Director, People & Culture

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc.; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. is seeking a Director, People & Culture to partner with the Chief People Officer and senior leadership, shaping culture and leadership.

This hands‑on leader will develop leaders, strengthen talent, and create an employee experience that enables our people and business to thrive. The role requires 10+ years in People/HR, ideally in a publicly traded biotech/pharma, with a strategic yet tactical approach to turn insights into action and advance performance across the

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of progressive People/HR experience, including experience within a publicly traded biotech or pharmaceutical company.

Responsibilities

• Build and strengthen our culture. Partner with leaders to foster a high‑performing, engaged culture grounded in our values, with a focus on connection, collaboration, accountability, and recognition.

Skills

Culture builder

Leadership development

Talent management

Organizational effectiveness

Change management

Employee relations

Data-driven mindset

Business acumen

HR analytics

Communication & coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

About Zevra Therapeutics, Inc.

We are a rare disease therapeutics company leading with science to make life-changing therapeutics available to patients with significant unmet needs. We involve key thought leaders, physicians, patients, care partners, and advocacy groups in all of our clinical and regulatory development strategies.

With a keen understanding that drug development often requires creative solutions, we have the insight and expertise to forge new pathways to success that others have missed. By following the data without bias, our transparent narratives and common-sense perspective have successfully overcome complex development challenges to make much-needed therapies available to patients.

Nimble and dauntless, we push boundaries beyond what is thought to be possible and advance new therapies that have the potential to bring meaningful improvement to patients’ lives.

About the role

We are looking for a Director, People & Culture who is passionate about building an exceptional company—not simply managing HR programs.

Partnering closely with the Chief People Officer and senior leadership team, this highly visible, hands‑on leader will help shape our culture, develop our leaders, strengthen talent, and create an employee experience that enables our people and business to thrive.

We’re looking for a culture builder, trusted advisor, and pragmatic operator who can move seamlessly between strategy and execution—translating our business priorities and values into how we lead, develop talent, recognize performance, and work together.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build and strengthen our culture. Partner with leaders to foster a high‑performing, engaged culture grounded in our values, with a focus on connection, collaboration, accountability, and recognition.
• Develop leaders and talent. Build and deliver leadership development, coaching, learning, succession, and talent programs that strengthen our leadership pipeline and help people do their best work.
• Turn insights into action. Use workforce data, employee feedback, and business insights to challenge thinking, identify opportunities, and provide simple, actionable recommendations.
• Elevate the employee experience. Listen to employees and leaders, identify opportunities for improvement, and create People programs and experiences that strengthen engagement and performance.
• Drive performance and organizational effectiveness. Lead and evolve key talent processes, including performance management, calibration, development planning, succession, and compensation planning. Partner with leaders through organizational growth and change.
• Be a trusted People partner. Coach and advise leaders on people, organizational, and employee relations matters, balancing employee advocacy, business needs, sound judgment, and appropriate risk management.
• Build, experiment, and improve. Roll up your sleeves and turn ideas into action. This role is for someone who enjoys creating and evolving programs—not simply administering them.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of progressive People/HR experience, including experience within a publicly traded biotech or pharmaceutical company.
• Experience in a small-to-mid‑sized organization and a track record of building programs in fast‑moving, evolving environments.
• Demonstrated success as a culture builder, strengthening engagement, leadership effectiveness, talent, and ways of working.
• Deep experience across talent and performance management, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, change management, and employee relations.
• A strategic, data‑driven mindset paired with a willingness to be highly tactical and hands‑on.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to connect People strategies to business priorities and outcomes.
• Experience leveraging HRIS, employee listening, and workforce analytics to inform decisions.
• Strong knowledge of HR best practices, employment law, and compliance requirements.
• Exceptional communication, coaching, influencing, and relationship‑building skills.
• A high degree of ownership, curiosity, judgment, and customer focus with the ability to thrive in a fast‑paced environment.

This is role adheres to our 4 days/week (Monday - Thursday) onsite policy at our Boston HQ.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Zevra is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

Notice to External Recruiters

Zevra does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies or search firms. Recruiters are requested not to contact employees or hiring managers. All candidate submissions must be coordinated through our Human Resources team and require a prior written agreement. Any resumes sent without such an agreement will not create any implied obligation.