Vice President People

Vice President People

Company: KIPP Foundation Location: New York, New York, United States Seniority: Executive Contract: Permanent Industry: Education

About the Organization

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public charter schools dedicated to preparing students with the skills and confidence to shape their futures. We operate 279 schools, employing nearly 16,500 educators and serving approximately 210,000 students and alumni.

Our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools in partnership with families and communities, equipping students with the skills and confidence for college, career, and beyond, enabling them to lead fulfilling lives and contribute to a more just world. Our vision is that every child has the freedom to create the future they desire for themselves and their communities.

The KIPP Foundation, a non-profit organization, supports KIPP public charter schools nationwide. We focus on developing outstanding educators, providing resources for teaching and learning, fostering innovation, and facilitating knowledge exchange across KIPP and other educational institutions.

About the Role

The KIPP Foundation is at a pivotal moment, seeking to deepen its impact by building a robust talent system that empowers every leader and staff member to thrive in service of students and communities. We are committed to setting high standards for excellence, strengthening leadership capacity, and ensuring our talent systems are clear, consistent, and scalable.

Reporting to the Senior Vice President of People Operations, the Vice President of People will be instrumental in realizing this vision. This leadership role will design and implement an integrated, insights-driven talent strategy that connects all facets of the employee experience, from attraction and onboarding to development, engagement, and retention.

By aligning the entire talent lifecycle—including recruitment, performance management, employee engagement, Total Rewards, professional development, and offboarding—the Vice President will ensure our systems not only support leaders but empower them to achieve significant results and flourish. We believe that great outcomes are driven by great leaders within strong systems. This role will ensure these systems are well-designed, deeply embedded, and build the capacity of leaders across the Foundation to lead effectively, develop their teams, and consistently meet high performance standards.

This is an opportunity for a strategic, systems-oriented leader energized by complexity, driven by impact, and committed to creating the conditions for individuals and organizations to perform at their best.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Strategy & Organizational Alignment

• Define and execute the overall talent strategy and philosophy for the KIPP Foundation workforce, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, culture, and long-term goals.
• Collaborate with the SVP of People Operations and executive leadership to align talent strategy with organizational design, workforce planning, and operational priorities.
• Ensure a cohesive and integrated talent system across the Foundation, encompassing recruitment, onboarding, HR operations, performance management, development, engagement, and offboarding.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to leadership on organizational effectiveness, talent health, and workforce strategy, utilizing data and insights to inform decision-making.

Talent Systems & Organizational Effectiveness

• Oversee the design and effectiveness of the full talent lifecycle, ensuring systems and processes drive strong performance, development, and retention outcomes.
• Set the vision for performance management and development systems, including goal setting, feedback cycles, and evaluation processes, in partnership with the Senior Director of Development & Growth.
• Ensure effective HR operations and infrastructure, including recruitment, onboarding, Total Rewards, and compliance, in partnership with the Senior Director of People Operations.
• Utilize workforce, engagement, and performance data to monitor organizational health, identify risks, and drive continuous improvement across talent systems.

Employee Relations, Policy & Risk Management

• Establish the vision, policies, and standards for employee relations, including performance management, conflict resolution, and policy compliance.
• Ensure consistent, fair, and compliant application of HR policies and practices across the organization.
• Advise senior leaders on complex employee relations matters and organizational risk, ensuring alignment with legal and organizational standards.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and develop the Talent function, setting the vision and strategic direction to ensure strong execution across People Operations and Development & Growth.
• Oversee and coach Senior Directors, ensuring clear ownership, alignment, and accountability across:
  • People Operations (HR systems, recruitment, Total Rewards, and HR operations)
  • Development & Growth (goal setting, performance systems, manager development, and engagement)
• Set enterprise-level priorities and allocate resources to ensure the Talent function focuses on high-impact work and is positioned to deliver against organizational goals.
• Drive alignment and integration across talent systems, ensuring a seamless and consistent employee experience across both sub-teams.
• Foster a high-performing, outcomes-driven culture within the Talent team, emphasizing accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Build leadership capacity within the team by coaching