Vice President, People Operations

Company: KIPP Foundation Location: New York, NY (or Remote) Industry: Education Seniority: Executive Contract: Permanent

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 create their desired future. With 279 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and over 210,000 students and alumni, KIPP is committed to fostering joyful, academically excellent learning environments.

The KIPP Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports KIPP public charter schools nationwide. It focuses on developing outstanding educators, providing resources for teaching and learning, promoting innovation, and facilitating knowledge sharing.

KIPP's core values include:

Excellent Results for Students: Maintaining high expectations and driving student-centered solutions.
Collective Impact: Fostering collaboration, trust, and inclusive decision-making as one team.
Courageous Action: Approaching challenges with resilience, optimism, and a solutions-focused mindset, while addressing systemic inequities.

About the Position

The KIPP Foundation is seeking a strategic and systems-oriented leader to serve as the Vice President of People Operations. This critical role will drive an integrated, insights-driven talent strategy to ensure every leader and staff member thrives. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of People Operations, you will be instrumental in shaping the employee experience across the entire talent lifecycle, from attraction and onboarding to development, engagement, and retention.

This is an opportunity to build and embed robust talent systems that empower leaders and drive meaningful results, aligning with KIPP's mission and values.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Strategy & Organizational Alignment:

Define and execute the overall talent strategy and philosophy for the KIPP Foundation workforce, aligning with organizational priorities and long-term goals.
Partner with executive leadership to integrate talent strategy with organizational design, workforce planning, and operational objectives.
Ensure a cohesive and integrated talent system encompassing recruitment, onboarding, HR operations, performance management, development, engagement, and offboarding.
Act as a strategic advisor to leadership on organizational effectiveness, talent health, and workforce strategy, leveraging data and insights.

Talent Systems & Organizational Effectiveness:

Oversee the design and effectiveness of the full talent lifecycle, ensuring systems and processes promote strong performance, development, and retention.
Lead the vision for performance management and development systems, including goal setting, feedback, and evaluation.
Ensure efficient HR operations and infrastructure, including recruitment, onboarding, Total Rewards, and compliance.
Utilize workforce and engagement data to monitor organizational health, identify risks, and drive continuous improvement in talent systems.

Employee Relations, Policy & Risk Management:

Establish policies and standards for employee relations, performance management, conflict resolution, and policy compliance.
Ensure consistent, fair, and compliant application of HR policies and practices.
Advise senior leaders on complex employee relations matters and organizational risk.

Leadership & Team Management:

Lead and develop the Talent function, setting strategic direction for People Operations and Development & Growth.
Oversee and coach Senior Directors, ensuring clear ownership and accountability.
Set enterprise-level priorities and allocate resources for maximum impact.
Foster a high-performing, outcomes-driven culture within the Talent team, emphasizing accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Build leadership capacity within the team through coaching and development.
Serve as a visible culture leader, modeling organizational values and reinforcing high standards.

Organizational Talent Planning & Culture:

Partner with leadership on annual workforce planning, talent strategy, and culture initiatives.
Ensure alignment between talent strategy, employee experience, and organizational culture.
Support the development of a strong, inclusive, and high-performing workforce.

Requirements

Skills and Mindsets:

Deep commitment to KIPP's mission and values.
Proven ability to set and achieve ambitious goals in complex environments.
Strong work management skills, with the ability to prioritize and deliver sustainable solutions.
Data-driven approach to problem-solving and decision-making.
Effective people management and development capabilities, including coaching and performance management.
Experience in change management and addressing root causes of problems.

Experience and Qualifications:

8+ years of senior HR and talent management leadership experience, preferably in non-profit or education sectors.
Understanding of the current education landscape and community needs.
Demonstrated experience leading with equity at the center, especially during organizational change.
Experience cultivating a value-driven, equitable, and inclusive work culture, including in virtual environments.

Vice President People Operations

Job Description