VP, Head of People

About Excel

Ranked 6X by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest-growing companies in America, and certified by Great Places to Work, Excel specializes in digital advertising and performance marketing, playing a pivotal role in connecting consumers with insurance brands, at scale. We partner with large strategic brands such as insurance carriers, brokers, and agencies, supplying them with high quality prospects looking for their services. This involves owning and operating top-rated insurance websites that we promote via paid search marketing driving the highest-intent consumers looking to acquire an insurance plan to meet their needs.

• Our Vision: Acquiring great customers should be simple.
• Our Mission: Helping insurance brands acquire the right customers at scale.
• Our Values: E - Embrace Simplicity, X - XL Impact, C - Customer Centric, E - Extreme Ownership, L - Laser Focused.

Our team

At Excel we believe remote working is an important way to enable people to achieve their best work while maximizing time efficiency and personal freedom. Our culture is based on team-based performance that is highly aligned but loosely coupled, extreme ownership, growth mindset, curiosity, personal accountability, and we flourish because of the creativity and input from our team members. As an agile and innovative company, we are always looking for our next high performer to help transform the future!

About The Role

Excel is seeking a strategic and hands-on VP, Head of People to lead the company's people strategy, talent management, organizational effectiveness, and HR operations. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Head of People will serve as a key member of the leadership team, responsible for aligning talent and culture initiatives with business objectives while building a high-performing, scalable organization.

This leader will oversee the full employee lifecycle, including talent acquisition, leadership development, performance management, employee engagement, total rewards, HR operations, and compliance. The ideal candidate combines strong business acumen with operational excellence and a proven ability to scale people programs in a high-growth environment.

Why This Role Matters

People are one of Excel’s most important competitive advantages. The VP, Head of People will play a critical role in ensuring the company attracts exceptional talent, develops strong leaders, strengthens employee engagement, and builds a culture where high performers can thrive. This leader will help shape the company’s next phase of growth by aligning talent, culture, leadership, and HR operations with measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness

• Partner with the executive leadership team to develop and execute a people strategy that supports business objectives and long-term growth.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on organizational design, workforce planning, succession planning, and leadership effectiveness.
• Lead organizational change and transformation initiatives that improve performance, scalability, and employee experience.
• Utilize workforce analytics and business insights to drive data-informed decision-making.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Lead recruiting and workforce planning strategies that attract, hire, and retain high-performing talent across the organization.
• Build scalable recruiting, onboarding, succession planning, and talent development programs that strengthen organizational capability and leadership readiness.
• Partner with business leaders to identify staffing needs, talent gaps, bench strength, and future hiring needs.
• Strengthen employer branding and drive continuous improvement in recruiting processes, candidate experience, employee value proposition and overall talent acquisition performance to improve hiring outcomes through data-informed decision-making.

Performance Management, Culture & Accountability

• Lead performance management programs that align individual, team, and company performance with business objectives.
• Foster a high-performance culture built on accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, measurable results, and alignment with company values.
• Coach leaders and managers on performance conversations, employee development, feedback, recognition, accountability, and talent management best practices.
• Partner with executives and leaders to identify, develop, and retain high-potential employees while strengthening leadership capability across the organization.

Leadership Development & Talent Development

• Design and implement leadership development programs that strengthen management capability and build organizational leadership capacity.
• Equip managers with the tools, skills, and coaching needed to lead high-performing teams and drive business results.
• Support long-term talent development, employee growth, and leadership readiness across the organization.
• Lead and support organizational change initiatives that enhance agility, performance, and continuous improvement.

Employee Experience, Engagement & Employee Relations

• Champion an employee experience that supports engagement, retention, accountability, transparency, innovation, and high performance.
• Lead employee engagement, recognition, reward, and retention strategies that reinforce company values and support organizational commitment.
• Provide leadership and guidance on employee relations matters, workplace investigations, corrective action, conflict resolution, and policy administration.
• Promote collaboration, continuous learning, diverse perspectives, and professional development to support innovation and organizational growth.

Compensation, Benefits & Total Rewards

• Lead competitive compensation, benefits, and total rewards programs that attract, retain, and motivate top talent.
• Partner with leadership to design and administer performance-based incentive and bonus programs aligned with business objectives and company performance.
• Oversee compensation planning, salary benchmarking, pay practices, benefits administration, and internal equity considerations.
• Evaluate and enhance benefits programs to support employee well-being while aligning with organizational goals and cost management priorities.

HR Operations, Compliance & People Analytics

• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations.
• Oversee HR systems, reporting, people analytics, policy administration, process improvement, and HR governance practices.
• Continuously improve HR programs, processes, and operational efficiencies to enhance scalability, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness.
• Develop scalable HR infrastructure and risk management practices that support business growth while maintaining compliance and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including experience leading HR or People functions within high-growth, performance-driven organizations.
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or PHR certification strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, employee relations, talent and performance management, compensation, benefits, HR operations, and HR best practices.
• Proven success developing talent acquisition, leadership development, performance management, compensation, and employee engagement strategies that support measurable business outcomes.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to leverage workforce analytics, financial insights, organizational data, and business metrics to influence executive decision-making.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and change management skills.
• Experience within digital marketing, lead generation, technology, SaaS, or professional services organizations preferred.
• Experience supporting remote and multi-state workforces preferred.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Leadership
• Executive Presence
• Talent Development
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Business Partnership

Success Measures

Within the first 12 months, the VP, Head of People will:

• Strengthen talent acquisition, leadership development, and succession planning capabilities.
• Improve employee engagement, retention, and organizational performance.
• Implement scalable people programs and processes that support continued business growth.
• Enhance people analytics and workforce reporting to support strategic decision-making.
• Ensure HR operations, compliance, and infrastructure effectively support organizational success.

Reporting relationships

• Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
• Talent Acquisition
• HR Generalist/Business Partner/People Ops Partner
• Learning & Development (as applicable)
• Office Administration (as applicable)

Compensation Mix

• Fixed base salary
• Variable performance bonus
• Transactional Bonus
• $1,000 Learning Allowance/year
• Separate budget for conferences/events
• Company-sponsored benefits

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Short term disability insurance
• Long term disability insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off
• Parental leave

Some benefits may vary depending on applicability/availability.

Perks

• Holidays, vacation, and personal paid time-off
• Work-life flexible while committed to growth
• The entire company is remote/work from home
• Company provided computer hardware/software
• Unlimited growth and development opportunities

Next steps

If you are interested in this opportunity, want to grow with a company that is invested in you and the future, apply now to be considered for this position! It is highly recommended you read our culture memo at before applying to ensure you could be a good cultural fit.

The Pay Range For This Role Is

170,000 - 185,000 USD per year(US)