Vice President Human Resources

Frazer Jones; Janesville (WI); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Frazer Jones in partnership with a private equity-backed food manufacturer is seeking a Vice President of Human Resources to lead people strategy across two Janesville facilities, Wisconsin. This executive role reports to the CEO and oversees ~250 employees, shaping talent, safety culture, and organizational capability.

The VP will drive transformation, build scalable HR systems, lead succession planning, and coordinate with Operations, Finance, Safety, and Supply Chain to enable growth and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience.
• Experience in manufacturing, food production, consumer products, packaging, or similar operations.
• Experience supporting large hourly workforces across multiple shifts and locations.
• Strong change management and organizational effectiveness experience.
• Proven success leading through periods of evolution, restructuring, or growth.
• Deep employee relations expertise in complex manufacturing.
• Experience building HR infrastructure and systems in growing organizations.
• Exposure to M&A or high-growth environments is highly desirable.
• Experience in private equity-backed organizations is a plus.
• Strong business acumen and ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Hands-on leadership with presence on the plant floor.

Responsibilities

• Partner with executive leadership to drive a broad transformation agenda.
• Strengthen safety, accountability, engagement, and operational excellence.
• Build a scalable HR function to support future growth.
• Improve hourly talent attraction, retention, and development.
• Evaluate compensation structures and workforce planning strategies.
• Lead employee relations initiatives and maintain a non-union culture.
• Oversee onboarding, training, and leadership development programs.
• Implement HR processes, systems, metrics, and reporting.
• Collaborate with Operations, Finance, Safety, and Supply Chain to boost performance.
• Lead succession planning and organizational capability-building.
• Prepare the business for acquisitions and multi-site expansion.

Skills

Executive leadership

Change management

People strategy

Talent development

Employee relations

Operations collaboration

Diversity & inclusion

Job description

Base Salary: $200,000 - $250,000 + Bonus

We are partnering with a private equity-backed food manufacturing business to appoint a Vice President of Human Resources to lead the people strategy across two manufacturing facilities in Janesville, Wisconsin.

This is a highly visible executive leadership role supporting approximately 250 employees across two production facilities. Reporting directly to the CEO and partnering closely with the executive team, the successful candidate will play a critical role in helping strengthen and scale the organization as it prepares for future expansion.

The Opportunity

Backed by significant investment and led by a newly assembled executive team, the business is embarking on an ambitious transformation and growth journey. The Vice President of Human Resources will play a critical role in strengthening organizational capability, enhancing HR infrastructure, improving talent attraction and retention, and supporting operational excellence across two manufacturing sites. Over time, the focus will expand to include acquisitions, integrations, and broader national growth initiatives.

This is a highly visible leadership role offering the opportunity to make a lasting impact on both the business and its people while helping shape the future of a growing manufacturing organization.

Key Priorities

• Partner with executive leadership to support a broad business transformation agenda.
• Continue strengthening a culture centered on safety, accountability, engagement, and operational excellence.
• Build and develop a scalable HR function capable of supporting future growth.
• Improve attraction, retention, and development of hourly manufacturing talent.
• Evaluate compensation structures and workforce planning strategies to support business objectives.
• Lead employee relations initiatives and foster a proactive, positive, non-union culture.
• Support significant organizational and workforce change initiatives across operations, maintenance, and support functions.
• Enhance onboarding, training, and leadership development programs.
• Implement people processes, systems, metrics, and reporting that provide greater organizational visibility and accountability.
• Partner closely with leaders across Operations, Finance, Safety, and Supply Chain to improve overall business performance.
• Lead talent review, succession planning, and organizational capability-building efforts.
• Help prepare the business for future acquisitions, integrations, and multi-site expansion.

Ideal Background

We are seeking an HR executive who combines strategic leadership with a highly visible, hands-on operating style.

Candidates should offer:

• 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience.
• Experience within manufacturing, food production, consumer products, packaging, distribution, or similarly operational environments.
• Experience supporting large hourly employee populations across multiple shifts and locations.
• Strong change management, transformation, and organizational effectiveness experience.
• Proven success leading through periods of business evolution, restructuring, capability upgrades, or operational turnaround.
• Deep employee relations expertise within complex manufacturing environments.
• Experience partnering closely with leaders to build strong safety cultures and workforce engagement.
• Experience developing HR infrastructure, processes, and systems within growing organizations.
• Exposure to M&A, integration activity, or high-growth environments is highly desirable.
• Experience within private equity-backed organizations is a plus.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• A hands-on leadership style with a strong presence on the plant floor.
• Bilingual English/Spanish capability would be advantageous but is not required.

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

• Executive leadership role with significant influence across the organization.
• Opportunity to help shape a business during a pivotal transformation and growth phase.
• Direct partnership with a newly assembled executive team focused on long-term success.
• Broad scope spanning two manufacturing facilities and future expansion initiatives.
• Opportunity to build and strengthen HR infrastructure while driving meaningful cultural impact.
• Exposure to future acquisitions, integrations, and growth projects across the United States.
• Combination of strategic leadership and operational engagement.
• Ability to leave a lasting mark on a business investing heavily in its people, leadership, safety culture, and future growth.

For HR leaders who enjoy building, transforming, and scaling organizations, this represents a very unique opportunity to help lead a business through a critical stage of its evolution while creating the foundations for future nationwide growth.