Remote with some time in Seattle, WA

VP of People, ORS Impact

The Organization

ORS Impact (ORS) is a woman-led and owned evaluation and strategy consultancy based in Seattle, WA, with ~30 staff members. For more than three decades, we have provided thought partnership to non-profit, philanthropic, and public sector organizations—helping them use actionable learning to guide decision making and strategy for social change. ORS is grounded in values of advancing social justice, centering relationships, and approaching our work with courage, humility, integrity, and social justice.

Position Overview

Vice President of People:  ORS Impact

ORS Impact is seeking a Vice President of People to support our dynamic and growing team. This has been a part-time role in the company: we are investing in building out this full-time position to provide stronger systems and supports for the organization and our teams.  This role represents an exciting opportunity to creatively shape, build and grow the systems, processes and policies we use so that people in the company can thrive and make a strong impact with our clients.

About the Position

We have been on an intentional journey to live our values of advancing racial equity and social justice since 2016, and in the past few years, have refined our intentions to more explicitly become an anti-racist organization. As part of that work in 2022, we concretized our vision into a set of “future state” ideas that represent ways we can more fully live into our values and aspirations.  While it takes everyone to make these future states come to life, we see this position as playing a key role in helping to operationalize and advance internal work to move us closer to a place where these statements are true for us as an organization. Here are a few examples:

We build capacity and talent equitably.  Our talent development processes result in equitable and accessible recruitment, retention and advancements. Turnover among underrepresented groups is on parity with that of the majority group. Staff who choose to leave do so seeking new professional opportunities; those that stay do so because the combination of personal and professional experience, compensation and benefits, and organizational culture, incentivizes long-term and fulfilling careers in the organization.

I trust and value ORS’s performance management process. Performance management is tied to indicators that reflect our shared commitment and investment in becoming an antiracist organization. When I am evaluated, I receive feedback that helps me grow personally and professionally.

Our supervisors ensure we experience work-life integration. Our structures and systems ensure staff are resourced and supported to use their benefits in ways that best fit our needs. At every check-in we’re provided opportunities to share what is true for us personally and professionally.

Our people and project managers are trauma informed. ORS provides generous and effective onboarding, training, and coaching to support people and project managers in successfully managing and leading diverse talent in complex projects.

I have a trusting, respectful, and meaningful relationship with my supervisor. My supervision sessions are inspired, useful, and support me to succeed at ORS. If I have an issue or conflict with my supervisor, I know where to seek confidential support.

If being a part of an organization that is striving for this future excites you, and you have ideas for how we can move closer, we want to talk to you! We are at a key turning point in our organizational development and progress toward becoming a more anti-racist and multi-cultural organization. We are committed to improving our processes, systems, and resources associated with people, HR, onboarding and learning in alignment with those goals. We are looking for someone who is equally, if not more, excited about the opportunity to improve our current structures and approaches in alignment with our vision.

Key areas of work and leadership include:

1.       People:

a.       Develop/refine/innovate/implement systems and processes around hiring, onboarding, retaining and promoting staff internally.

b.       Lead annual review processes and systems.

c.       Serve as a liaison, with our HR Manager, with our external HR vendor and continuing to strengthen our HR system.

d.       Support development and implementation of a refined supervision model and approach, including supporting supervisors and managers (PDs) in their role.

e.       Support a broader culture of feedback.

f.        Use data across roles and systems to provide organizational level insights.

g.       Maintain and update policies and our employee handbook.

2.       Organizational Leadership:

a.       Participate actively in Leadership Team meetings and retreats, bringing forth and helping resolve organizational issues through an equity and people-oriented approach.

b.       Collaborate with other leadership and support staff on shared areas of work involving organizational change.

c.       Participate as a member of the Change/WE (Working toward Equity) team, our internal equity group.

d.       Participate in ~quarterly board meetings to share status and engage around company strategy discussions.

This position reports to the CEO. It may include direct reports over time.

Must have:

1.       We are seeking to diversify our leadership team and are interested in candidates that expand the perspectives and lived experiences represented and that the leadership team is able to bring to its work.

2.       We are looking for someone who is innovative and forward-thinking, who brings enthusiasm and creativity, as well as empathy and a collaborative mindset. Vision and inspiration are important to us, not just tenure and years of experience.

3.       We are seeking candidates with a strong commitment to anti-racism and demonstrated skills and experience helping build systems that advance racial equity and fight against white supremacy and anti-Blackness.

4.       We want candidates to have training and professional experience that relates to the key aspects of the role. We are relatively broadminded about how experience may be brought to this role though certifications like Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Society for Human Resources Management– Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) would be desirable.

5.       We seek people who are comfortable working in a small-mid-size company, where we are nimble, flexible, and not overly hierarchical. All of us in leadership roles are “doers”, not just managers.

Nice to have:

1.       Experience in a consulting environment.

2.       Experience in the social sector (e.g., nonprofit or foundation).

3.       Change management experience.

Education/Experience: Master’s Degree preferred, and 10 years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

This is a full-time, exempt position. Most work can be done remotely with some in person time expected in Seattle, Washington. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Competitive benefits include medical/dental/vision insurance, generous paid vacation and personal/sick time, retirement, and transportation stipend. Starting salary is $163,000 with final offer negotiated based on qualifications.

 

To Apply: 

Please send a resume and cover letter detailing how your skills and experience align to the position requirements to careers@orsimpact.com by November 15. In the subject line please write “ORS VP of People.”  We will contact qualified applicants.

ORS Impact is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

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