Principal Associate, HR Strategic Operations

Capital One; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 121,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Performance incentives

Job summary

Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, seeks a Principal Associate for HR Strategic Operations to drive strategy and execute high-priority projects.

You will partner with HR leaders to deliver on strategic priorities, design executive meeting agendas, and align cross-functional initiatives across the enterprise.

Qualifications

• Strategic problem solving for ambiguous issues.
• Strong written and verbal communication for executives.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives in fast-paced environments.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled productivity and data insights is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Drive the operating rhythm of HR leadership teams with structured agendas.
• Define and evolve multi-year HR strategy with enterprise alignment.
• Own metrics and reporting for objectives and organizational health.
• Draft communications for executive forums and high-stakes discussions.
• Design initiatives to foster engagement and high performance within HR.
• Pilot AI-enabled processes to improve data synthesis and workflow efficiency.

Skills

Strategic problem solving

Executive communication

Cross-functional leadership

Growth mindset

Owner/initiative

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or Military experience

Tools

AI technologies familiarity

Job description

Principal Associate, HR Strategic Operations Capital One, a Fortune 500 company and one of the nation’s top 10 banks, offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Our goal is to create one of the nation’s great banks, and we have the necessary ingredients: a strong balance sheet, resilient businesses, a massive customer franchise, strong analytical capabilities, and great people. We nurture a work environment where people with a variety of thoughts, ideas and backgrounds, guided by our shared Values, come together to make Capital One a great company – and a great place to work. As a Principal Associate Project Manager at Capital One, you will drive strategy and execute on high priority projects for the company. You will work with smart and passionate people to deliver results that have a direct impact on the company’s bottom line. You will take on important and exciting responsibility from day one, working with key stakeholders across the company. You will be challenged to excel and lead alongside the brightest talent in the industry and be rewarded for your achievements.

About the Team

As part of the Human Resources Strategic Operations team, you will partner with HR leaders and colleagues to drive and help deliver on HR strategic priorities that create value for Capital One.

General Responsibilities

• Executive Governance & Decision Support: Drive the "operating rhythm" of our HR leadership teams. You will design agendas for executive meetings that drive outcomes, not just updates, ensuring transparency and accelerated decision‑making.
• Strategy Architecture: Support the drafting and evolution of our multi‑year HR strategy. You won't just track the roadmap; you’ll help build it, ensuring alignment across the enterprise.
• Organizational Health & Reporting: Define and own the metrics that matter. You’ll manage reporting on key objectives and org health, providing the data‑driven insights our leaders need to pivot or persevere.
• High‑Stakes Communications: Draft communications for executive forums, from high‑stakes framing and pre‑reads to the synthesis of complex discussions into actionable outcomes. You will bridge the gap between high‑level strategy and the enterprise‑wide execution of our HR objectives.
• Culture Advocacy: Act as a culture‑carrier. You will help design initiatives that foster engagement and high performance within the Strategic Operations team and the broader HR org.
• AI Enablement & Process Innovation: Identify and pilot opportunities to responsibly integrate AI tools into strategic operations workflows, driving greater efficiency in data synthesis, reporting, and team process optimization.

Who you are

• A Strategic Problem Solver: You can take a messy, ambiguous problem and break it down into a structured workstream. You think three steps ahead of the current meeting.
• An Operations Leader: You don't just follow processes; you build them. You have a proven track record of managing complex, cross‑functional initiatives in a fast‑paced environment.
• Executive Ready: You are comfortable presenting to and influencing senior leaders. You know how to "manage up" effectively and provide courageous feedback when necessary.
• Growth‑Oriented: You are currently a high‑performing PA with the ambition and "owner" mindset to move forward on your career journey.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or Military experience
• At least 3 years of experience in Strategic Operations, Project Management, Management Consulting, HR Strategy, Chief of Staff role or combination
• At least 1 year of experience in roadmap alignment, governance structures, stakeholder alignment and change management
• At least 3 years experience working in a matrixed environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Exceptional writing and visual storytelling skills
• Highly organized with great attention to detail
• At least 4 years of Management Consulting experience
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills
• Excellent problem solving and influencing skills
• Familiarity with leveraging AI technologies or prompt engineering to enhance operational productivity, analyze qualitative data insights, or streamline project delivery

Salary

The minimum and maximum full‑time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part‑time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

McLean, VA: $120,800 - $137,900 for Principal Project Manager

Richmond, VA: $109,900 - $125,400 for Principal Project Manager

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter. This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Benefits

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well‑being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website.

Eligibility varies based on full or part‑time status, exempt or non‑exempt status, and management level. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. No agencies please.

Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non‑discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug‑free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23‑A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901‑4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third‑party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.

Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).

At Capital One, we’re building a leading information‑based technology company. Still founder‑led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank, Capital One is on a mission to help our customers succeed by bringing ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to banking. We measure our efforts by the success our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit.