Chief People Officer

Stowers Institute for Medical Research; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Job summary

The Stowers Institute for Medical Research seeks a Chief People Officer (CPO) to join its executive leadership team, building the people strategy, culture, and infrastructure to enable world-class basic medical research.

The CPO partners with the CEO, scientific and executive leaders, and the Board to foster an environment where scientists, researchers, and staff thrive. This role blends strategic vision with operational rigor in a complex research setting.

Qualifications

• Significant progressive experience in senior HR/people leadership, preferably as a CPO, CHRO, or equivalent.
• Deep expertise in compensation, performance management, talent, succession, organizational effectiveness, and employee experience.
• Experience advising CEOs, executive teams, and Boards.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, HR governance, and contemporary people practices.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO/Chairman and executive leadership on people, workforce, organizational, and cultural matters.
• Align the people strategy with the Institute's scientific and institutional priorities.
• Translate strategic direction into workforce, talent, leadership, culture, and organizational priorities.
• Anticipate future workforce needs and provide insights on organizational health, talent opportunities, and people risks.
• Establish meaningful people metrics to inform executive and Board decision-making.
• Steward and strengthen the Institute's culture and employee experience.
• Lead the Institute's performance management philosophy and practices.
• Partner with leaders on organizational structure, role clarity, collaboration, and accountability.
• Drive strategies for visa management and permanent residency sponsorship to support retention of scientific talent.
• Oversee HR policies, processes, systems, governance, and service delivery.

Skills

Executive leadership

People strategy

Change management

CEOs/Boards advisory

Employment law knowledge

Data-driven decisions

People analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/business/organizational development/psychology

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is seeking a Chief People Officer (CPO) to serve as a strategic member of the Stowers Institute's executive leadership team. The CPO is responsible for building and sustaining the people, culture, organizational capabilities, and infrastructure required to advance its world-class basic medical research mission.

The CPO partners closely with the CEO/Chairman, scientific and executive leadership, and Board of Directors to create an environment where exceptional scientists, research professionals, and administrative colleagues can thrive. The CPO will help shape a culture grounded in scientific excellence, collaboration, inclusion, accountability, integrity, curiosity, and respect, while ensuring a consistent and engaging employee experience.

The CPO oversees the Institute's comprehensive people strategy, including culture, workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, performance, talent, leadership development, compensation, HR operations and technology, employee relations, immigration and people analytics.

The ideal candidate will be an enterprise-minded, highly credible people leader who combines strategic vision with operational rigor and can translate institutional priorities into organizational capabilities and measurable outcomes within a complex, mission-driven world-class research environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. People Strategy & Strategic Planning

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO/Chairman and executive leadership on people, workforce, organizational, and cultural matters.
• Align the people strategy with the Institute's scientific and institutional priorities.
• Translate strategic direction into workforce, talent, leadership, culture, and organizational priorities.
• Anticipate future workforce needs and provide insights on organizational health, talent opportunities, and people risks.
• Establish meaningful people metrics to inform executive and Board decision-making.

2. Culture & Employee Experience

• Steward and continually strengthen the Institute's culture and employee experience.
• Ensure the employee lifecycle reflects the Institute's mission, values, and commitment to scientific excellence.
• Foster trust, collaboration, inclusion, accountability, and mutual respect.
• Establish effective employee listening mechanisms and translate insights into action.
• Monitor engagement and organizational health and drive continuous improvement.

3. Performance Management & Organizational Effectiveness

• Lead the Institute's performance management philosophy and practices, including goal setting, feedback, coaching, evaluation, recognition, and accountability.
• Promote high performance and continuous improvement appropriate to scientific and research work.
• Partner with leaders on organizational structure, role clarity, decision-making, collaboration, and accountability.
• Strengthen management capabilities and organizational effectiveness across scientific and administrative functions.
• Lead strategies to attract, develop, engage, and retain exceptional scientific and professional talent.
• Partner with leaders on workforce planning, critical roles, succession, and leadership pipelines.
• Strengthen the Institute's reputation as a destination for outstanding talent.
• Support career development and meaningful pathways for scientists, research staff, technical professionals, and administrative employees.
• Identify and proactively address critical talent and workforce risks.

5. Compensation & Total Rewards

• Provide strategic oversight of compensation, recognition, and total rewards.
• Ensure programs are competitive, equitable, mission-aligned, and responsive to the talent marketplace.
• Regularly assess internal equity and external competitiveness across roles and levels.
• Partner with executive leadership and the Board on executive compensation and related governance.
• Align total rewards with attraction, performance, retention, and institutional priorities.
• Oversee specialized immigration services supporting international scientists, scholars, and staff.
• Develop proactive strategies for visa management and permanent residency sponsorship to support retention of critical scientific talent.
• Serve as an institutional point of contact for relevant federal immigration and labor agencies.
• Provide high-touch onboarding, relocation, tax, housing, Social Security, and family support.
• Ensure rigorous compliance with I-9, E-Verify, Public Access Files, visa tracking, and related requirements.
• Provide strategic direction for leadership and management development.
• Strengthen capabilities in coaching, feedback, communication, team effectiveness, conflict management, and change leadership.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO/Chairman and executive leadership.
• Support leaders through organizational change while maintaining trust, engagement, and scientific productivity.

8. HR Infrastructure, Operations & Technology

• Lead a high-performing, service-oriented HR function aligned with the needs of a sophisticated research institution.
• Oversee HR policies, processes, systems, governance, and service delivery.
• Ensure HR technology effectively supports recruiting, performance, compensation, talent, learning, engagement, and the employee experience.
• Drive efficiency, consistency, accessibility, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Develop the HR organization, capabilities, structure, and operating model needed to support the Institute's evolving needs.

9. Cultural Awareness & Belonging

• Foster an environment that values diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and traditions.
• Promote cultural awareness and understanding across the Institute's global scientific and professional community.
• Ensure individuals feel respected, welcomed, and valued.
• Leverage the Institute's international and multicultural community to strengthen collaboration, learning, innovation, and institutional effectiveness.

10. Employee Relations & Organizational Trust

• Provide strategic oversight of employee relations and workplace practices.
• Equip leaders to address employee concerns, conflicts, conduct matters, and workplace issues fairly and constructively.
• Maintain effective mechanisms for raising concerns and providing candid feedback.
• Balance employee advocacy with institutional values, responsibilities, and operational needs.
• Advance the use of people analytics and workforce data in institutional decision-making.
• Monitor key indicators including engagement, retention, turnover, recruiting, compensation, performance, leadership, and workforce capacity.
• Translate insights into actionable recommendations for leadership.
• Regularly assess and improve people programs, policies, and practices as institutional needs evolve.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, organizational development, psychology, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Significant progressive experience in senior HR/people leadership, preferably as a CPO, CHRO, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated success developing enterprise people strategies and leading organizational change.
• Deep expertise in compensation, performance management, talent, succession, organizational effectiveness, and employee experience.
• Experience advising CEOs, executive teams, and Boards.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, HR governance, and contemporary people practices.
• Exceptional strategic, interpersonal, communication, influencing, judgment, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience working with technical experts (scientists, researchers, informaticists, engineers, etc.) is preferred.

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will bring strategic vision, organizational and business acumen, executive presence, operational discipline, data-driven decision-making, integrity, discretion, and a demonstrated ability to build trust and lead through complexity and change.