Deputy Chief People Officer

RTD • Rock Hill, SC

1d • $170,479 - $240,801 • Onsite

About The Position

The Deputy Chief People Officer (DCPO) is a senior-level leader responsible for translating RTD’s people strategy into exceptional operational execution. Reporting to the Chief People Officer (CPO), the DCPO oversees a multidisciplinary HR leadership team and drives operational excellence across talent acquisition, total rewards, employee and labor relations, talent and organizational development, Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance and office services, and HR administrative services. This role ensures HR operations are agile, equitable, data informed, and aligned with RTD’s mission, values, and strategic priorities. By translating the agency’s people strategy into operational execution, the DCPO enables the CPO to focus on enterprise wide initiatives, executive leadership engagement, and long-term workforce vision. The DCPO champions a modern, people-first, service-oriented culture that strengthens RTD’s ability to attract, engage, develop, and retain a high performing workforce.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, public administration, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ten (10) years of progressively responsible HR executive or senior leadership experience spanning a broad range of HR functions.
• Five (5) years of experience managing second-level leaders.
• Five (5) years of experience working in a public sector, transit, or highly regulated, and/or unionized environment.
• Experience effectively engaging with a Board of Directors, Commissions, Councils, or elected officials.
• Experience with labor relations in a unionized environment, including contract negotiations and administration, and managing grievances.
• Experience implementing organizational change initiatives or major HR program improvements.
• Strong operational leadership skills with proven ability to manage multi-disciplinary HR functions, develop high-performing teams, and streamline processes.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethics, integrity, confidentiality, and the agency’s values.
• Proven ability to lead staff through change and improve HR service delivery.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including working with all levels of the agency up to Boards, Commissions, Councils, elected officials.
• Ability to build strong relationships across the organization.
• Strong executive presence.
• Ability to translate strategy into execution and measurable outcomes.
• Commitment to equity, transparency, and an exceptional employee experience.
• Strong communication, influence, and relationship-building skills across all levels of the organization.
• Ability to navigate political and stakeholder-sensitive environments with diplomacy and professionalism.
• Expert knowledge of HR laws, compliance, and best practices in modern people operations.
• Innovative thinker with a passion for continuous improvement and organizational impact.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in human resources, business administration, public administration, or related field preferred.
• Demonstrated success implementing data-driven HR service delivery models and leading data-driven workforce planning efforts.
• Human Resources Certification (SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, SPHR, PHR, etc.).

Responsibilities

• Provides dynamic leadership for all day-to-day HR operations, ensuring services are timely, consistent, and people centered.
• Supervises and supports management of HR teams responsible for Employee and Labor Relations, Talent and Organizational Development, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, DOT Compliance and Office Services, and HR Administration Services.
• Ensures proactive development and consistent application of HR policies, practices, and procedures across the department and agency.
• Oversees and drives continuous improvement for workflows, service delivery standards, and operational performance metrics.
• Monitors progress toward HR goals and ensure timely completion of deliverables aligned with program objectives.
• Serves as a senior leader in the annual HR budget process, partnering with department budget holders to support accurate forecasting and expense management.
• Serves as the primary operational liaison between HR and internal stakeholders to ensure HR is a responsive, proactive, solutions-driven partner to the agency.
• Oversees the operational delivery of employee and labor relations programs, ensuring consistency, fairness, and compliance.
• Supports labor negotiations, contract administration, and grievance processes in partnership with CPO, Director, and executive leadership.
• Maintains strong, constructive relationships with labor partners and represented work groups.
• Ensures inclusive, efficient, and data-driven recruitment operations to meet evolving workforce needs.
• Oversees improvements to sourcing strategies, hiring processes, candidate experience, and workforce forecasting.
• Champions equitable hiring and onboarding practices that strengthen workforce diversity and retention.
• Leads the administration of compensation, benefits, well-being, HRIS, leave management, and performance programs.
• Partners with CPO to support compensation philosophy and benefits strategy.
• Ensures compensation and benefits programs are competitive, compliant, and consistently executed across the agency.
• Oversees Workday Human Capital Management system functionality, reporting, and enhancements.
• Oversees enterprise-wide learning, development, and organizational effectiveness initiatives.
• Ensures delivery of high-quality employee development resources and tools.
• Supports leadership development, coaching, upskilling, and succession pipeline planning.
• Strengthens organizational culture and improves employee experience through modern development programs.
• Maintains rigorous compliance with all federal, state, and local employment laws and DOT requirements for safety-sensitive positions.
• Ensures timely reporting, audits, data governance, and HR documentation processes.
• Oversees policy implementation and operational updates to align with best practices and evolving agency needs.
• Collaborates with the CPO to operationalize people strategies and agency-wide initiatives.
• Provides guidance, insights, and operational analysis to support workforce planning and strategic decision-making.
• Sets an example of and builds a team culture that exemplifies RTD’s values of passion, respect, diversity, collaboration, trustworthiness, and ownership.
• Maintains appropriate staffing levels and reviews progress to ensure the quality and quantity of work meets standards and deadlines for deliverables to meet program goals and objectives.
• Recruits staff to include interviewing, hiring, assigning work, training, coaching, and counseling to ensure consistent application of the Employee Handbook, policies, processes, and procedures.
• Conducts performance reviews and holds employees accountable for optimal performance of their responsibilities.
• Fosters a safety-first culture, prioritizing prevention, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Takes action to advance the goals of Equal Employment Opportunity, Small/ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, Title VI and ADA Plans, thereby ensuring RTD's hiring programs, work environment, contracting and procurement practices, and transit services/programs are fair, equal, and non-discriminatory.
• Serves as acting Chief People Officer as needed.
• Performs all other job-related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• RTD Employee Benefits: https://www.rtd-denver.com/careers/benefits (RTD Represented Employee Benefits: Please refer to the Labor Agreement included in the above link for details.)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive