Vice President, Operations

Description

Cohere’s Vice President, Operations is a strategic and empathetic leader responsible for overseeing and optimizing the operational, legal, systems, and people functions of a dynamic and growing placemaking and community management firm. This role ensures seamless execution across people operations, legal compliance, client onboarding, and operational excellence, while fostering a culture rooted in trust, reciprocity, spirit, and legacy.

The ideal candidate brings a people-first mindset, deep operational expertise, and a passion for building systems that empower teams and communities to thrive. This position requires a high level of collaboration across departments, including People Operations, Finance, Legal, IS, Marketing, and Regional Leadership, and plays a critical role in shaping the company’s long-term success.

Requirements

Scope of Responsibility

Leadership & People Operations

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team across People Operations (HR), Legal Operations, Technology, Training, and New Client Integration.
• Ensure People Ops practices support compliance, culture, employee experience, and organizational performance.
• Champion equitable and consistent HR practices across multi-state operations, ensuring adherence to employment laws, regulatory requirements, and internal policies.
• Foster a culture of trust, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  
  

Operational Strategy & Execution

• Build, implement, and drive adoption of standardized operating procedures and a unified operating system across the company.
• Integrate AI, automation, and advanced technologies into operational workflows while protecting relational, human-centered practices.
• Identify, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to support data-driven decision-making across all operational functions.
• Own departmental budgeting, partner on forecasting, and manage operational expenses to support NOI and organizational goals.
  
  

Technology & Systems Leadership

• Lead the organization’s technology strategy, including assessment, selection, implementation, and optimization of platforms and tools.
• Oversee the performance and scaling of third-party IT service providers, ensuring efficiency, security, and alignment with business needs.
• Drive adoption of core systems (HRIS, project management, workflow, and client management tools), ensuring integration and usability across teams.
  
  

Training, Learning & Development

• Oversee the design and execution of scalable, technology-enabled training programs for 250 staff.
• Ensure training systems support onboarding, skill development, compliance, and ongoing employee growth.
• Partner cross-functionally to build a consistent learning framework that supports organizational needs.
  
  

Communication, Change Management & Collaboration

• Facilitate organizational communication, cross-department alignment, and change management initiatives.
• Collaborate with the Executive Leadership Team to define strategies, set organizational priorities, and advance company-wide initiatives.
• Proactively identify operational risks and lead mitigation, business continuity planning, and compliance alignment across regulatory footprints.
  
  

Client & Community Integration

• Lead end-to-end new client and community onboarding processes to ensure seamless integration, alignment, and operational readiness.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to support successful transitions, client satisfaction, and long-term partnership success.
  
  

External Partnerships

• Manage key external business relationships that provide operational support, including technology partners, legal partners, and HR vendors.
• Ensure positive, cost-effective partnerships that support growth and operational excellence.
  
  

Attributes

• Exceptional leadership instincts, with the ability to develop talent and create psychologically safe, high-performing teams.
• Strong strategic thinking and systems thinking with creative, solution-oriented problem-solving abilities.
• Relational, collaborative, and people-first leadership style.
• Ability to align cross-functional teams around shared goals and outcomes.
• High emotional intelligence, strong interpersonal skills, and excellent communication abilities.
• Strong financial literacy and orientation toward performance, KPIs, and sustainable growth.
• High technical acuity with working knowledge of machine learning concepts and GenAI applications in business operations.
• Familiarity with change management frameworks and organizational transformation.
  
  

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, HR, Operations, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in Operations, HR, or related areas.
• Experience leading multi-state People Ops/HR teams with a strong grasp of employment law, compliance, and policy design.
• Demonstrated success implementing HRIS, workflow, or enterprise systems (e.g., ADP, Paylocity, Yardi, Monday.com, Vantaca) and driving adoption across teams.
• Proven experience leading process improvement, project management, and cross-functional operational initiatives.
• Successful leadership or partnership on at least one AI/automation project (e.g., workflow automations, AI-enabled systems, or operational redesign using AI).
  
  

Our Operating Principles

In Furtherance Of Our Mission Team Members Will

• Instill a sense of fun and enthusiasm into everything we do.
• Encourage a dynamic collaboration between internal and external stakeholders.
• Exercise tact, diplomacy and fair-mindedness in all interactions while providing exceptional customer service.
• Reflect a work style based on inclusiveness, mutual respect, consensus-building, and responsiveness to changing needs and opportunities.
• Embrace the vision, goals, and aspirations of Cohere.
  
  

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $150,000 – $175,000 per year; year-end bonus eligibility up to 15% of gross annual salary

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental Insurance
• Health Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off
  
  

Cohere is an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability status.