Chief People Officer

Position Summary

We are seeking a dynamic and transformational Chief People Officer (CPO) to lead the people strategy for a rapidly evolving, multi-site organization with approximately 1,000 employees. Serving as a key member of the executive leadership team, the CPO will drive organizational effectiveness, scalability, cultural transformation, leadership development, and operational excellence across all areas of Human Resources.

This leader will be instrumental in rebuilding and modernizing the HR function, designing scalable people infrastructure, strengthening leadership capability, and aligning organizational structure to support continued growth, operational complexity, and long-term business objectives.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience leading organizations through scale, transformation, and organizational redesign within complex, multi-location environments.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership & Strategy

• Serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner to the CEO and executive leadership team.
• Develop and execute a forward-looking people strategy aligned with business growth objectives and operational priorities.
• Lead enterprise-wide workforce planning initiatives to support expansion, restructuring, and operational scalability.
• Drive organizational alignment, accountability, and leadership effectiveness across the business.

Organizational Design & Transformation

• Lead large-scale organizational design and restructuring initiatives to improve efficiency, scalability, communication flow, and operational effectiveness.
• Assess current organizational structure and redesign teams, spans/layers, and leadership models where needed.
• Build scalable HR infrastructure, processes, systems, and governance appropriate for a growing, geographically dispersed organization.
• Partner with business leaders to evaluate talent capabilities and succession needs during periods of transformation.

HR Function Rebuild & Modernization

• Rebuild and elevate the HR function into a strategic, business-aligned organization.
• Assess existing HR operations, systems, policies, and team structure; implement best practices and scalable processes.
• Create a high-performing HR team focused on operational excellence, business partnership, and employee experience.
• Lead modernization efforts across HR technology, analytics, reporting, and compliance infrastructure.

Talent & Leadership Development

• Develop enterprise talent strategies focused on leadership capability, succession planning, performance management, and retention.
• Establish leadership development frameworks and management training programs to strengthen organizational capability.
• Build scalable recruiting strategies to support growth across corporate and operational teams.
• Champion a performance-driven, accountable, and engaged culture.

Employee Relations & Culture

• Provide executive oversight of employee relations strategy across multiple locations and states.
• Partner with legal and operations leadership on complex employee matters, risk mitigation, investigations, and compliance.
• Drive culture transformation initiatives that balance operational excellence with employee engagement and retention.
• Lead communication and change management strategies during periods of organizational change.

Total Rewards & HR Operations

• Oversee compensation, benefits, payroll partnership, compliance, HRIS, and people analytics functions.
• Ensure compensation and benefits programs support attraction, retention, and organizational competitiveness.
• Utilize data and workforce analytics to guide business decisions and organizational planning.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local employment laws across multi-state operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree strongly preferred.
• 15 years of progressive HR leadership experience, including significant executive-level leadership experience.
• Proven success serving as a CPO, CHRO, or senior HR executive within a complex, multi-location organization.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizations through scale, transformation, rebuilding efforts, and organizational redesign.
• Strong background in organizational development, workforce planning, change management, and leadership effectiveness.
• Experience supporting organizations with distributed operational or field-based employee populations.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to align people strategy to operational and financial objectives.
• Expertise across all HR disciplines including talent acquisition, employee relations, total rewards, HR operations, compliance, and talent management.
• Experience leading HR transformation, HR technology modernization, and process optimization initiatives.
• Executive presence with exceptional communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Background

• Experience in services, construction, industrial, automotive, manufacturing, distribution, retail, logistics, or other operationally intensive environments preferred.
• Prior experience supporting private equity-backed, founder-led, or high-growth organizations strongly preferred.
• Experience leading through M&A integration, restructuring, or large-scale organizational change is highly desirable.