VP People Operations & Culture

Vaco Recruiter Services; New York (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 214,000; Full time

Job summary

Pro-Israel Non-Profit Organization in Manhattan is seeking a seasoned Vice President, People & Culture to lead HR and people operations across the U.S. and Israel.

You will shape strategy, organizational design, workforce planning, and the employee experience while ensuring alignment with the nonprofit's mission. The role requires deep Jewish nonprofit experience, executive presence, and the ability to partner with the CEO and broader leadership to build a cohesive culture across offices.

Qualifications

• Strong alignment with the organization's pro-Israel mission and a meaningful connection to Israel.
• Significant familiarity with the Jewish nonprofit community and experience working within a Jewish nonprofit organization.
• 12–15 years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in a senior or executive-level HR position.
• Prior experience serving in a senior HR role within a Jewish nonprofit organization.
• Demonstrated success leading HR strategy across a multi-site or geographically distributed organization.
• Deep expertise across employee relations, talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, performance management, and HR operations.
• Strong experience advising C-suite executives and senior organizational leadership.
• Ability to build credibility and trust across all levels of an organization.
• Experience with organizational design, workforce planning, and change management.
• Experience conducting HR systems audits, managing an HRIS, and standardizing processes.
• Strong business judgment, discretion, and executive presence.
• Collaborative, thoughtful, and highly accountable leadership style.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related discipline.

Responsibilities

• Lead HR strategy and organizational design across U.S. and Israel operations.
• Drive workforce planning, succession planning, and talent strategy.
• Oversee recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and talent pipelines.
• Manage employee relations, performance management, and compensation programs.
• Oversee benefits strategy and HR operations, ensuring compliance across offices.
• Foster learning and leadership development to support growth and culture.
• Ensure HR systems accuracy, data reporting, and process standardization.

Skills

Pro-Israel mission alignment

Jewish nonprofit experience

Executive HR leadership

Senior HR strategy

Organizational design

Employee relations

Talent acquisition

Compensation & benefits

HR systems & analytics

Workforce planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field

Job description

Client: Pro-Israel Non-Profit Organization

Title: VP People Culture & Operations

Salary: $200,000-$214,000

Location: Manhattan (4 days/week onsite)

Description: Our client is a prominent Jewish, pro-Israel nonprofit organization with operations across the United States and Israel. The organization is deeply committed to supporting Israel and the people who serve and protect the State of Israel through philanthropic, educational, cultural, recreational, and community-based initiatives.

This is a highly mission-driven environment, and alignment with that mission is essential. The successful candidate should have a strong personal and professional connection to Israel, a deep understanding of the Jewish and pro-Israel nonprofit community, and genuine enthusiasm for working within an organization whose identity and purpose are closely tied to Israel.

The organization is collaborative, results-oriented, and focused on creating a unified culture across its U.S. and Israel-based teams.

Position Summary

The organization is seeking a highly experienced Vice President, People & Culture to lead all aspects of Human Resources and people operations across its approximately 185-person organization spanning the United States and Israel.

Reporting directly to the Executive Vice President and partnering closely with the CEO and senior leadership team, the VP, People & Culture will develop and execute a comprehensive people strategy across the organization’s national headquarters, Israel office, and regional offices.

This person will serve as a key architect of organizational culture, talent strategy, workforce planning, organizational design, employee experience, and HR infrastructure. A major focus will be creating greater consistency across offices and building a unified organizational culture rooted in the nonprofit’s mission and values.

This is an executive-level HR leadership role requiring someone who can operate strategically while remaining close enough to the organization to oversee execution and navigate complex employee matters.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic HR Leadership & Organizational Design

• Partner with the EVP, CEO, and senior leadership team to develop and execute a strategic HR program across U.S. and Israel operations.
• Translate organizational priorities into actionable talent and human-capital strategies.
• Lead organizational design and structural planning initiatives.
• Drive workforce planning, succession planning, and long-term talent strategy.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on organizational and people-related matters.
• Use workforce metrics and HR analytics to support data-informed decision-making.

Culture & Employee Experience

• Serve as a visible steward of the organization’s mission, values, and culture.
• Help create a unified employee experience across headquarters, regional offices, and Israel.
• Develop initiatives that strengthen employee engagement, belonging, collaboration, and organizational pride.
• Promote organizational health, trust, transparency, accountability, respect, and psychological safety.
• Ensure the organization’s strong connection to Israel and its Jewish/pro-Israel mission is reflected appropriately throughout the employee experience.

Recruitment, Hiring & Onboarding

• Oversee full-cycle recruitment and hiring across all organizational levels and locations.
• Build strategies for attracting high-quality, mission-aligned talent.
• Ensure hiring practices are consistent across U.S. regional offices and Israel.
• Develop and continuously improve employee onboarding programs.
• Build talent pipelines to support future organizational growth and succession planning.

Employee Relations, Performance & Compensation

• Lead employee relations matters, including investigations, conflict resolution, disciplinary processes, and sensitive workplace situations.
• Oversee performance-management programs and ensure consistency across the organization.
• Manage job classification and organizational leveling structures.
• Guide compensation strategy, including salary bands, salary reviews, and bonus programs.
• Ensure compensation practices remain competitive, equitable, financially responsible, and aligned with organizational priorities.

Benefits Administration

• Oversee benefits strategy, evaluation, enrollment, and administration.
• Regularly assess benefit offerings for competitiveness and cost effectiveness.
• Ensure programs appropriately address the needs of both U.S.- and Israel-based employees.

Learning, Development & Career Growth

• Build and oversee learning and development programs.
• Create career-progression frameworks and clearer pathways for advancement.
• Partner with leadership to identify organizational skill gaps.
• Develop targeted training and leadership-development initiatives.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and professional growth.

HR Operations, Systems & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and international employment requirements.
• Lead and develop the HR team.
• Oversee HRIS strategy, data integrity, reporting, audits, and process improvements.
• Standardize HR processes across offices and geographies.
• Ensure responsive, consistent HR support for employees throughout the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Strong alignment with the organization's pro-Israel mission and a meaningful connection to Israel.
• Significant familiarity with the Jewish nonprofit community and experience working within a Jewish nonprofit organization.
• 12–15 years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in a senior or executive-level HR position.
• Prior experience serving in a senior HR role within a Jewish nonprofit organization.
• Demonstrated success leading HR strategy across a multi-site or geographically distributed organization.
• Deep expertise across employee relations, talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, performance management, and HR operations.
• Strong experience advising C-suite executives and senior organizational leadership.
• Ability to build credibility and trust across all levels of an organization.
• Experience with organizational design, workforce planning, and change management.
• Experience conducting HR systems audits, managing an HRIS, and standardizing processes.
• Strong business judgment, discretion, and executive presence.
• Collaborative, thoughtful, and highly accountable leadership style.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related discipline.