Vice President - People & Culture

Company Description

Are you ready to accelerate your career? Join Cielo as a Vice President - People & Culture!  A career at Cielo will give you the opportunity to work with the industry’s smartest people and to take ownership of your success!  

Cielo is a brand that reflects our big idea – that talent is rising – and with it our opportunity to rise above. We create careers for ambitious people by moving beyond traditional assumptions of what it means to work in talent acquisition.

Cielo is the world's leading Talent Acquisition Partner. We deliver a better talent experience for everyone through Talent Acquisition, Search, Consulting, and Digital Accelerators™. With our fresh approach – we design and build comprehensive, proven solutions inspired by technology to find and keep the unique talent that elevates our clients above the competition.

Cielo is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, or any other status protected by state or local law for an individual who falls within the jurisdiction of such law. Applicants who require an accommodation throughout the application and interview process should request this in advance by contacting Cielo Talent Acquisition at talent.acquisition@cielotalent.com 

Job Description

Ready to shape the future of a global workforce? We're seeking a visionary Vice President, People & Culture to lead our people strategy, elevate the employee experience, and build the capabilities that drive business success across a growing international organisation. In return, you'll have the opportunity to influence executive decision-making, lead enterprise-wide transformation, and make a lasting impact on our people, culture, and growth journey.

 The Vice President - People & Culture serves as the senior-most HR leader for the organization, responsible for building and executing a global people strategy that aligns with business priorities and supports a consistent, high-quality employee experience across all regions.

This role unifies multiple HR functions - including HR Business Partnering, Talent Acquisition support for Corporate Functions, HR Operations and Administration, Employee Support Services, Benefits, Compensation, and close collaboration with Payroll operated under Financial Operations - into a cohesive, scalable, and service-focused People & Culture function.

Location: United States. Applicants must have the right to live and work in the US. 

Work setup: Remote based within the US - Monday to Friday. Whilst this role primarily operates within Central or Eastern US Time Zones, it is part of a global team - Candidates should be comfortable with occasional schedule flexibility to collaborate with colleagues across different regions. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

Enterprise People Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute a global People & Culture strategy aligned with organizational objectives and executive leadership priorities.
• Serve as the senior People & Culture advisor to executive leaders on organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, leadership capability, succession, and people-related risk.
• Lead enterprise-wide people transformation initiatives that strengthen organizational capability and business performance.

HR Business Partnership & Talent Strategy

• Lead and develop a team of Senior HR Business Partners to deliver strategic partnership and coaching to leaders across the organization.
• Drive consistency in the application of people policies, performance management, talent practices, and employee relations frameworks.
• Lead enterprise workforce planning, talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership pipeline development to ensure the organization has required capabilities to deliver strategic goals.
• Establish competency and skills frameworks that support workforce planning, career development, and organizational capability building.
• Lead the annual performance management cycle, ensuring consistency, accountability, and alignment with business objectives.

People Operations & Employee Experience

• Lead global People Operations and employee support services, ensuring efficient, compliant, and employee-centric service delivery across the employee lifecycle including onboarding, employee changes, leave administration, and offboarding.
• Drive process standardization, governance, continuous improvement, and technology adoption to enhance employee and manager experience.
• Champion a high-performing, inclusive culture aligned with organizational values through engagement, recognition, wellbeing, and belonging initiatives.

Total Rewards & Compensation

• Lead the organization's compensation, benefits, and total rewards strategy, ensuring competitiveness, equity, compliance, and fiscal responsibility.
• Oversee compensation review processes, job architecture, salary structure governance, and benefits program effectiveness across jurisdictions.
• Partner with Finance on workforce budgeting, forecasting, and workforce cost planning.

Compliance, Risk & Governance

• Establish and maintain a robust people governance framework that ensures compliance with employment legislation, regulatory requirements, company policies, and ethical standards globally.
• Oversee HR compliance programs, audits, policy governance, record management, and risk mitigation activities.
• Provide oversight for health, safety, occupational health, and employee wellbeing governance, ensuring alignment with legal obligations and organizational standards.
• Partner with Finance to ensure accurate and timely processing of employee lifecycle events, workforce data, compensation changes, and benefits-related transactions.

People Analytics, Technology & Team Leadership

• Leverage people analytics and workforce insights to support strategic decision-making, workforce planning, and organizational performance.
• Oversee the effective use and continuous improvement of HR technologies and people systems, maintaining strong governance over workforce data quality, privacy, and compliance.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing global People & Culture team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

The Vice President - People & Culture will lead a team including Senior HR Business Partners, Senior Manager - Benefits & Compensation, and Manager - People & Culture Operations, providing guidance, performance leadership, and growth opportunities to develop a high-performing organization.

Qualifications

Position Requirements

Education:

• Masters’ or international equivalent in Business, Human Resources or similar field required.

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience with at least 5 years leading multiple global/international HR functions
• Proven Success leading HR in global, multi-region organizations of similar scale (1,500-5,000 employees).
• Experience guiding organizations through transition, restructuring or HR transformation.
• Deep knowledge of global employment practices, compliance, HR Operations and modern talent strategies.

Exposure:

• Strong financial acumen and experience partnering with Finance on workforce modelling and cost planning.
• Ability to balance strategic vision with hands-on leadership in a lean or evolving HR structure.
• Background in professional services, technology, shared services or other global, matrixed environments.
• Certification (SPHR, SHRM-SCP) or global HR credentials preferred.