Senior Director of People

Socket.dev; Clovis (CA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 127,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary range: $115k-$127k

Medical, dental, vision

Paid time off

Paid holidays

401(k) retirement

Professional development

Employee assistance program

Family discounts for camps

Job summary

High Performance Academy (HPA) is seeking a Senior Director of People to join its Senior Leadership Team, reporting to the CEO. You will shape strategy, build leadership pipelines, and own the employee experience across talent acquisition, performance, compensation, and HR technology.

This role blends operational execution with philosophical leadership to scale our programs and culture. The role requires 7+ years in HR with 3+ in senior leadership, deep California employment law knowledge,

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive Human Resources / People experience, including 3+ years in a senior leadership role with a seat at the executive table.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead a genuine employee‑experience and culture strategy, with measurable outcomes — not just employee relations administration.
• Strong working knowledge of California employment law and multi‑site workforce compliance.
• Proven experience building and scaling HR/People systems, processes, and teams in a growing organization across multiple regions.
• Experience leading talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, and compensation programs.
• Executive presence: excellent judgment, discretion, and communication skills, with the ability to operate as a peer at the senior leadership table, not just support it.
• SHRM‑SCP, SPHR, or equivalent HR certification.
• Experience in youth services, education, sports, or other multi‑site, hourly‑workforce environments.
• Experience with HRIS platforms and HR analytics.
• Experience working in a modern operations and collaboration stack — Paycor, Deputy, Microsoft 365, HubSpot CRM, Slack, and Asana, or comparable systems.
• Familiarity with EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) or similar operating frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead People Strategy: Shape organization‑wide strategy as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and advise executive leadership on workforce capacity, organizational design, and growth.
• Build & Develop Teams: Lead and scale the People team while creating leadership development, succession planning, and internal career pathways
• Own Employee Experience: Drive staffing readiness, recruiting, onboarding, retention, engagement, performance management, and employee‑voice initiatives across HPA.
• Protect & Strengthen Compliance: Provide leadership over California and federal employment compliance, employee relations, investigations, workplace safety, and partner compliance requirements.
• Oversee Compensation & Benefits: Lead compensation architecture, benefits strategy, incentive structures, open enrollment, and labor‑cost planning in partnership with Finance.
• Build Scalable Systems: Own HPA’s HR technology and employee lifecycle processes while driving automation, data accuracy, documentation, and consistent execution across regions.
• Strengthen Culture & Organizational Identity: Steward HPA’s culture and employee experience while ensuring the organization’s people practices support its mission, growth, and long‑term success.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Employee relations

HR analytics

Communication

Executive presence

HR certification

Education

HR certification

Tools

Paycor

Deputy

Microsoft 365

HubSpot CRM

Slack

Asana

Job description

About High Performance Academy (HPA)

High Performance Academy (HPA) is on a mission to empower individuals to reach their potential through sports enrichment, and positive development experiences. We partner with schools and districts across California to provide dynamic, inclusive, and high-quality after-school and enrichment programs, camps and leagues that combine sports, social-emotional learning, and mentorship. Our goal is to serve 100,000 youth by 2030 through experiences that build confidence, teamwork, and lifelong skills, on and off the field.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Senior Director of People is HPA's senior People & Culture leader and a full member of the Senior Leadership Team, reporting to the Vice President and partnering closely with the Chief Executive Officer. This is both an operational and philosophical seat: the person in it is responsible for building the systems, leadership pipeline, and employee experience that foster the optimal environment for scaling and for stewarding the deeper question of who we are as a company and why we exist, including long‑term oversight of our curriculum and program philosophy. This role provides strategic oversight across talent acquisition, employee relations, leadership development, performance management, compensation and benefits, compliance, HR technology, organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, and — distinctly — employee experience, culture, and engagement. Success is measured not only by HPA's ability to attract, develop, and retain exceptional employees, but by whether our people feel the culture we say we're building, and whether our programs consistently reflect our mission in how they're delivered to kids.

HOW YOU'LL CONTRIBUTE

• Lead People Strategy: Shape organization‑wide strategy as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and advise executive leadership on workforce capacity, organizational design, and growth.
• Build & Develop Teams: Lead and scale the People team while creating leadership development, succession planning, and internal career pathways
• Own Employee Experience: Drive staffing readiness, recruiting, onboarding, retention, engagement, performance management, and employee‑voice initiatives across HPA.
• Protect & Strengthen Compliance: Provide leadership over California and federal employment compliance, employee relations, investigations, workplace safety, and partner compliance requirements.
• Oversee Compensation & Benefits: Lead compensation architecture, benefits strategy, incentive structures, open enrollment, and labor‑cost planning in partnership with Finance.
• Build Scalable Systems: Own HPA’s HR technology and employee lifecycle processes while driving automation, data accuracy, documentation, and consistent execution across regions.
• Strengthen Culture & Organizational Identity: Steward HPA’s culture and employee experience while ensuring the organization’s people practices support its mission, growth, and long‑term success.

WHO YOU ARE

We’re looking for someone who lives our HPA Core Values. At HPA, our values start with “I” and end in “us”

• Integrity –You do what’s right, even when no one’s watching.
• Caring –You lead with empathy and put others first.
• Driven –You’re committed to growth, on and off the field.
• Resourceful –You’re a creative problem solver, always finding ways to make things work.
• Team Player –You believe we’re better together and always show up for your team.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• 7+ years of progressive Human Resources / People experience, including 3+ years in a senior leadership role with a seat at the executive table.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead a genuine employee‑experience and culture strategy, with measurable outcomes — not just employee relations administration.
• Strong working knowledge of California employment law and multi‑site workforce compliance.
• Proven experience building and scaling HR/People systems, processes, and teams in a growing organization across multiple regions.
• Experience leading talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, and compensation programs.
• Executive presence: excellent judgment, discretion, and communication skills, with the ability to operate as a peer at the senior leadership table, not just support it.
• SHRM‑SCP, SPHR, or equivalent HR certification.
• Experience in youth services, education, sports, or other multi‑site, hourly‑workforce environments.
• Experience with HRIS platforms and HR analytics.
• Experience working in a modern operations and collaboration stack — Paycor, Deputy, Microsoft 365, HubSpot CRM, Slack, and Asana, or comparable systems.
• Familiarity with EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) or similar operating frameworks.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• Salary:$115,000-127,000, based on experience plus performance incentive.
• Medical/Virtual Care, Dental and Vision Insurance Plans for employee and dependents
• Paid Time Off — we understand the importance of time to rest and recharge
• Paid Holidays and Paid Sick Leave
• Financial Wellness — 401(k)/Retirement and Financial Coaching through our EAP
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Family Discounts for Camps and Indoor Leagues (youth and adult)
• Additional Perks: Employee Discounts, Recognition Rewards, life insurance options, and more

Be Part of Something Legendary

At HPA, we believe teamwork, purpose, and growth are the foundation for impact. If you are ready to support the people systems behind meaningful youth programs and help ensure our organization operates with excellence and integrity, we would love to hear from you.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

At High Performance Academy everyone belongs. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to building a team as diverse as the communities we serve. We welcome all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex including gender identity, gender expression, and pregnancy, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and religious observances, in accordance with applicable law.