Senior Director Human Resources

Senior Director of Human Resources

Based in Elkhart, Indiana

Pulse Vehicles, LLC serves as the business unit for Demers, Braun, Crestline & Medix, under J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc.

Pulse Vehicles, LLC, a business unit of J.B. Poindexter & Company, Inc., is the leading manufacturer in North America of ambulances and specialty vehicles. With the four brands, Demers, Braun, Crestline Coach, and Medix Specialty Vehicles, we offer a strong and diversified portfolio of ambulance and specialty vehicle brands serving customers across North America and international markets. As one of the largest ambulance and specialty vehicle manufacturing groups in North America, Pulse Vehicles supports portfolio alignment, operational efficiency, remount and aftermarket service capabilities, and long-term growth across the group. Each brand continues to lead its customer relationships, market presence, and commercial identity.

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Position Summary

The Senior Director of Human Resources will serve as the senior HR leader, Executive Team member, and consultant to the President for Pulse Vehicles, a complex, multi-site manufacturing organization with two U.S. and two Canadian locations. This role requires deep experience in manufacturing, plant operations, hourly workforce dynamics, production environments, safety culture, quality systems, continuous improvement, and labor planning.

This leader serves as a strategic advisor, organizational leader, and trusted business partner who aligns talent, culture, organizational capability, and workforce strategy with business objectives. The role reports to the Business Unit President, partners with the Executive Leadership Team, and leads HR Managers and Generalists.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Business Partnership
• Maintains strong partnerships with legal, finance, safety, operations, quality, supply chain, communications, payroll, benefits, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Product, EHS, and other enterprise functions to support business and workforce plans.
• Workforce Strategy & Operational Support
• Partners with operations leaders on hourly and salaried workforce planning, staffing models, shift structures, overtime, retention, skills development, labor cost management, and staffing flexibility.
• Implements compensation planning, incentive programs, performance calibration, merit processes, and market competitiveness with enterprise HR and compensation teams, with attention to manufacturing labor markets and skilled trades.
• Uses HR data, metrics, and business insights to identify trends and recommend actions related to turnover, absenteeism, overtime, employee relations, staffing, safety, engagement, performance, and organizational health.
• Scales or restructures the workforce to support growth, market shifts, and economic cycles.
• Manages the HR budget and optimizes workforce costs against revenue, margin, and profitability goals.
• Pulse Vehicles, LLC serves as the business unit for Demers, Braun, Crestline & Medix, under J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc.
• Employee and Labor Relations
• Leads complex employee relations matters, investigations, corrective actions, conflict resolution, attendance issues, performance concerns, and risk mitigation while ensuring fair, consistent policy application.
• Ensures compliance with federal, province/state, and local employment laws and company policies, including wage and hour, leave administration, accommodations, labor relations, discipline, and manufacturing employment practices.
• Partners with operational leaders to maintain constructive labor-management relationships across union and non-union locations.
• Leads labor strategy, collective bargaining preparation, contract administration, grievance management, and negotiations as required.
• Talent, Leadership & Organizational Capability
• • Partners with the Talent Management Center of Excellence on succession planning, critical talent, retention risks, leadership gaps, and capability needs.
• • Builds leadership, front-line supervisor capability, plant leadership effectiveness, and succession readiness through development plans, coaching, and targeted training.
• • Drives performance management, including ongoing feedback, development conversations, and appraisals.
• Collaborates on executive recruiting and retention strategies for critical revenue-generating and operational roles.
• Culture, Engagement & Performance
• Develops people strategies that drive manufacturing excellence, productivity, safety, quality, throughput, retention, engagement, attendance, and continuous improvement.
• Champions a culture of accountability, teamwork, integrity, safety, inclusion, operational discipline, continuous improvement, and respect consistent with Pulse Vehicles and J.B. Poindexter & Company values.
• Human Resources Leadership
• Leads and develops the Human Resources team.
• Fosters collaboration between site HR teams and centralized HR Centers of Excellence.
• Builds a people-focused, high-performance HR function viewed as a trusted business partner across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field required; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 to 15 years of progressive human resources leadership experience, with significant and recent experience leading HR in a manufacturing, industrial, automotive, transportation equipment, or related production environment required.
• Demonstrated experience supporting multi-site manufacturing operations, including plant leadership, hourly production employees, supervisors, skilled trades, engineering, quality, safety, supply chain, and operations teams.
• Pulse Vehicles, LLC serves as the business unit for Demers, Braun, Crestline & Medix, under J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc.
• Proven ability to work effectively in plant environments and build credibility with shop floor employees, supervisors, plant managers, operations executives, and corporate leaders.
• Experience leading HR teams across multiple locations and supporting both hourly and salaried populations, with strong understanding of shift work, overtime, attendance management, production staffing, labor planning, and employee relations in manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, employee relations, performance management, compensation practices, organizational development, HR operations, and compliance matters common to manufacturing and multi-state operations.
• Experience supporting workforce planning, recruiting strategy, skilled trade hiring, retention, engagement, leadership development, front-line supervisor training, and change management in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Ability to analyze HR, labor, and operational data, translate insights into practical action plans, and communicate recommendations clearly to senior leaders.
• Experience in a private-equity, family-owned, diversified manufacturing, or decentralized business unit environment preferred.
• Professional certification such as SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, SPHR, or PHR preferred.