VP, People

Job description The Opportunity:  The Vice President, People plays a critical role in shaping how Reach lives its mission through its people. You believe that strong organizations are built on cultures where human dignity is upheld and where individuals feel valued, supported, and able to do their best work. You are motivated by creating environments where people can grow, contribute meaningfully, and thrive together. In this role, you will serve as a steward of Reach’s culture and a driver of its people strategy. You will connect the dots between recruitment, talent development, leadership practices, and organizational design, ensuring they all work together in service of the mission. You see people systems not as isolated functions, but as an integrated ecosystem that enables both individual success and organizational impact. You are someone who brings both vision and discipline to this work. You care about building thoughtful, equitable, and effective people practices, and you are equally committed to making them real in the day-to-day experience of employees. Your work ensures that Reach is not only a place where people want to work, but a place where they can grow, lead, and do work that matters together. Contributions: - Talent and Performance Management: Lead the development and implementation of talent management strategies, including recruitment, retention, performance management, and succession planning. Collaborate with department heads and hiring managers to understand staffing needs and priorities, and provide guidance on recruitment strategies and best practices. - Team Leadership: Provide leadership and guidance to the People team, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and high performance. - Employee Engagement: Develop and execute initiatives to enhance employee engagement, morale, and overall satisfaction across a fully remote, geographically distributed workforce spanning rural and urban communities. Foster a culture of inclusivity, collaboration, and viewpoint diversity. - Employee Recognition and Culture: Sustain and strengthen recognition practices, celebrations, and kudos culture that reinforce Reach’s values and maintain human connection across a remote workforce. - Growth Strategies and Leadership Development: Collaborate with leadership to develop a clear, institution-wide approach to training, professional development, effective hiring, and leadership coaching.  - Learning and Development: Design and oversee learning and development programs that cater to the diverse needs of our employees, supporting their professional and personal growth. - Organizational Structure Support: Partner with leaders to assess and optimize organizational structures in the context of a rapidly growing institution with matrix management across multiple supported mission units (faculties). Ensure structures align with our values and promote efficiency and effectiveness.  - Compliance and Risk Management: Stay informed about relevant employment laws and regulations, ensuring that our HR practices are compliant and that risks are effectively managed. Develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with relevant employment laws and regulations. - Compensation & Benefits: Oversee compensation and benefits programs to ensure competitive and equitable practices that support employee satisfaction and retention as well as the institution's compensation philosophy - Employee Lifecycle and Onboarding: Build and maintain coherent, end-to-end processes for the employee lifecycle (from recruiting and onboarding through development, transitions, and offboarding) with structural processes designed specifically for integrating team members into a virtual, distributed organization. - AI and Future of Work: Serve as a forward-thinking leader on the implications of artificial intelligence for the future of work and the workforce, helping Reach anticipate and adapt to shifts in how work is organized, performed, and developed. - Geographic and Cultural Awareness: Champion management practices that uplift a workforce drawn from both rural and urban communities, with particular attention to the regions Reach serves, from the Pacific Coast to the U.S. South. Core Values Commitment: At Reach University, our core values are the cornerstone of our operations. As a member of our leadership, you are expected to adhere to our core values and uphold the following norms:  - Reliably Productive (we own the work and the outcome) - Entrepreneurial (we question what is and we build what’s next) - Altruistic (we grow and succeed together) - Curious (we listen as if we may be wrong) - Honest (we seek and share the truth with humility) - Uplifting (we invest in human capacity and success) Your commitment to these values will drive our collective success and ensure a positive impact within our university community. About Reach: Reach University is an accredited, nonprofit institution reshaping higher education - one where a job leads to a degree, not the other way around. Through the Apprenticeship Degree, Reach transforms workplaces into university learning spaces, allowing working adults to earn credit for the work they do on the job and leverage deep learning through inquiry, dialogue, collaboration, and on-the-job practice in their everyday experience. At Reach, we envision a world where everyone, everywhere can access fully job-embedded higher education - where effort and skill, not wealth or connections, determine who gets ahead. Reach is building pathways for professionals to grow their impact, advance their careers, and stay rooted in the communities they serve. We’re building a world where higher education is both higher and within reach. Learn more at reach.edu Reach is proud to receive philanthropic support from among others the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Morgridge Family Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Strada Education Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and Stand Together Foundation. Learn more at reach.edu Job requirements Knowledge and Skills You Bring:  - 10+ years of progressive experience in People management roles, with a strong focus on employee engagement, culture development, and organizational effectiveness. - Deep understanding of HR best practices, employment laws, and compliance requirements. - Eagerness to sustain an environment that values viewpoint diversity and heterodoxy, and where nonconformist thinking strengthens the work. - Strong commitment to upholding human dignity and promoting an inclusive and respectful workplace culture. - Desire to uplift a workforce that serves and is drawn from both rural and urban communities across diverse U.S. regions. - Proven track record of implementing successful employee engagement and satisfaction initiatives. - Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate teams. - Experience supporting people processes in a rapidly growing organization with multiple mission units operating under matrix management. - Forward-thinking perspective on the implications of AI and emerging technology for workforce development, talent management, and the future of work. - Understanding of remote work best practices and the ability to build culture, accountability, and connection across a fully distributed team. - Openness to incorporating management frameworks (EOS, PBM TM) into the People strategy.  Standout Applicants May Also Bring: - Background in employment law - Fluency with the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)  - Familiarity with Principle Based Management TM (PBM)TM Job benefits Benefits: - Health Insurance: We provide medical, vision, and dental insurance plans to ensure you and your family are well-covered. Plus additional wellness programs.  - Flexible Time Off: We offer a flexible "Flexible Time Off" policy, empowering you to take the time you need when you need it, without the constraints of a traditional vacation policy. - Flexible Remote-Only Workplace: Enjoy the freedom to work from anywhere with our flexible remote-only work environment, fostering a balance of workload and rest - Professional Development Support: We are committed to your growth and development, offering support for professional development opportunities to help you advance in your career. Salary  The salary range for this role is $135,000-$155,000.  Equal Opportunity Employer Reach University is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Reach University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [email protected] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.