Associate VP for People and Culture

About the Role

This leadership position drives the College’s People and Culture strategy, operations, and programs in alignment with its mission and strategic priorities. The role serves as a key advisor to senior leadership on workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, and institutional sustainability.

Responsibilities

• People and Culture Strategy and Leadership
  • Develop and advance a comprehensive People and Culture strategy aligned with the College’s mission, strategic plan, workforce needs, and institutional priorities.
  • Serve as a strategic advisor to College leadership on workforce planning, organizational structure, staffing, compensation, employee engagement, workplace culture, and organizational effectiveness.
  • Translate institutional priorities, workforce trends, and data into effective People and Culture strategies, recommendations, and initiatives.
  • Provide leadership and direction for People and Culture policies, programs, practices, systems, and services across the institution.
  • Identify opportunities to strengthen organizational effectiveness, consistency, transparency, employee experience, and institutional sustainability.
  • Advance institutional priorities related to belonging, collective equity, employee engagement, recognition, professional growth, and organizational well-being.
  • Maintain a visible and accessible presence across campus and develop strong relationships with faculty, staff, students, and College leadership.
• People and Culture Operations, Systems and Digital Transformation
  • Provide strategic leadership for the College’s human resources information systems, technology platforms, data infrastructure, and People and Culture operations.
  • Lead the continued implementation, optimization, and integration of ADP and related HR technologies and workflows.
  • Leverage technology to streamline processes, enhance the employee and manager experience, improve data integrity, and strengthen transparency and consistency.
  • Establish and advance effective processes, policies, procedures, controls, and service standards for People and Culture operations.
  • Develop and utilize workforce metrics, analytics, and reporting to inform institutional decisions related to staffing, compensation, retention, employee development, and workforce planning.
  • Lead continuous improvement and change-management efforts related to People and Culture systems, programs, services, and processes.
  • Ensure technology investments and operational practices effectively support institutional and workforce priorities.
• Compensation, Classification and Workforce Planning
  • Provide strategic leadership for the College’s compensation, classification, and workforce planning programs.
  • Develop and maintain compensation and classification practices that support market competitiveness, internal equity, transparency, consistency, and responsible stewardship of institutional resources.
  • Guide institutional approaches to market analysis, position classification, salary structures, advancement opportunities, promotions, and compensation decisions.
  • Partner with College leadership to evaluate organizational structures, staffing models, workforce capacity, and emerging workforce needs.
  • Advance clear and consistent approaches to career development, advancement pathways, and promotion criteria.
  • Ensure compensation, staffing, and workload discussions are informed by relevant market data, internal equity, workforce information, institutional priorities, and available resources.
  • Develop clear, data-informed recommendations regarding workforce investments and institutional People and Culture priorities.
• Employee and Labor Relations
  • Provide strategic leadership and counsel regarding complex employee relations matters, workplace concerns, performance issues, conflict resolution, and organizational change.
  • Advise College leadership, managers, and supervisors on employee relations, performance management, workplace expectations, accountability, and employee development.
  • Provide strategic leadership for labor relations and the College’s relationships with represented employee groups.
  • Partner with institutional leaders and legal counsel, as appropriate, regarding collective bargaining, contract administration, grievances, employment matters, and labor strategy.
  • Promote constructive labor-management relationships and effective communication among employees, supervisors, College leadership, and represented groups.
  • Ensure employee and labor relations matters are addressed with consistency, sound judgment, discretion, fairness, and appropriate documentation.
• Performance, Learning and Employee Engagement
  • Provide strategic leadership for performance management, employee development, learning, coaching, recognition, and engagement initiatives.
  • Advance and continuously improve the College’s performance assessment process and related resources for employees, managers, and supervisors.
  • Provide leadership for new-employee orientation, learning and development programming, supervisory development, and other professional growth initiatives.
  • Utilize employee engagement surveys, campus listening strategies, workforce trends, and institutional data to identify opportunities and develop responsive strategies.
  • Strengthen institutional capacity for effective supervision, coaching, feedback, accountability, employee development, and change management.
  • Advance strategies that support employee engagement, retention, recognition, professional growth, and sustainable workloads.
  • Foster a culture that encourages continuous learning, accountability, collaboration, and professional development.
• Benefits, Wellness and Employee Programs
  • Provide strategic leadership for employee benefits, retirement, wellness, leave, and related programs.
  • Evaluate programs for competitiveness, effectiveness, compliance, utilization, employee needs, and financial sustainability.
  • Partner with People and Culture staff, consultants, vendors, and College leadership to develop and administer competitive and responsible benefit programs.
  • Ensure employees have clear, accessible, and timely information regarding benefits and other People and Culture programs.
  • Monitor emerging benefit and workforce trends and recommend strategies that support employee well-being, recruitment, retention, and institutional sustainability.
• Equity, Civil Rights and Employment Compliance
  • Partner closely with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and other institutional stakeholders to integrate equity into employment policies, practices, programs, systems, and decision-making.
  • Provide leadership and support for assigned civil rights-related responsibilities and employment compliance matters.
  • Promote equitable, consistent, accessible, and transparent People and Culture practices across the institution.
  • Ensure employment policies and practices are administered consistently and in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, regulations, College policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
  • Monitor changes in employment law, regulatory requirements, and emerging People and Culture practices and recommend appropriate institutional responses.
  • Identify and address systemic barriers within employment practices and processes and advance strategies that support equitable access, opportunity, development, and advancement.
• Institutional Partnership and Governance
  • Build and maintain collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, students, senior leadership, governance groups, and other institutional stakeholders.
  • Navigate effectively within the College’s shared-governance environment and recognize the distinct roles, responsibilities, and perspectives of faculty, staff, students, and represented employees.
  • Communicate complex workforce and People and Culture matters clearly and effectively to varied audiences.
  • Participate in institutional committees, working groups, planning efforts, and strategic initiatives as assigned.
  • Represent People and Culture in institutional discussions and decision-making.
  • Develop clear, fact-based recommendations and effectively communicate the rationale for People and Culture strategies, policies, practices, and decisions.
  • Balance institutional consistency and accountability with the collaborative and relational culture of a residential liberal arts college.