SVP, HR Business Partner

CardWorks; Oak Harbor (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Bonus target

Medical, Dental and Vision

401(k) with match

Disability & Wellness programs

Paid vacation & holidays

Employee Resource Groups

Job summary

Merrick Bank, part of CardWorks Financial Group, seeks a Senior Vice President, Human Resources Business Partner & Employee Relations to align people strategies with business goals. You will lead the HRBP team, shape the employee experience, and drive governance, talent management, and organizational effectiveness at the enterprise level.

You will partner with executives to translate strategy into people plans, influence leadership capability, and ensure compliant, high-performing HR programs

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in HR/Org Dev/PSY/Business.
• Master's degree or SPHR/SHRM-SCP preferred.
• 15 years HR leadership experience in complex organizations.
• Experience leading Employee Relations functions and investigations.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Data-driven decision making and workforce analytics.

Responsibilities

• Lead HRBP team and deliver consultative HR support across the organization.
• Develop and execute human capital strategies aligned with business goals.
• Governance, compliance, and risk management for HR programs.
• Drive organizational design, talent management, and succession planning.
• Oversee employee relations and investigations with executive oversight.
• Partner with Centers of Excellence to implement HR initiatives.
• Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Executive presence

Strategic thinking

Data-driven decision making

Communication

Leadership

Change management

Talent development

Employee engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Organizational Development/Psychology/Business

Master's degree and/or SPHR/SHRM-SCP preferred

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

HRIS & Payroll

Job description

Merrick Bank

SVP, HR Business Partner

Oak Harbor, Washington, United States

Oct 24, 2026

Become an everyday champion — and build a career where your impact fuels financial progress.What We Do

CardWorks Financial Group is a diversified financial services platform building ethical solutions across credit, lending, and the full customer lifecycle. Through our family of companies, CardWorks Financial Group tackles the complex challenges that larger financial institutions leave behind. We’re embedded throughout the credit card ecosystem as a lender, servicer, and merchant acquirer.

Who We Are

• Merrick Bank: The bank that builds
• Carson Smithfield: Resolution with respect

With nearly 40 years of operating history, our track record is solid: disciplined in downturns and built to accelerate in recovery. The CardWorks Financial Group companies take precise approach in complex markets, as a top three non-prime focused general purpose card issuer and a top fifteen U.S. merchant acquirer.

Our team tackles the industry’s most complex credit and payment challenges. And we believe that excellent work starts with a team that feels supported, respected, and empowered to grow.

CardWorks Servicing, LLC provides end-to end operational servicing functions for credit cards, secured cards, and installment loans. We service consumer and small business loans across the credit spectrum and offers backup servicing and due diligence services to capital providers and trustees.

Founded in 1997, Merrick Bank is an FDIC®-insured financial institution headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, with over $10 billion in assets. A wholly owned subsidiary of CardWorks Financial Group, Merrick Bank serves roughly five million cardmembers and more than 100,000 merchant customers, offering credit cards, recreational loans, deposit accounts, merchant services and bank sponsorships to consumers and businesses.

Carson Smithfield, LLC provides a variety of post-charge-off debt recovery services, including digital self-service, IVR, live agent, and external agency management.

Position Summary and Role Impact:

The Senior Vice President, Human Resources Business Partner & Employee Relations(“SVP”) serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership and is responsible for ensuring alignment between the organization's business objectives and its human capital strategy. This role drives the design, implementation, and execution of people strategies, programs, and processes that enable business performance, organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement while mitigating risk and fostering a high-performance culture.

As a trusted business partner, the SVP develops deep knowledge of the business, builds strong relationships and credibility across all levels of the organization, and delivers innovative, data-driven solutions informed by business acumen, change leadership, and HR expertise.

The role provides leadership and direction for the HR Business Partner team and the Employee Relations function, ensuring alignment of talent, culture, organizational design, performance management, employee engagement, leadership development, and compliance initiatives with enterprise priorities.

This SVP serves as a critical connector between the business and HR Centers of Excellence, ensuring integrated and effective delivery of HR services and solutions.

Essential Functions:Strategic Business Partnership

Partner with executive and senior leaders to develop and execute human capital strategies that support business goals and drive organizational performance by:

• Translating business strategy into actionable workforce and talent plans.
• Defining and operationalizing a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that supports attraction, engagement, development, and retention of talent.
• Advising leaders on organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, succession management, leadership capability, change management, employee engagement, and performance optimization.
• Identifying organizational, talent, and cultural challenges and developing solutions that enhance business outcomes.
• Leveraging workforce analytics, market insights, and business trends to provide strategic recommendations and inform decision-making.
• Driving continuous improvement through the evaluation of people processes, organizational effectiveness, and workforce performance metrics.
• Guiding leaders and teams through business transformations and organizational change serving as a champion for continuous improvement and organizational agility.

HR Business Partner Leadership

Lead and develop the HR Business Partner team to deliver consultative and value-added support across the organization by:

• Establishing HRBP priorities, standards, and operating models aligned with business needs.
• Developing team capabilities through coaching, mentorship, and professional development.
• Ensuring effective partnership with managers to build leadership effectiveness and employee engagement.
• Driving consistency and excellence in performance management, talent planning, workforce planning, and employee development practices.
• Fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

Organizational Design & Talent Management

Provide leadership and guidance related to organizational effectiveness and talent strategies by:

• Designing and evolving organizational structures that support business growth, scalability, and operational effectiveness.
• Assessing talent implications of organizational changes and developing plans to address capability gaps.
• Facilitating talent review and succession planning processes for critical leadership and key contributor roles.
• Supporting leaders in identifying, developing, and retaining high-potential talent.
• Promoting robust career development and individual development planning across the organization.

Performance & Employee Engagement

Partner with business leaders to strengthen organizational performance and employee experience by:

• Leading the annual performance management cycle, including goal setting, mid-year reviews, year-end evaluations, and calibration discussions.
• Ensuring fair, consistent, and meaningful performance assessment processes.
• Monitoring employee engagement metrics and leading action planning efforts to improve organizational health and employee experience.
• Advising leaders on employee recognition, development, and retention strategies.

Employee Relations Leadership

Provide executive oversight of the Employee Relations Center of Excellence by:

• Establishing and administering employee relations policies, practices, and procedures.
• Leading the resolution of complex employee relations matters, workplace investigations, and conflict management initiatives.
• Advising leaders on disciplinary actions, corrective action plans, performance concerns, and workplace conduct matters.
• Promoting a positive and respectful workplace culture through proactive issue identification and resolution.
• Ensuring consistent application of employment practices while minimizing organizational risk.

HR Center of Excellence Collaboration

Partner closely with Human Resources Centers of Excellence, including Talent Acquisition, Organizational Development, Total Rewards, HRIS & Payroll, Diversity & Inclusion, and Corporate Social Responsibility to:

• Align HR strategies and programs with business objectives.
• Influence recruiting strategies and workforce planning efforts to meet current and future talent needs.
• Design and implement talent development and leadership development solutions.
• Support compensation planning, merit processes, and promotion practices.
• Ensure effective communication and adoption of enterprise HR initiatives.

Governance & Compliance

Ensure compliance with employment laws, regulations, and company policies by:

• Providing strategic oversight of HR compliance, governance, and risk management activities.
• Monitoring regulatory developments and organizational risk factors.
• Partnering with Legal and Compliance teams to address employment-related matters.
• Implementing proactive measures to mitigate risk and maintain compliance.

Requirements for Success:Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Psychology, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Master's degree and/or SPHR, SHRM-SCP, or equivalent certification preferred.
• Fifteen (15) years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience, including significant HR Business Partner leadership responsibilities supporting complex organizations.
• Experience leading Employee Relations functions and managing complex workplace matters and investigations.
• Strategic Thinking
• Executive Influence
• Business Acumen
• Talent Development
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Results Orientation

Knowledge, Skills and Capabilities:

• Demonstrated success influencing executive leadership and partnering with senior business stakeholders.
• Deep expertise across core Human Resources disciplines, including organizational design, workforce planning, talent management, succession planning, leadership development, performance management, compensation, employee relations, and change management.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to align people strategies to organizational priorities and financial objectives.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills with experience leveraging workforce data and insights to drive decision-making.
• Proven project and change management capabilities.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and executive presence.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including PowerPoint and Excel.

Compliance with Laws & Regulations:

• Responsible for developing, documenting, communicating, maintaining, and enforcing effective control system policies and procedures within your area of oversight.
• Responsible for acting in a timely manner to update policies and procedures when changes in operating conditions occur and / or breakdowns or noncompliance with laws and regulations appear.
• Responsible for complying with all of the Bank’s internal control policies and procedures.
• Responsible for understanding and complying with all laws and regulations to which the Bank is subject.
• Responsible for communicating problems in operations, noncompliance with the code of conduct, noncompliance of laws and regulations, policy violations, or illegal acts.

Our Employee Value Proposition

Competitive Pay, including a Bonus Target or Variable Pay Incentive Program

Benefits Package -Medical, Dental, and Vision (plus much more)

401(k) Plan with Company Match

Short- & Long-Term Disability

Wellness Programs

Group Life and AD&D Insurance

Paid Vacation, Sick Days and bank Holidays

Employee Engagement Activities including Employee Appreciation Day, DEI Employee Resource Groups, Corporate Social Responsibility, Service Recognition

We offer a total rewards package comprised of a competitive base rate of pay, variable pay incentive programs based on the role, and a comprehensive benefit suite. Offered rates of pay are determined based on job-related knowledge, relevant experience, skills, certifications, and geographic location.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to age, race, color, sex, or gender identity/expression (including pregnancy, childbirth, transgender status, or sexual orientation), religion or creed, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, disability, military or veteran status, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Employment decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs. Everyone is welcome here, and we hire based on your ability to do the job, not any protected characteristics.

If you need help or reasonable accommodation during the application or hiring process, please let your TA Partner know.

Merrick Bank

Advancing finance with purpose. Your everyday champion. CardWorks Financial Group.

CardWorks is a leading credit and payments company dedicated to empowering underserved consumers and providing innovative solutions through a people-centric, technology-driven approach.

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