Senior Vice President, Human Resources

ARS Pharmaceuticals•San Diego, CA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

ARS Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Senior Vice President of Human Resources to serve as an executive peer and thought leader to the C-suite, reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer. The role architects and executes the enterprise People Strategy as the company scales as a publicly traded commercial biopharma, and leads the HR function across talent acquisition, total rewards, learning and development, employee relations, organizational development, performance management, HR operations, and compliance. Key priorities include board governance, commercial field-force scaling, total rewards and equity design, and fostering a high-performance, accountable culture. The position develops workforce strategies and enterprise initiatives to strengthen organizational agility and delivery. The role leads compensation committee deliverables and designs equity and incentive plans; translates commercialization and clinical pipeline milestones into hiring plans; develops talent pipelines and onboarding; and leads organizational development, succession, performance management, HR technology, and people analytics. It also oversees benefits, employee relations, investigations, labor and employment compliance, SOX-compliant HR workflows, corporate governance, and code-of-conduct enforcement. The position follows a hybrid work schedule with weekly onsite presence at the company’s corporate office in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego. Travel of up to 25% is required. The full-time salary range is $360,000–$400,000, with eligibility for a discretionary annual performance bonus and equity. The company also offers 401(k) matching and benefits including 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, HR, organizational development, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and relevant job experience may be considered.
At least 15 years of progressive HR experience.
At least 5 years of demonstrated success heading the HR/People function in a publicly traded commercial biotech or pharmaceutical company.
Track record of commercial launch experience, including building, deploying, and supporting remote commercial field forces in sales, access, and medical affairs.
Executive presence and experience working with and presenting to Board members and the Compensation Committee.
Experience structuring executive compensation, proxy disclosures, and equity plans.
Ability to act as a strategic C-suite thought partner while remaining hands-on, decisive, and agile in a high-tempo, lean environment.
Ability to analyze workforce data and engagement metrics, identify trends, and drive continuous improvement.
Ability to collect and use data, develop metrics, draw conclusions, and design and implement strategies aligned with corporate and Board business plans.
Ability to understand business strategy, growth priorities, and operating environments and translate them into workforce, organizational, leadership, talent, and systems integration strategies.
Ability to leverage technology and integrated systems to improve decision-making, scalability, and organizational effectiveness.
Commitment to compliance and high ethical standards.
Experience in HR policy development, implementation, and governance; familiarity with HR SOX compliance.
Strong foundation in applicable federal, state, and local payroll, tax, wage and hour, benefits, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, GMLA, and other employment-related regulations.
Excellent analytical, communication, problem-solving, change management, and executive presentation skills.
Must be able to travel up to 25% of the time.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Lead Compensation Committee deliverables with the CEO, CFO, CLO, and external compensation consultants, including peer group selection, executive pay, and proxy CD&A disclosures.
Design and model broad-based equity plans, including options, RSUs/PSUs, and ESPP, as well as targeted retention pools across corporate and field tiers.
Partner with the CCO and Commercial Operations on field sales incentive compensation plans tied to net revenue goals.
Translate commercialization trajectories and clinical pipeline milestones into headcount models and hiring roadmaps.
Build talent pipelines for commercial field sales, market access, regulatory, medical affairs, and technical operations roles.
Establish structured onboarding programs for headquarters staff and distributed field teams.
Lead company-wide culture and organizational health initiatives that support agility, cross-functional accountability, and high-performance norms.
Implement talent reviews, succession plans, and leadership development frameworks, particularly for first-time people managers.
Run performance management frameworks, goal setting using OKRs/KPIs, calibration sessions, and annual merit cycles.
Modernize and scale HR technology, including HRIS, ATS, and payroll systems, to support reporting, headcount tracking, and self-service.
Track and report actionable people metrics to the CEO and Board, including equity burn rates, turnover cohorts, ramp speed, and time-to-fill.
Manage competitive and fiscally responsible health, welfare, financial, and executive benefits packages.
Ensure compliance for multi-state remote field operations and California headquarters labor laws, including FLSA, pay transparency, and leave laws.
Serve as the lead escalation point for complex employee relations, internal investigations, and severance negotiations in coordination with Legal.
Maintain SOX-compliant HR workflows, corporate governance, and code-of-conduct enforcement.
Develop and execute workforce strategies and enterprise initiatives that advance a high-performance culture, organizational agility, and delivery.
Travel up to 25% of the time.