS teams to ensure accurate collection of self-identification data and implement confidential survey mechanisms.
Participate in sprint planning, cross-functional project teams, and agile ceremonies to deliver DEI projects on time and within scope.
Assist with event coordination for inclusion-themed programs, cultural heritage months, and leadership dialogues to foster engagement and inclusive culture.
Provide guidance and coaching to managers on addressing team-level inclusion issues, building inclusive goals and conducting equitable performance conversations.
Support recruitment events, career fairs and outreach campaigns focused on diverse candidate sourcing, including evaluation of ROI and candidate experience.
Monitor industry DEI benchmarks, perform competitive analysis, and recommend new programs or policy changes to maintain market-leading inclusion practices.
Create toolkits, templates and self-service resources for leaders and employees to implement localized DEI activities and measure their effectiveness.
Assist with periodic policy reviews and updates to remove systemic barriers and align employee-facing policies with DEI commitments.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

DEI program design and management: curriculum development, ERG program scaling, and governance.
Data analysis & reporting for diversity metrics: experience with HRIS, People Analytics tools, Excel, SQL, Tableau/Power BI, or similar business intelligence platforms.
Pay equity analysis: statistical techniques, regression analysis or use of pay equity tools, and experience translating results into action.
Learning design and facilitation: classroom and virtual training design, train-the-trainer, and LMS administration experience.
Policy development and legal/compliance knowledge: familiarity with EEO, ADA, Title VII, affirmative action and local diversity-related regulations.
Project and program management: roadmaps, timelines, budgets, vendor selection and contract negotiation.
Survey design and employee listening: climate surveys, pulse surveys, action planning and measurement.
Talent process integration: experience embedding DEI into recruitment, performance management, succession planning and leadership development.
Stakeholder management and executive reporting: building dashboards, storytelling, and producing executive-ready reports and presentations.
Supplier diversity program management and vendor assessment.
HR systems familiarity (Workday, ADP, SuccessFactors) for demographic reporting and integrations.
Budget management and cost-benefit analysis for DEI initiatives.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to craft compelling narratives for diverse audiences including executives.
Strong facilitation and training delivery skills—able to lead workshops on sensitive topics with psychological safety.
Strategic thinking and problem solving: translate complex workforce data into prioritized actions and measurable outcomes.
High emotional intelligence, cultural competence and empathy when addressing sensitive incidents or feedback.
Influencing and persuasion skills: ability to gain leadership buy-in and drive cross-functional collaboration without direct authority.
Change management capability: drive adoption of new practices, manage resistance and sustain momentum.
Relationship-building and networking: build partnerships across business units, ERGs and external organizations.
Resilience and discretion: handle confidential information and complex complaints with integrity.
Project management discipline with ability to deliver multiple initiatives concurrently.
Analytical curiosity and continuous improvement mindset—test, learn and scale evidence-based interventions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Psychology, Sociology, Business Administration, Public Policy, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Organizational Psychology, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion, MBA, or related advanced degree and/or DEI certifications (e.g., Cornell Diversity & Inclusion, SHRM Inclusive Workplace, Catalyst, diversity analytics programs).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Human Resources
Organizational Development / Organizational Psychology
Sociology / Anthropology
Business Administration / Management
Public Policy / Social Justice Studies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive experience in diversity, equity & inclusion, HR, talent or organizational development roles.

Preferred:

5+ years executing DEI strategy in medium-to-large organizations or consulting contexts.
Proven experience running ERGs, delivering organization-wide training, leading pay equity or representation analyses, and partnering with senior leaders.
Demonstrated outcomes: improved representation or retention metrics, successful program rollouts, measurable changes in engagement or inclusion scores.
Experience with HR systems and analytics tools, and comfortable working with sensitive demographic data under privacy constraints.