Vice President for People and Culture (Apply via Search Firm)

About the role

The Vice President for People and Culture is a cabinet-level executive leader reporting directly to the President and serves as San José State University’s (SJSU) chief authority on workforce strategy, personnel governance, labor relations, and employment compliance. The role sets enterprise-wide human capital strategy aligned with institutional mission and academic priorities, leads executive-level fiscal oversight, establishes governance frameworks for employment practices, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness, drives modernization of people systems, processes, and service delivery models, ensures accountability, performance standards, and strategic alignment across divisional leadership, oversees institutional workforce analytics and reporting, acts as the President’s designee for collective bargaining interpretation and labor governance, oversees grievance administration architecture and ensures consistent and legally sound contract interpretation, provides executive guidance on disciplinary matters, dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration, advises the President and Cabinet on workforce implications of institutional decisions, restructuring initiatives, and strategic investments, participates in Academic Senate, executive committees, and campus governance forums as the senior employment authority, leads enterprise-wide organizational development and change management initiatives, directs institutional risk mitigation strategies related to Title IX, equal opportunity, and employment law compliance, and advises executive leadership on compliance risk posture and policy implications associated with Title IX and related mandates.

Responsibilities

• Sets enterprise-wide human capital strategy aligned with institutional mission and academic priorities.
• Led executive-level fiscal oversight and resource stewardship of the People & Culture portfolio.
• Establishes governance frameworks for employment practices, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness.
• Drives modernization of people systems, processes, and service delivery models to improve efficiency, compliance, and user experience.
• Ensures accountability, performance standards, and strategic alignment across divisional leadership, including direct oversight of senior administrators within the portfolio.
• Oversees institutional workforce analytics and reporting to inform executive decision-making.
• Acts as the President’s designee for interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements for faculty and staff.
• Led strategic labor engagement and partnership frameworks with union leadership.
• Anticipates and mitigates institutional labor risk exposure within a multi-union higher education environment.
• Oversees grievance administration architecture and ensures consistent and legally sound contract interpretation.
• Provides executive guidance on disciplinary matters, dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration.
• Advises the President and Cabinet on workforce implications of institutional decisions, restructuring initiatives, and strategic investments.
• Participates in Academic Senate, executive committees, and campus governance forums as the senior employment authority.
• Leads enterprise-wide organizational development and change management initiatives.
• Directs institutional risk mitigation strategies related to Title IX, equal opportunity, and employment law compliance.
• Advise executive leadership on compliance risk posture and policy implications associated with Title IX and related mandates.

Requirements

• A master’s degree in human resources management, business administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Eight to ten years of progressively responsible Human Resources management experience.

Qualifications

• Executive-level experience in personnel governance within a complex, unionized higher education environment.
• Deep knowledge of CSU policies, collective bargaining agreements, and state and federal employment law.
• Demonstrated ability to lead enterprise workforce transformation and organizational redesign initiatives.
• Experience advising senior executive leadership on labor strategy, compliance risk, and workforce planning.
• Proven leadership in modernizing HR systems, workforce analytics, and service delivery models.
• Strong strategic decision-making capability with sound judgment in sensitive personnel matters.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust across faculty, staff, and administrative constituencies.
• Capacity to lead cross-functional change initiatives and align diverse stakeholder groups.

Skills

• Knowledge of CSU policies, collective bargaining agreements, and state and federal employment law.
• Experience leading or managing Human Resources and Faculty Affairs functions within a higher education environment.
• Experience working within a collective bargaining environment.
• Experience in faculty and staff employment requirements.

Benefits

The final hiring salary will be commensurate with experience. San José State University offers employees a comprehensive benefits package typically worth 30-35% of your base salary. For more information on programs available, please see the Employee Benefits Summary.

Pay

$20,834/month - $25,417/month

Schedule

Not specified

Contact Information

Laurie Casteen
laurie.casteen@dsgco.com
408-924-1501

Application Procedure

To ensure full consideration, applicants must apply through the DSG Global Search website using the link below.
https://dsgco.com/search/22917-sjsu-vpcc

Additional Information

Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. SJSU will issue a contingent offer of employment to the selected candidate, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current CSU employee who was offered the position on a contingent basis.

Equal Employment Statement

San José State University is an equal opportunity employer. The university prohibits discrimination based on age, ancestry, caste, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military status, nationality, race, religion, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, sex stereotype, and veteran status. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff, as well as university programs and activities.