Chief People & Culture Officer

Job Purpose:

This role requires a leader with high emotional intelligence who can navigate complexity, continue to build trust across a diverse workforce, and effectively lead through ambiguity. The CPCO must bring experience in transformation environments, with the ability to stabilize, continue to rebuild, and strengthen systems, culture, and leadership effectiveness. Experience supporting workplace safety in complex, high-emotion environments such as animal welfare, healthcare, or similar settings are highly valued.

The role also serves as a strategic leader and trusted advisor, responsible for shaping and sustaining a positive, accountable workplace culture aligned with HSSA’s mission and values. This role drives organizational design, talent management, compliance, compensation, employee benefits, safety, effective performance management practices, and employee engagement strategies while ensuring best-practice processes and effective employee relations. The CPCO promotes collaboration and communication across all levels, serves as an unbiased resource for employees, and partners with executives to foster leadership excellence and provide coaching that strengthens organizational resilience and performance.

Essential Functions:

• Lead culture transformation initiatives that reinforce HSSA’s values, accountability, and trust.
• Lead and sustain a culture of safety, including physical and psychological safety, in partnership with operational leaders
• Assess and strengthen organizational trust, engagement, and accountability systems.
• Develop and implement strategies to address burnout, compassion fatigue, and workforce resilience, particularly in animal welfare environments
• Implement organizational design strategies to optimize efficiency and clarity of roles.
• Oversee talent management programs, including recruitment, succession planning, and leadership development.
• Develop and maintain HR policies, processes, and compliance standards that reflect best practices.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies.
• Design and manage competitive, equitable compensation and benefits programs.
• Promote collaboration and effective communication across all levels of the organization.
• Serve as an impartial and trusted resource for employees at all levels.
• Ensure fair, consistent, and legally compliant resolution of workplace and employee relations issues.
• Provide executive coaching and strategic counsel to senior leaders.
• Build systems that promote accountability and measurable outcomes.
• Guide change management efforts with clear communication and engagement strategies.
• Represent HSSA in a professional and positive manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Organizational Development, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including executive-level responsibility.
• Proven expertise in strategy and execution, organizational design, diversity, equity, and inclusion, employee relations, HR systems, talent management, culture transformation, compensation, benefits, and compliance.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and HR compliance.
• Background in executive coaching and leadership development.
• Strategic thinking and ability to influence at all levels.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills.
• High integrity and sound judgment in sensitive situations.
• Ability to lead through change and foster resilience.
• Commitment to HSSA’s mission and values.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or HR certification (SPHR, SHRM-SCP)
• Experience in animal welfare, healthcare, or other high-emotion, high-risk environments
• Experience supporting workplace safety programs and risk management, ideally in animal welfare, healthcare, or similarly complex environments
• Background in nonprofits or mission-driven organizations

Performance Factors and Skills:

• Strategic Leadership: Ability to develop and execute people strategies aligned with organizational goals.
• Courageous Leadership: Willingness to address difficult issues directly while maintaining respect and professionalism
• Trauma-Informed Leadership: Understands the impact of stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue and integrates this into leadership approach
• Influence and Collaboration: Skilled at building trust and fostering collaboration across all levels of the organization.
• Communication Excellence: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; able to convey complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Integrity and Fairness: Demonstrates impartiality and sound judgment in sensitive situations; committed to ethical practices.
• Change Management: Proven ability to lead through organizational change and promote resilience.
• Coaching and Development: Strong capability to mentor and coach executives and emerging leaders.
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to interpret data and trends to inform decisions on talent, compensation, and culture.
• Compliance and Risk Management: Deep understanding of employment law and ability to ensure organizational compliance.
• Emotional Intelligence: High level of empathy and ability to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics.
• Results Orientation: Focused on accountability, measurable outcomes, and continuous improvement.

Working Conditions:

Work is primarily performed in an office environment with occasional visits to shelter or community settings. Requires ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain confidentiality.

Compensation:

Compensation is market competitive and is based on experience and skills.

Benefits Include:

Medical insurance beginning on the first of the month following your start date.

Paid Time Off (PTO), including Paid Sick Time, accruing at 8.00 hours per pay period. Approved PTO usage may begin after 60 days of employment.

Eleven (11) paid holidays per year.

8 hours of paid birthday leave per year.

Life insurance, beginning 12 months after your start date, provided at no cost.

Eligibility to participate in the HSSA 401(k) plan beginning the first of the month following your start date.

Employer matching contributions after one year of employment, provided you are at least 21 years old and have worked 1,000 hours during that year. HSSA currently matches employee contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 3%.