Vice President, Human Resources

Job Description

Job Description

The Vice President, Human Resources (VP, HR) – North America will play a critical role in shaping the next phase of Carpenter Co.’s evolution. As one of the world’s largest vertically integrated manufacturers of polyurethane foams and specialty polymer products, Carpenter is at an inflection point following recent acquisitions and continued expansion. This is a unique opportunity to continue building upon and scaling foundational HR capabilities. This role offers the opportunity to drive steady, practical progress while building and scaling the HR function in support of a more empowered, accountable, and connected organization.

This role is focused on North America, supporting approximately 3,500 employees across a multi-state U.S. environment and three Canadian operations. The VP, HR will primarily partner closely with site-based HR leaders in North America. It is a highly hands-on position that requires strong coordination, communication, and the ability to drive alignment in a decentralized environment.

Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, the VP, HR will serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team, helping translate business priorities into a clear people strategy while enabling leaders across the organization to operate with greater ownership and accountability. The Executive Leadership Team is aligned on the need to invest in and strengthen the HR function and is committed to supporting the successful candidate in building out the team and capabilities over time.

Role priorities:

• Support a wide range of HR activities, including employee relations, recruiting, training, benefits and vendor management, and compensation in partnership with external advisors (e.g., PwC)
• Drive cultural evolution, reinforcing expectations around ownership, execution, and leadership accountability while maintaining a pragmatic, “no over-engineering” approach to change
• Sustain effective coordination across a decentralized HR model, enabling strong connectivity and shared priorities across site-based HR leadership
• Lead integration efforts related to recent acquisitions, particularly Casper, including alignment of culture, systems, and processes across both manufacturing and consumer-facing environments
• Strengthen leadership capability and bench, with a focus on development, succession planning, and selective external hiring
• Operate with significant range across responsibilities, from frontline employee relations and plant-level support to executive-level strategy, communication, and decision-making
• Ensure compliance with all applicable employment laws and regulations across the U.S. and Canada, including oversight of policy development, revision, and governance; proactively assess risk and implement practices that support a consistent, compliant, and well-controlled operating environment

The ideal candidate is a hands-on HR leader with strong business acumen and a track record of operating effectively in complex, distributed organizations. This leader will bring both strategic capability and a pragmatic, execution-oriented mindset, with the ability to translate business priorities into clear, actionable people strategies. Experience in multi-site, operationally intensive environments is essential, including direct experience supporting manufacturing workforces and a significant frontline employee population. The successful candidate will understand the dynamics of a predominantly blue-collar environment and have a demonstrated ability to drive engagement, accountability, and performance at the site level. Experience in a retail or consumer-oriented environment is a plus,
given Carpenter’s recent acquisition of Casper.

The successful candidate will have strength across core HR disciplines, including employee relations and employment law compliance, along with a track record of applying HR policies consistently across multi-site environments. They will bring experience leading change and supporting growth or integration efforts and will be comfortable operating in a “build” environment, assessing and evolving team structure, elevating HR capabilities, and introducing more proactive,
forward-looking leadership. A strong track record of developing talent and building effective teams is important.