Senior Vice President of Talent & Human Resources

Senior Vice President of Talent and Human Resources

Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community volunteers in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that works. Join our stellar team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about Reading Partners.

The High Level

Reading Partners seeks a professional, dynamic, self-motivated leader to join us as our Senior Vice President of Talent and Human Resources (SVP of Talent and HR) to serve as the top human capital expert and people advocate within the organization. The SVP of Talent and HR is responsible for setting the vision, strategy, and implementation of all people-related activities, including overseeing the implementation of the new four year strategic plan as it pertains to the investment and support of our people.

Key areas of ownership and impact for the SVP of Talent and HR include talent acquisition and development; volunteer recruitment, engagement and retention; people management; performance management; employee engagement, satisfaction and retention; all people (employee, volunteers and AmeriCorps) relations; learning, training and development; oversee all human resources functions, including ensuring compliance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations and those imposed by our funders, including all AmeriCorps-specific compliance items; compensation and benefits strategy and implementation; and ensuring the safety of all our people. The SVP of Talent and HR also provides strategic leadership as the driving force in culture, leadership development, and proactive workforce planning. S/he works closely with senior leaders to identify and implement key strategic organizational and operational projects.

Reporting directly to the CEO, this is an extraordinary opportunity to join an impactful national literacy organization with proven results where human capital is front-and-center, and where this position will have an outsized opportunity for influence and impact.

What you ll do:

Provide dynamic and strategic executive leadership to the organization.

• Serve as a key member of the Executive Team and function as the human capital expert and advocate within the organization.
• Serve as a strategic advisor, functional expert, and thought partner to the CEO and executive/management team regarding all people-related activities, including talent management, engagement and retention strategies, key HR processes and implementation.
• Represent Reading Partners philosophy and leadership development expertise in internal and external forums.
• Expand Reading Partners brand so that we are able to share our model, results, and impact externally as a way to engage more people in this important work.
• Provide expertise in motivating, developing, and retaining people across the organization.

Develop a sound human capital strategy.

• Collaborate with the senior leadership team to align human capital strategy with the organization s strategic plan and growth targets, including recruitment goals, succession planning and career-pathing.
• Using qualitative and quantitative data and metrics, develop the departmental and human capital scorecards to inform national and regional talent acquisition, development, engagement, retention, and management.
• In partnership with organizational leaders and national teams, create and promote growth opportunities and professional development activities for staff across the organization
• Build, manage and coach department staff, ensuring alignment of team and department objectives to overall organizational objectives and standards
• Develop and steward Reading Partners compensation and benefits philosophy and programs
• Ensure organizational HR compliance. Knowledge of multi-state and local regulations, including ensuring AmeriCorps specific compliance. Working knowledge of employment law in each of our states of operation. Ensure keen oversight of all risk and manage appropriately.
• Policy development
• Possess deep working knowledge of various HR systems and identify key systems for Reading Partners. Ensure high quality system implementation and training to all relevant parties.
• Serve as an expert in handling all employee relations, AmeriCorps member relations, and volunteer relations.

Act as a culture catalyst and steward as well as a change management expert.

• You will be the driving force for enhancing our culture and meeting our ever-growing talent requirements in support of Reading Partners growth plan, strategic direction and mission impact. You will strive to dramatically improve the organization s ability to hire, keep, grow and promote top-tier talent across all levels of the organization by:
• Evolving the People department into a high functioning, strategic, and service-minded team that every region and department leader partners with for organizational, culture, and workforce support.
• Elevating the Reading Partners brand and culture to that of an internally and externally celebrated employer of choice.
• Boosting employee retention through effective engagement strategies and management strategies that recognize and unlock potential for performance and growth.
• Building a steady stream of high potential talent from staff referrals, external partner connections, and active job seekers.
• Executing strategies that tangibly improve the effectiveness, efficiency, accuracy and overall results of critical talent management and human resource systems.
• Create the vision and plan to support a distinctive, enduring and highly inspiring Reading Partners employer value proposition and culture
• Play a key role in leading organizational culture initiatives that ensure a high-performing organization overall, including putting systems and processes in place that value and leverage skill and expertise across the organization
• Regularly assess and report on employee morale with a focus on continuous improvement, constantly seeking opportunities to better support employees and foster their professional development while supporting positive employer/employee relationships that promote a high level of morale, motivation and retention
• Lead processes and plans to facilitate frequent, open and honest internal communication up, down, and across the organization

Serve as the organization s inaugural diversity and inclusion strategist.

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion is one of the four pillars of our new strategic plan. This is a focus area for the organization as we work toward education equity.
• Provide expertise to incorporating a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework to the Reading Partners organization. Expand Reading Partners brand to become an employer of choice and a model for this important work.
• Develop key metrics and goals to help us define and ensure success.
• Identify best practices, provide relevant trainings, and provide the change management required to help all people engaged in this work to fully understand and appreciate the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Provide inspiring and strategic management to the People Department.

• Supervise the People Department inclusive of three teams, all focused on people activities – AmeriCorps, Community Engagement, and HR/Talent.
• Understand AmeriCorps service model and ensure we re maximizing use of the program for our needs. Identify other similar programs or staffing structures that may be optimal for Reading Partners model.
• Provide direction and strategy for the Community Engagement team and the 11,000+ volunteers we engage each year. This is a key piece of our model. Ensure appropriate strategies are developed and deployed for the acquisition, engagement, and retention of our volunteer base. Identify ways to expand our community engagement efforts.
• Oversee all HR/Talent activities, ensuring they are streamlined, incorporate best practices and ensure 100% compliance with various governing agencies.

About you!

You ll be successful in this role if you have:

• A deep belief in our mission, mindset and work-ethic rooted in our core values
• 12+ years of management experience, with at least five years in a senior leadership role in human resources and/or talent preferably in the education, non-profit or corporation
• Track record of achieving strong results while building and fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performance culture.
• Excellent relationship building skills with a demonstrated ability to work well with people with a wide diversity of demographic and professional experience levels across a decentralized work environment
• Strong strategic thinking skills with an ability to articulate a clear, compelling vision, use data to inform decisions and to translate strategy to plan to action
• Strong project management skills with significant experience leading change management
• Ability to coach and mentor direct reports, peers and executives on sound talent management practices; track record of driving organizational results through coaching and mentoring
• Proven ability to recruit, hire, develop and retain effective, diverse teams and to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Demonstrated success in staff leadership, management, and development
• Demonstrated ability to manage large and complex operating budgets
• Exceptional communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated creativity when addressing challenging situations with limited resources

Bonus Points if you:

• Hold a Master s Degree, PHR/ SPHR certificate or any other advanced education/ training in the HR field
• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna or experience
• Have experience working in launch, growth and/or transition phases of organizations

What we offer

Reading Partners offers the full package – great benefits, a great place to work and the opportunity to have a glowing and growing career.

• We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience. This is a full time, exempt salaried position.
• We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flex spending accounts, generous paid time off, commuter benefits, referral bonuses, 403(b) option, and Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• We offer an exciting and dynamic culture, and we commit to investing in and supporting our amazing people to grow their careers with us. As such, we provide ongoing professional development opportunities.

The other stuff you need to know

• Travel: This position is based in our National Office in Oakland CA, and requires some travel throughout the national network.
• Typical Physical & Mental Demands: Requires prolonged sitting with some bending, stooping and stretching, and eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, telephone, photocopier, calculator and other office equipment. Requires normal range of hearing and eyesight to communicate with volunteers and staff. Also requires flexibility to readily adapt to a changing environment.

How to apply

If you re interested in joining our Reading Partners team, please submit the following application materials to our online job posting:

• A cover letter describing your interest in Reading Partners and your salary needs.
• Resume

Reading Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer, with a strong commitment to diversity in the workplace.