Vice President, People & Culture

Position : Vice President, People & Culture Location : Community Initiatives has offices in Oakland and Los Angeles, California. The Vice President will be based in one of these locations with travel to other. Reporting Relationship: The Vice President reports to the CEO Website : communityinititiaves.org Position Summary Reporting to the CEO and serving as a key member of the Executive Management Team, the Vice President will serve as the architect of the organization's people strategy while strengthening the systems, processes, governance, standards, and execution discipline that enable effective collaboration across teams. This is a significant builder role for an executive who can bring structure, clarity, trust, and modern people practices to an organization that has experienced rapid growth, evolving service demands, and inconsistent systems, documentation, workflows, and accountability. Community Initiatives' unique fiscal sponsorship model further adds complexity, requiring leadership across both internal staff and project employees supporting approximately 120 fiscally sponsored projects and hundreds of employees nationwide. The Vice President will provide executive leadership across the full spectrum of Human Resources and People & Culture, including HR strategy, employee experience, organizational development, performance management, employee and labor relations, total rewards, workforce planning, HR compliance, leadership development, culture, HR systems, and project employee services. Beyond traditional HR leadership, the role will strengthen the organization's operating infrastructure by establishing standardized processes, documentation, governance, administrative workflows, operational metrics, reporting, and continuous improvement across cross-functional service delivery. Key Responsibilities Executive Leadership, Strategy, and Governance Serve as a key member of the Executive Management Team, partnering with the CEO and senior leadership to shape organizational strategy, align people and culture initiatives with business priorities, and drive operational excellence. Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Executive Management Team, and Board of Directors on matters related to workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, culture, governance, employee relations, and enterprise risk. Foster a culture of transparency, trust, and accountability by strengthening Board engagement, providing meaningful updates on workforce and organizational health, and serving as a credible, collaborative leader who builds confidence across staff, leadership, and the Board. Develop and execute a comprehensive People & Culture strategy that strengthens organizational culture, employee engagement, equity, accountability, compliance, and overall employee experience while aligning workforce priorities with organizational goals. Lead the full spectrum of Human Resources functions, including talent acquisition, onboarding, workforce planning, total rewards, employee and labor relations, performance management, organizational development, HR systems, compliance, and learning and development. Establish scalable HR infrastructure, including policies, procedures, service standards, communication protocols, and risk management practices that promote transparency, consistency, legal compliance, professional growth, and a stronger employee experience across internal staff, managers, and project employees. Cross Functional Operating Infrastructure and Execution Model Own and strengthen the cross-functional operating infrastructure and execution model that enables effective coordination across HR, Finance, Legal, Client Services, Operations, IT, and project-facing teams, including clear decision rights, roles, responsibilities, and shared operating practices. Develop and implement organizational standards for SOPs, documentation, administrative workflows, service visibility, escalation management, and operational metrics to improve accountability, transparency, service quality, and leadership decision-making. Enhance organizational effectiveness by improving workflows, handoffs, and cross-functional collaboration, reducing operational friction, clarifying dependencies, and strengthening coordination across Oakland, Los Angeles, and distributed teams while maintaining functional leaders’ accountability for their respective areas. PMO, Portfolio Governance, and Change Execution Partner with external advisors and internal leaders during the initial setup and transition of PMO-related structures and tools. Lead the development and maturation of PMO and portfolio governance practices, including project intake, prioritization, dependency management, implementation oversight, reporting, and governance processes. Partner with internal leaders and external advisors to establish disciplined frameworks for evaluating, sequencing, and executing cross-functional initiatives aligned with organizational capacity and strategic priorities. Project Employee Services and Fiscal Sponsorship Support Design an HR service model that effectively supports both Community Initiatives staff and project employees within the unique fiscal sponsorship environment. Partner across HR, Finance, Legal, Client Services, and project-facing operations to align expectations, clarify responsibilities, and improve the experience of fiscally sponsored projects. Understand and manage the employment, compliance, employee relations, and reputational risks inherent in a fiscal sponsorship model with a nationally distributed employee base. IT, Systems, Vendor, and Contract Lifecycle Operations Coordinate cross-functional IT and systems work, including technical vendor management, implementation alignment, and partnership with functional system owners. Ensure HRIS, people systems, communications tools, workflow platforms, and related operational systems support efficient, scalable, employee-friendly, and service-oriented processes. Lead vendor management operations and contract lifecycle operations for areas within the role’s scope, while partnering with Legal for legal review, counsel, and risk guidance. Partner with benefits brokers, PEO/payroll providers, HR consultants, technology vendors, and other external partners to improve service quality, accountability, and operational performance. Organizational Development, Culture, and Employee Experience Foster a culture of transparency, psychological safety, inclusion, accountability, learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Lead organizational development and culture strategies that rebuild trust, strengthen values, and enhance the employee experience while fostering transparency, psychological safety, inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement. Advance equity, diversity, and belonging efforts while strengthening communication, connection, and shared identity across Oakland, Los Angeles, and hybrid/distributed teams. Lead, develop, and mentor the HR team, fostering a high-performing, collaborative, service-oriented, transparent, and accountable function. Assess the current HR team structure, capabilities, workload, and service model to determine what is needed to support scale, compliance, service quality, and future growth. Model trust, transparency, sound judgment, discretion, high ethical standards, self-awareness, and continuous improvement. The Candidate Minimum of 10 years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience, including executive-level responsibility for people strategy, HR operations, culture, employee relations, and organizational effectiveness. Demonstrated ability to build, transform, or scale HR functions, including organizational design, service models, SOPs, documentation, compliance practices, performance management, HR systems, metrics, and reporting. Experience developing scalable people practices and operating infrastructure within complex, growing, multi-site, hybrid, distributed, or mission-driven organizations. Deep expertise across the employee lifecycle, including talent acquisition, onboarding, learning and development, engagement, performance management, total rewards, retention, employee relations, investigations, compliance, benefits, leaves, risk management, and separations. Proven ability to establish HR service standards, escalation pathways, workflow visibility, governance processes, and operational metrics that improve transparency, accountability, and service delivery. Experience leading cross-functional operational improvement initiatives, including SOP development, documentation standards, process optimization, governance, project prioritization, change management, and continuous improvement. Experience with PMO or portfolio governance practices, project intake, prioritization, dependency management, implementation oversight, and cross-functional coordination preferred. Ability to partner effectively with IT teams, technical vendors, functional system owners, legal counsel, and external partners on systems, contracts, compliance, and risk management matters. Demonstrated success leading culture-building and organizational change efforts in environments requiring trust-building, transparency, accountability, and renewed confidence in leadership. Experience in nonprofit, philanthropic, fiscal sponsorship, or other complex mission-driven environments strongly preferred. Familiarity with California employment law and experience supporting multi-state workforces preferred. Relevant certifications such as PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP preferred.

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Public Administration, Sociology, Psychology, or a related field required. Master’s Degree, MBA or other relevant advanced degree preferred.

COMPENSATION

The base salary range for this role is $250,000 — $275,000, plus comprehensive benefits #J-18808-Ljbffr Korn Ferry