Lead, People & Culture

Promise Venture Studio

2h•$125,000 - $140,000

About The Position

The Lead, People and Culture ensures that Promise’s people systems are clear, equitable, and consistently applied - so staff can do their best work and grow. This role translates Promise’s talent philosophy, values, and performance frameworks into practical processes that support clarity, accountability, and care across the employee lifecycle. This is an operationally-focused individual contributor role reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO). It works with a high degree of independence and owns people operations and talent systems, working within the strategy and guardrails set by the COO. This role does not set people strategy, but is accountable for building reliable systems that reward values-aligned performance, support strong manager-employee relationships, and enable staff to succeed. Promise Venture Studio is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA). This role works primarily within RPA’s systems for compliance, payroll, benefits, and legal coordination, while building internal capacity for increasing independence. While there is no defined timeline for a spinout, this role should be understood as a long-term build rather than a near-term transition.

Requirements

6+ years of experience in people operations or HR, including ownership of core people systems in a complex, mission-driven organization
Experience managing end-to-end people operations - performance cycles, employee relations, and compliance-related processes
Demonstrated equity-minded practice, consistency, and care in people-related processes and decisions
Trusted relationship builder across roles and levels, with discernment and discretion in sensitive situations
Strong project management skills - able to run cyclical processes calmly and predictably
Excellent communicator who can translate policies, decisions, and expectations into practical, accessible guidance for managers and staff
Experience coaching managers on performance, feedback, development, and employee relations
Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with managers, cross-functional teammates, and external partners including RPA
Systems thinker who builds for future scale from current state, with strong documentation habits
Comfort improving systems within an established strategy and constraints, and scaling a function over time

Responsibilities

Own day-to-day people operations, ensuring processes are accurate, timely, compliant, and applied consistently across the organization
Maintain and improve core people systems — performance management, goal setting, feedback, career progression, manager enablement, and engagement surveys
Track and maintain accurate people data and records to support compliance, reporting, and reliable application of people practices
Maintain people policies, practices, and guidance so they are current, accessible, and aligned with employment laws, partnering with legal counsel as needed
Coordinate compensation and benefits processes — salary review cycles, pay changes, enrollment, and vendor issue resolution — with accuracy, equity, and clear communication
Lead implementation of Promise's recently redesigned performance management system, including designing and delivering a training and enablement plan for staff and managers
Facilitate mid-year and end-of-year calibration processes — including prep, bias checks, documentation, and manager follow-through
Provide ongoing implementation support and iterate based on what is learned
Coach and support managers on performance, feedback, development, and employee relations, with clear guidance, tools, and shared expectations
Own and coordinate hiring in partnership with managers — applying an equity lens from role scoping through onboarding, with clear evaluation standards and smooth execution
Maintain job descriptions, role expectations, and leveling alignment to support hiring and role clarity
Coordinate employee lifecycle moments beyond hiring, including role changes, development planning, and exits
Lead employee relations matters, advising managers on equitable, compliant, and values-aligned approaches — with care, confidentiality, and clear judgment about when to escalate
Establish a regular rhythm for engagement surveys, synthesize feedback, and partner with teams to translate insights into practical improvements
Surface engagement themes and work with leaders to adjust practices and workflows that support retention, development, and sustainable workloads
Prepare people-related inputs that support leadership planning, talent conversations, and decision readiness
Serve as Promise's primary operational point of contact with RPA across people-related functions, ensuring accurate and timely execution of shared processes
Build operational readiness for the future internalization of select RPA-managed functions
This role may expand as organizational needs evolve.