Director of People Experience

Van Meter•Cedar Rapids, IA

About The Position

At Van Meter, we believe our people are our differentiator. We've built a company where employee-owners are empowered to do their best work, leaders are expected to build their best teams, and our values fuel our success. As we continue seeing rapid growth, we're looking for a strategic people leader who can help us scale our talent, leadership capability, and organizational strength while preserving the culture that has made Van Meter a nationally recognized top workplace. This is an opportunity for someone who loves building talent strategies, improving organizational capability, and shaping the future workforce—but who is equally energized by developing leaders, coaching teams, and strengthening a people-first culture. As the Director of People Experience, you will serve as a key member of the People leadership team, responsible for driving the strategies that ensure Van Meter has the talent, leadership capability, and organizational readiness required for continued growth. You'll lead our HR Business Partner and Recruiting teams while partnering closely with executive leadership, Learning & Development, and People Operations to align talent strategy with business priorities. This role is ideal for a leader who can think several years ahead while remaining grounded enough to build trust, coach leaders, and be a champion of the culture that already exists. Success requires both strategic vision and humility--someone who will challenge the organization to get better while respecting the values and relationships that have fueled Van Meter's success.

Requirements

Significant experience in talent strategy, workforce planning, recruiting, succession planning, performance management, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness.
Successfully partnered with senior leaders to translate business strategy into talent strategy.
Helped organizations build sustainable capability for growth.
Strategic enough to think long-term and connect talent decisions to business outcomes.
Pragmatic enough to turn ideas into scalable processes and measurable results.
Confident enough to influence executive leaders and challenge assumptions.
Humble enough to listen, learn, and build on what's already working.
Passionate about helping leaders build great teams and helping people reach their full potential.
Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business, Organizational Development, or a related field required.
10–15+ years of progressive experience in talent management, HR leadership, or a related discipline, including experience in a mid-to-large, multi-site organization ($500M–$2B+ revenue or equivalent complexity).
Proven experience designing and leading enterprise-level talent strategies, including talent acquisition, workforce planning, succession planning, performance management, and leadership development.
Demonstrated ability to scale an organization quickly through talent, building both internal bench strength and external talent pipelines to meet aggressive growth objectives.
Strong experience leading both HR Business Partner and Recruiting functions, with a track record of elevating teams from execution-focused to strategic, consultative partners.
Deep expertise in organizational capability building, including leadership development, high-potential identification, and succession planning processes that are proactive, consistent, and aligned to business priorities.
Proven ability to partner with executive leadership to translate business strategy into workforce and talent plans, including identifying capability gaps and prioritizing investments.
Strong understanding of organizational design, team effectiveness, and change management, with experience supporting growth, transformation, or evolving business models.
Demonstrated ability to leverage data, analytics, and market insights to drive talent decisions, assess organizational health, and improve outcomes across hiring, retention, and development.
Demonstrated ability to build and sustain a talent strategy that enables leaders to Build Their Best Teams, ensuring we have the right employee-owners in the right roles to support both our near-term execution and long-term growth.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or advanced certification (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP) strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Organizational talent strategy and workforce planning
Recruiting strategy and pipeline development
HR Business Partner leadership and leader enablement
Succession planning and organizational capability
Leadership development and growth
Performance management and talent accountability
Organizational effectiveness and culture initiatives
Build stronger talent pipelines and organizational readiness for future growth.
Increase leadership capability and consistency across the organization.
Develop deeper internal bench strength for critical roles.
Strengthen performance management and career development practices while preserving meaningful, employee-owner focused conversations.
Scale our business without losing the culture that makes Van Meter unique.