VICE PRESIDENT, PEOPLE OPERATIONS

  • Posted on 25 February 2019
  • San Francisco, California, United States
  • Closing on 27 March 2019

Job Description

The Vice President (VP), People Operations’ responsibilities are broad and strategic, as well as tactical. A strategic and consultative leader, the VP’s role is to ensure that Room to Read’s worldwide People Operations goals, policies, procedures, and programs support the organization’s mission, vision and culture. As such, the VP will develop, implement, and evaluate changes in coordination with regional and country office staff and with the support of the Chief Operating Officer and Management Team. With the goal of sustaining an engaged workforce, the VP oversees and provides best practice guidance and consistency in the following areas: employee engagement, recruitment, performance management, learning management, benefits, compensation and organizational development.

Based in San Francisco, the VP reports to the Chief Operating Officer and leads a service-oriented team of 29 People Operations professionals in 10 countries worldwide including direct oversight for a team of 7 in San Francisco and Delhi. The global People Operations team supports 1,600+ staff. International travel is required, including several trips throughout a year, each of several weeks duration to Room to Read’s program countries.

Key responsibilities will include (but are not limited to):

  • Leading a high performing, global team of People Operations team staff focused on various functional areas; providing tertiary technical support our 9 People Partners and Operations Managers in Southeast Asia, Southern Asia and Southern Africa; and acting as a coach and advisor to senior management and other Room to Read staff
  • Developing and facilitating the implementation of the global People Operations strategy and annual plans in alignment with the Global Strategic Plan; and managing the preparation of the People Operations budget and the global personnel budget with support from the finance business partner
  • With a holistic understanding of Room to Read’s goals and a collaborative approach,
    • recommends, designs, implements and evaluates organization structures globally to maximize productivity and goal achievement, and provides technical assistance to establish new offices or projects worldwide
    • leverages the People Operations programs and tactical approaches to efficiently and effectively achieve organization-wide goals including, developing and implementing new programs and approaches
  • Through the following activities, trains supervisors to support our staff in achieving both their organizational goals and career objectives using performance management and professional development tools, as well as policies and procedures that support staff and the interests of Room to Read:
    • Empowers supervisors to employ various organization development techniques including; conflict resolution, teambuilding, professional development, roles and responsibility clarity, resource planning and performance management through effective implementation and technical oversight
    • Provides HR technical support and training to assist supervisors in developing strategic staffing plans for the organization
    • Manages the performance management and improvement system; coach managers on how to handle performance issues
  • Reviews and approves the global compensation philosophy and programs, obtaining approval from the COO and Board, as suggested by the global, regional and country level senior staff including; salary benchmarking, salary adjustments, promotions, job evaluation, salary structure design and job analysis, and changes to Management Team’s compensation and employee benefits’ plan.
  • In partnership with the Legal Affairs director, maintain current knowledge and understanding of regulations, laws and industry best practices to ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to personnel. Manages the development of and approves annual updates to organization-wide HR policies and procedures accordingly.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The ideal candidate will have the following personal and professional competencies and characteristics:

A Passion for the Mission

The Vice President, People Operations will bring a passion for education and share the belief that all children deserve the opportunity to pursue a quality education that enables them to reach their full potential and contribute to their communities and the world. This is a leader who understands and embraces that the operational strength of an international development organization of this caliber is essential to serving the overall mission. In alignment with Room to Read’s culture, the VP will be committed to effectively leading the People Operations team and serving as a strategic partner to the COO and management team. This individual will bring a deep appreciation for the complex challenges facing Room to Read and an excitement to be part of a team that is focused on identifying creative and strategic solutions to ensure Room to Read’s teams continues to thrive.

People Operations/Human Resources Acumen

With an entrepreneurial spirit and growth mindset, the VP, People Operations will bring a proven track record of success in implementing programs to attract and sustain a high performing, engaged, global workforce. As Room to Read’s most senior People Operations professional, the VP must have both general knowledge of the principles and best practices of human resources administration and a demonstrated ability developing and implementing organizational improvements strategically and tactically.

Executing for Results

This flexible leader will have the ability to understand and deal with complex HR challenges with limited resources and creatively overcome obstacles to achieve goals. The VP will have the ability to conceptualize and analyze problems and solutions in a proactive, constructive and creative manner as well as a strong attention to detail and the ability to implement tactical solutions with limited support. With a proven effectiveness working or volunteering in a non-profit that is focused on maintaining high quality work and low overhead, the VP must be comfortable working in a fast-paced, global setting.

About the Organization

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read’s innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools in low-income countries during two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education.

In collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, Room to Read works to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. By focusing on the quality of education provided within the communities and ensuring these outcomes are measured, Room to Read has created a model that can be replicated, localized and sustained by governments.

With an annual operating budget of over $50 million, Room to Read is headquartered in San Francisco, CA and employs over 1,600 staff and project employees across 17 countries. Room to Read has benefited 12.5 million children across 20,000 communities primarily in Asia and Africa and aims to reach 15 million children by 2020.

For more information, visit Room to Read’s website.

CONTACT

Koya Leadership Partners, a national retained executive search firm that works exclusively with mission-driven clients, has been exclusively retained for this search. To make recommendations or express interest in this role please email Alexandra Corvin at RoomtoRead@koyapartners.com. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.

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