Joya Hayes is the Director of Human Resources and the Director of Civil Service for the City of Austin, Texas. She has over 22 years of experience in human resources, training and organizational development, community-based programming, policy and procedure development and executive level planning. As Human Resources Director, Hayes also represents the Human Resources department in all formal negotiations with the Austin Police Department, the Emergency Medical Services department, and the Austin Fire department.
Under her leadership, the City of Austin has received awards for innovative public sector programs in health and wellness, best-managed healthcare benefit plans, employment, and reentry initiatives to support employment opportunities for justice involved individuals. In 2021, The City of Austin was on the Forbes list of America’s Best Employers by State.
With over 16,000 employees, the City of Austin is one of the few cities in Texas to score 100+ on the Municipal Equality Index. This index examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality. The City of Austin prioritizes recruiting diverse talent internally and externally by implementing multiple initiatives like the Fair Chance Hiring and Ban the Box, hosting community job fairs for seniors and justice involved individuals, providing earned sick time to all employees, including temporary employees, expanded holidays like to include Juneteenth and Let Texas Vote days, and providing award-winning health and wellness benefits. In 2022 Austin became the first Texas city to raise the living wage to $20 an hour for all employees.
Hayes previously worked in executive positions providing support for city managers in Texas and Virginia. She is a member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the International Public Management Association for Human Resource Professionals (IPMA-HR), and a board member for the Austin Area Heritage Council and Child Incorporated. In 2021, Hayes was the recipient of the Austin NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award and has received over 35 other community awards for her dutiful service.
Joya received a master’s degree in Public Administration from Texas State University and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Huston-Tillotson University, where she graduated cum laude.