People Analytics Lead

About the role

This is a foundational, high-visibility role within Ascend Partner Services, reporting to the Director of Employee Engagement. You will serve as our first dedicated People Analytics function, building the infrastructure, frameworks, and insight engine that will power people strategy across Ascend and all of our partner firms.

Opportunity

The executive leadership team, including the CEO, CFO, and Board, expects differentiated, proactive people intelligence this year. You will deliver it. You will own our Visier implementation, build the frameworks to measure AI ROI across the organization, produce M&A-facing people analytics collateral, and partner closely with our AI Enablement and Professional Development team to prove the impact of upskilling at scale.

What You'll Do

• Build and Own the People Analytics Platform
  • Lead the full implementation and ongoing management of Vizier as our enterprise people analytics platform.
  • Create scalable reporting infrastructure that empowers executives and Heads of People at our 20+ partner firms to access meaningful, real-time workforce insights without requiring your direct involvement in every query.
• Measure and Communicate AI ROI
  • Develop a rigorous, repeatable framework for calculating the return on investment from AI deployment across Ascend and our partner firms.
  • Translate complex findings into compelling narrative reports and presentations for the Board, the Executive Leadership Team, and Heads of People at the firm level.
• Deliver Proactive, Predictive Workforce Intelligence
  • Develop predictive models and forward-looking analyses that surface risks and opportunities before they become problems.
  • Partner directly with the Chief People Officer to shape people strategy, prioritization, and focus for 2026 and beyond.
• Build M&A People Analytics Collateral
  • Develop a repeatable suite of analytics assets that demonstrate Ascend's measurable impact on culture, retention, engagement, and performance at firms we acquire.
  • These materials will be used actively during our M&A process to tell a compelling, data-backed story of what joining Ascend means for a firm's people.
• Partner on Upskilling Impact Measurement
  • Work hand-in-hand with our AI Enablement and Professional Development function to design measurement frameworks and reporting that tangibly demonstrate the impact of learning and development investments across the organization.
  • Connect upskilling to business outcomes in ways that resonate at every level of the organization.
• Scale Through Systems and AI
  • Build systems and leverage AI tools and agents to dramatically extend your own capacity.
  • Develop self-serve reporting, automated insight delivery, and scalable processes that reduce dependency on you as a single point of failure and extend the reach of people analytics across a growing portfolio of firms.

Qualifications

• 7–12 years of experience in people analytics, HR data science, organizational research, or a closely related field; background in a People Scientist role at a high-caliber organization is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in people analytics platforms; Visier experience strongly preferred, Workday familiarity required.
• Experience integrating and deriving insights from multiple HR data sources (CultureAmp, Greenhouse, HRIS, L&D platforms, etc.).
• Strong business acumen and experience linking business and people outcomes.
• Proven ability to calculate and communicate ROI from HR and technology investments, including AI.
• Strong quantitative skills: statistical modeling, predictive analytics, and data visualization.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to tailor narrative and visual presentation to C-suite, Board, HR, and business unit audiences.
• Experience producing executive-ready presentations and polished external-facing collateral.
• Familiarity with AI and automation tools; demonstrated ability — or clear aptitude — to leverage AI agents to scale individual output.
• Track record of operating autonomously in a high-growth, ambiguous environment.

Skills

• Deeply grounded in organizational psychology and behavioral data.
• Exceptional storytelling ability.
• Proven ability to calculate and communicate ROI from HR and technology investments, including AI.
• Strong quantitative skills: statistical modeling, predictive analytics, and data visualization.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to tailor narrative and visual presentation to C-suite, Board, HR, and business unit audiences.
• Experience producing executive-ready presentations and polished external-facing collateral.
• Familiarity with AI and automation tools; demonstrated ability — or clear aptitude — to leverage AI agents to scale individual output.
• Track record of operating autonomously in a high-growth, ambiguous environment.