Director, People & Culture

Bay Area Community Resources (BACR); San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Wellness

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

FSA

Retirement

WellHub

Pet Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Wellness Fair

Mission-driven work

Job summary

Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) seeks a relational, human-centered Director, People & Culture to serve as second-in-command to the Chief People Officer and lead our organizational development and learning strategy.

This strategic leader will help nurture talent, streamline people processes, and foster an inclusive, high-trust work environment while directly overseeing the functions of People Operations, Learning & Development (L&D), Total Rewards, Recruitment and Employee Relations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive HR leadership experience with expertise in Learning & Development and People Operations.
• Hands-on Workday experience (implementation, optimization, or administration).
• Proven ability to coach tenured teams with empathy and high emotional intelligence.
• Skilled in mapping, refining, and automating HR processes to improve efficiency.
• Experience leading in nonprofit, mission-driven environments with people-centered practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide oversight, guidance, and coaching to a People & Culture team of 12 with 3 direct reports.
• Partner with the Chief People Officer to align HR operations with strategic goals.
• Advise leaders on talent development, team effectiveness, and People Operations strategy.
• Design and evaluate scalable L&D frameworks to foster growth and leadership.
• Implement performance management with psychological safety and feedback processes.
• Improve HR workflows and leverage Workday data to drive organizational intelligence.
• Ensure end-to-end employee experience from recruitment to offboarding with measurable improvements.

Skills

HR Leadership

People Operations

Learning & Development

Empathy & Coaching

Change Management

Tools

Workday

Job description

Salary: $150,000 - $165,000 annually DOE

• Core benefits: Medical, wellness/mental health benefit, dental, vision, life insurance, FSA (medical, dependent, transit), hospital indemnity, retirement, WellHub, Pet Insurance, employee assistance program
• Additional Perks: wellness fair, people-centered work culture, ability to make an impact in your community through mission-driven work.
• Time off: Include vacation, sick, 15 holidays, parental and medical leave policy, and mental health days
• Growth: Include conference opportunities, regular training opportunities, and professional development week

Role Summary

We are seeking a relational, human-centered Director, People & Culture to serve as second-in-command to the Chief People Officer and lead our organizational development and learning strategy. This strategic leader will help nurture talent, streamline people processes, and foster an inclusive, high-trust work environment while directly overseeing the functions of People Operations, Learning & Development (L&D), Total Rewards, Recruitment and Employee Relations.

While our organization operates in the nonprofit sector, prior nonprofit experience is not required as long as you bring a deep commitment to human-centered leadership. In this role, you will provide high-level strategic oversight, mentorship, and coaching to a tenured, highly capable People & Culture team. You will also drive process efficiency across the employee lifecycle, leveraging modern HR technology.

Qualifications & Key Competencies

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, with significant expertise leading Learning & Development and People Operations.
• Systems Expertise: Hands-on experience with Workday is strongly preferred (implementation, optimization, or high-level administration).
• Leadership Style: Proven track record of managing and coaching tenured teams with empathy, clear communication, and high emotional intelligence.
• Process Optimization: Demonstrated success in mapping, refining, and automating HR processes to increase organizational efficiency.
• Adaptability: Openness to leading in a nonprofit, mission-driven environment with a focus on people-centered practices.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Team Mentorship

• Provide oversight, guidance, and active coaching to a tenured People & Culture team overseeing 3 direct reports and a total team of 12, empowering them to execute operational priorities while supporting their professional growth.
• Partner with the Chief People Officer to align people operations, organizational culture, and talent initiatives with overarching strategic goals.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to leaders across the organization on talent development and team effectiveness and people operations strategy.

Learning & Organizational Development

• Design, launch, and evaluate scalable learning and development (L&D) frameworks that foster continuous growth, leadership capability, and career pathways.
• Implement human-centered performance management and feedback processes that promote accountability, growth, and psychological safety.

Process Improvement & HR Systems

• Partner closely with the People & Culture team to evaluate existing HR workflows, eliminate redundancies, and optimize operational efficiency across the department.
• Use data insights and reporting capabilities in Workday to streamline talent management, onboarding, and performance management, turning raw HR data into actionable organizational intelligence.
• Design clear, data-backed processes that elevate the end-to-end employee experience—from recruitment through offboarding—ensuring operational consistency and measurable improvements.

Culture & Employee Engagement

• Champions a people-centered organizational culture grounded in equity, inclusion, belonging, and trust.
• Analyze employee engagement data to identify trends, mitigate turnover risks, and implement responsive retention strategies.

Mindsets

You elevate others to shine. You don’t control or micromanage; you coach, empower, and clear pathways so a tenured, capable team can do their best work.

You lead with high EQ. You understand that people operations start with empathy, active listening, and building psychological safety across the entire organization.

You’re a lifelong learning champion. You get genuinely excited about helping people grow, creating career pathways, and building frameworks that unlock human potential.

You balance heart with high efficiency. You believe that great employee experiences are built on smooth, transparent, and frictionless HR processes.

You are a trusted sounding board. You naturally earn the confidence of leaders at all levels, offering grounded advice on tough team dynamics, organizational design, and talent growth.