Job Title: Vice President, People Business Partnering
Location: Remote
Department: People
Reports To: Chief People Officer
Company:
Risepoint is a private equity-backed, mission-driven company redefining how colleges and universities scale, operate, and serve students in a changing world. We help higher education institutions achieve growth and sustainability through a powerful combination of services, technology, and operational support—all designed to improve student outcomes and unlock institutional performance.
We operate at speed, guided by our core values—Reliable, Empowered, Adaptable, Customer-Centric, and Heart (R.E.A.C.H)—and united by a belief in the power of impact-driven, collaborative leadership. We’re scaling rapidly and building a high-performance culture that values rigor, ownership, and authenticity. If you're looking to lead in an environment that blends purpose with impact, you're in the right place.
Job Summary:
We are seeking a Vice President, People Business Partnering (with management consultancy experience) to serve as the lead strategic People Business Partner to our Chief Operating Officer and the broader Marketing and Operations leadership team. This role is tailor-made for a business-first, HR-second leader—someone who brings strong commercial instincts, thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, and knows how to build talent strategies that scale with the business. This role is perfect for a results-oriented talent leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments and isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo.
Success in this role requires someone who is both visionary and hands-on—comfortable influencing senior executives, navigating ambiguity, and building the scalable people systems and infrastructure needed to support a growing, dynamic business.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Business Partnership
- Act as a thought partner and challenger to the COO and operational leaders, bringing a strong point of view on talent, structure, and leadership requirements to enable effective scaling.
- Design and deliver talent strategies that anticipate growth, drive performance, and support operational excellence.
- Serve as a force for alignment and accountability—guiding leaders to make bold, people-centered decisions that drive enterprise-wide impact.
- Drive cross-functional alignment on people strategy during periods of growth, restructuring, and M&A integration.
- Design org models and talent plans that evolve with the business and unlock team effectiveness.
- Lead and guide decision-making with C-suite leaders and Senior Leadership Team (SVPs and VPs) to accelerate capability building and leadership effectiveness.
- Lead workforce planning initiatives that enhance efficiency, strengthen team connectivity, and ensure the people strategy evolves with the business.
Scaling Through Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness
- Introduce structure and process without slowing innovation—striking the right balance between agility and discipline to keep teams focused and high-performing.
- Enjoy interviewing (20-25% of the time) and building high-performing teams. Has an eye for talent and knows well what good looks like.
- Partner with Finance and Strategy to lead headcount planning, productivity analysis, and talent capacity modeling to support scale.
- Challenge legacy thinking and coach leaders through change. This role isn’t about preserving the status quo—it’s about driving evolution and unlocking potential at every level.
M&A Integration & Change Enablement
- Provide People leadership across M&A activity, from due diligence through post-close integration, ensuring culture, talent, and structure align for long-term value creation.
- Lead complex change initiatives with empathy, clarity, and discipline, bringing strong communication and execution capabilities to moments of transition.
Team & Capability Building
- Lead and develop a high-performing team of two Senior People Business Partners supporting other operational leaders.
- Foster a culture of ownership, curiosity, and impact within the People team and the functions you support.
This Role Is for You If You:
- A business-savvy operator with 15+ years in People/HR leadership roles, including 5+ years supporting senior executives (C-suite level) in organizations with 3,000+ employees and/or revenue of over $500M.
- A former consultant or business unit owner with direct P&L exposure or experience guiding executive teams through change.
- Thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments and are energized by solving complex organizational challenges.
- Are not afraid to push leaders outside their comfort zones to drive growth and clarity.
- See yourself as a builder, architecting scalable people practices that drive long-term success.
- Balance strategic vision with tactical excellence and can flex between the two as needed.
- A systems-thinker who understands how structure, communication, and accountability drive performance at scale.
- Is comfortable with Workday Platform