Global Head of People Partnerships & Employee Relations

Affirm; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 340,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Remote-first culture

Equity/long-term incentives

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Affirm is seeking a VP, People Business Partners & Employee Relations to lead the global PBP and ER functions. This executive role partners with the CPO, PLT, and XLT to shape enterprise-wide people strategy and operating models, influencing critical talent decisions and organizational design.

You will build and guide high-performing teams, advise XLT members, and anticipate workforce needs, driving people programs and governance at scale in a remote-first environment.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive People leadership experience, including in complex, global technology organizations at scale.
• Significant experience leading a global PBP organization and building high-performing PBP teams.
• Experience leading Employee Relations, including sensitive investigations, executive-level matters, and complex employment decisions in partnership with Legal.
• Demonstrated experience partnering directly with C-suite executives, building trust while maintaining independent judgment.
• Deep expertise in organizational consulting, organizational effectiveness, executive coaching, and strategic workforce planning.
• Strong business acumen and learning agility, with the ability to quickly understand complex businesses and form an independent point of view on organizational needs.
• Sharp talent judgment, with the ability to assess executive capability and advise on consequential talent decisions.
• A demonstrated ability to anticipate organizational and workforce risks and opportunities before they become obvious, connecting patterns across the business.
• Outstanding executive presence and emotional intelligence, with the ability to challenge constructively and navigate difficult conversations.
• Sound judgment and integrity in navigating sensitive people decisions, balancing business needs, employee impact, and legal/reputational risk

Responsibilities

• Define the strategy, structure, and operating model for the global PBP and ER functions, challenging legacy assumptions and redesigning roles, capabilities, and ways of working where needed
• Build high-performing PBP and ER teams through talent decisions, development, coaching, and selective external hiring; set clear standards and accountability for how the teams operate and the impact they deliver
• Build independent, trusted relationships with each XLT member, serving as a strategic advisor on enterprise-wise and complex functional leadership, talent, and organizational decisions
• Develop a deep understanding of affirm's business, strategy, and operating model, and use it to anticipate enterprise-wide organizational, workforce, and talent implications ahead of need
• Partner with XLT on workforce strategy, including the size, composition, capabilities, and deployment of talent, and identify how technology, AI, and new operating models can increase leverage and effectiveness
• Help leaders design organizations and operating models that clarify accountability, increase speed, and align resources to affirm’s top priorities
• Raise the quality of leadership and talent decisions company-wide through talent planning, succession, executive assessment, and performance management
• Guide leaders through significant organizational change, building the alignment and execution discipline needed to sustain business outcomes
• Set the strategy and operating model for Employee Relations globally, ensuring a consistent, fair, and scalable approach
• Provide executive oversight on affirm's most complex and sensitive ER matters, including executive-level issues, investigations, and conduct matters
• Use ER data and case trends to identify emerging organizational risks and translate them into proactive action that strengthen leadership and management effectiveness, organizational health, and business performance
• Partner closely with Legal on employment practices, policy, and risk management

Skills

Global leadership

PBP leadership

Employee relations

Executive stakeholder mgmt

Organizational consulting

Strategic workforce planning

Executive coaching

Change management

Business acumen

Learning agility

Job description

Affirm is seeking a VP, People Business Partners & Employee Relations to lead the global PBP and ER functions. This executive role partners with the CPO, PLT, and XLT to shape enterprise-wide people strategy and operating models, influencing critical talent decisions and organizational design.

You will build and guide high-performing teams, advise XLT members, and anticipate workforce needs, driving people programs and governance at scale in a remote-first environment.