Chief Human Resources Officer

ApplicantPool; Statesville (NC); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

EnergyUnited seeks a Chief Human Resources Officer to partner with the CEO and Board, shaping workforce strategy and executive leadership across the cooperative. You will design an enterprise talent system, oversee succession, leadership development, and employee engagement while guiding HR operations and compliance.

You will lead HRIS, analytics, and total rewards, ensuring capability, culture, and safety align with strategic goals for a resilient energy community.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, organizational development, or a related field (master's preferred).
• Demonstrated experience leading an enterprise HR function and advising a CEO, executive team, or governing board.
• Proven depth across workforce planning, succession, leadership development, organization design, employee relations, compensation, benefits, HR operations, and employment compliance.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible HR leadership, including significant senior leadership responsibility (preferred).
• Experience in an electric utility, cooperative, infrastructure, or other operationally complex, safety-sensitive environment (preferred).
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or a comparable senior credential (preferred).
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, HRIS platforms, analytics, and technology-enabled process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Own an integrated talent management system spanning workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, performance, development, succession, retention, recognition, and offboarding.
• Lead multiyear workforce planning that identifies future capability needs, critical positions, and skill gaps, and build succession plans for executive and business-critical roles with real development actions.
• Design leadership development, coaching, mentoring, and career path programs; advise executives on organizational structure and change management.
• Develop a healthcare and benefits strategy balancing employee needs, market competitiveness, and long-term sustainability.
• Turn employee feedback into action and partner with operational leaders to reinforce a strong safety culture.
• Ensure compliance across ERISA, FMLA, FLSA, ADA, EEO-1, HIPAA, and affirmative Action requirements; oversee employee relations; serve as Chief Privacy Officer.
• Lead HRIS strategy and data quality; deliver human-capital dashboards to the CEO and Board; guide responsible use of AI with human review and bias controls.
• Lead, coach, and develop HR staff, manage the HR budget, and oversee third-party providers for quality and cost.

Skills

Enterprise HR

Succession planning

Leadership development

HR operations

HR analytics

Compliance

Executive coaching

Education

SHRM-SCP / SPHR

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

Tools

HRIS platforms

Microsoft Office

Job description

Chief Human Resources Officer

EnergyUnited | Executive Leadership | Hybrid

Shape the workforce that powers communities

Every time a storm rolls through and the lights come back on, it's because the right people with the right skills were ready. At EnergyUnited, a member-owned electric cooperative, our people are how we keep our commitments to the communities we serve. We're looking for a Chief Human Resources Officer to make sure we have the leaders, capabilities, culture, and talent pipeline to deliver on our strategy today and for years to come.

This is not a traditional HR administration role. As CHRO, you'll be a true strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer, a trusted advisor to the executive leadership team, and a clear voice to the Board of Directors on workforce performance, succession readiness, and organizational health.

Why this role matters

The utility industry is changing fast. Retirement exposure, critical-skill shortages, new technology, and rising healthcare costs are reshaping how cooperatives attract, develop, and keep great people. EnergyUnited is investing in an integrated, enterprise-wide talent strategy, and you'll be the executive who designs and leads it. You'll have the scope to build systems that last and the visibility to see your work drive measurable results.

What you'll lead

Enterprise talent strategy.

Own an integrated talent management system spanning workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, performance, development, succession, retention, recognition, and offboarding, with clear standards and measures at every stage of the employee journey.

Workforce and succession planning.

Lead multiyear workforce planning that identifies future capability needs, critical positions, and skill gaps, and build succession plans for executive and business-critical roles with real, documented development actions.

Leadership and organizational effectiveness.

Design leadership development, coaching, mentoring, and career path programs, and advise executives on organizational structure, role clarity, spans of control, and change management.

Benefits and total rewards.

Develop a healthcare and benefits strategy that balances employee needs, market competitiveness, and long-term sustainability, overseeing plans including medical, pharmacy, 401(k), and the NRECA Retirement and Security Program.

Culture, engagement, and safety.

Turn employee feedback into action, strengthen recognition and communication, and partner with operational leaders to reinforce a strong safety culture.

Governance, compliance, and privacy.

Ensure compliance across ERISA, FMLA, FLSA, ADA, EEO-1, HIPAA, and affirmative Action requirements, oversee employee relations, and serve as EnergyUnited's Chief Privacy Officer.

HR technology and analytics.

Lead HRIS strategy and data quality, deliver human‑capital dashboards to the CEO and Board, and guide responsible use of AI in employment processes with appropriate human review and bias controls.

The HR team.

Lead, coach, and develop HR staff, manage the HR budget, and hold third‑party providers accountable for quality and cost effectiveness.

How success will be measured

You'll be accountable for outcomes that matter: critical‑skill readiness, succession coverage, recruiting effectiveness and retention, engagement and leadership effectiveness, benefits cost and competitiveness, compliance and workforce risk, and HR service quality and technology adoption. This is a hands‑on working leader who will collaborate closely and require a high degree of ownership, initiative and self‑sufficiency.

What you bring

• A bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, organizational development, or a related field (master's preferred).
• Demonstrated experience leading an enterprise HR function and advising a CEO, executive team, or governing board.
• Proven depth across workforce planning, succession, leadership development, organization design, employee relations, compensation, benefits, HR operations, and employment compliance.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible HR leadership, including significant senior leadership responsibility (preferred).
• Experience in an electric utility, cooperative, infrastructure, or other operationally complex, safety-sensitive environment (preferred).
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or a comparable senior credential (preferred).
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, HRIS platforms, analytics, and technology-enabled process improvement.
• Executive presence, sound judgment, discretion, business acumen, and strong communication and coaching skills.

Work arrangement

This is a hybrid executive role, with time split between an EnergyUnited office and home. Standard hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with extended or irregular hours when needed, including availability during adverse weather and emergency situations, when a utility's people matter most. The selected candidate must live within one of the nineteen counties served by the Cooperative or within a forty-road-mile radius of an EnergyUnited office.

Ready to lead?

If you're an HR executive who wants a seat at the table, a mandate to build, and the chance to shape the workforce behind essential service to your community, we want to hear from you.

EnergyUnited is an Equal Opportunity Employer.