Vice President, Chief People Officer (CPO)

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority • Austin, TX

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief People Officer (CPO) is responsible for leading CapMetro’s people strategy and overseeing a modern, business-aligned People and Culture function. This role is instrumental in developing and executing strategic initiatives that support the organization’s mission, vision, and long-term goals. The CPO oversees all People and Culture functions, including Learning and Development, Total Rewards, Employee Resource Center, Talent Acquisition and Management, Employee Engagement, and Workforce Planning. Reporting to the EVP, Chief Administrative Officer/EEO Officer, the CPO works closely with senior leadership to ensure that talent strategies align with business objectives. This leader plays a critical role in enabling CapMetro to scale effectively, foster a high-performance culture, and leverage the strengths of the inclusive workforce. The CPO is a strategic business advisor and change agent who is skilled in designing and implementing innovative people strategies, modernizing P&C operations, and positioning the agency for the future. This role guides CapMetro’ s workforce strategy to enhance organizational effectiveness, increase employee engagement, and ensure long-term workforce sustainability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, Business Management, Public Administration, or related field. Relevant experience may substitute for the required degree.
• Fifteen (15) years of experience in human resources as a high performer, including ten (10) years of demonstrated HR leadership and people management experience.
• Able to succeed in a fast-paced environment with competing and changing priorities and tight deadlines.
• Strong management, coaching, training, and team development skills
• A relentless internal-customer focus
• Strong understanding of people best practices, industry standards, and curiosity for emerging people-oriented trends
• Prior success in creating and leading initiatives that attract, develop, and retain high-potential talent in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Proven success in designing and implementing diversity-enhancing programs and practices.
• Experience implementing HR policies and procedures using technology that improve operations, including HRIS, and performance management systems.
• Demonstrated expertise in developing HR plans for high growth, including driving talent acquisition and organizational development, evaluating and revamping compensation plans/salary structures, and overseeing the administration of compensation/benefits and employee relations.
• Enthusiastic and energetic thought leader who thrives in a collaborative environment and has a creative, engaging, and people-focused attitude.
• Creative problem solver who can navigate current challenges while strategically planning for periods of hypergrowth and work in a very fast-paced, ever-evolving environment.
• Superb interpersonal skills with the ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with senior business leaders, managers, and peers.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills with strong negotiation and influencing skills.

Nice To Haves

• Prefer a master's degree in human resources, Business Management, Public Administration, or related field as well as one or more SPHR, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SHRM-CP, CCP, CBP, or CEBS certifications.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the People and Culture strategy aligned with CapMetro’ s mission, values, and goals.
• Set the vision for the People & Culture function, developing future HR leaders and ensuring alignment between strategic objectives and operational execution.
• Champion initiatives that cultivate a scalable, inclusive, and healthy culture aligned with CapMetro’ s mission and values during periods of transformation and growth.
• Design and lead a comprehensive internal executive development program, including milestone planning, 360-degree feedback processes, and stretch assignments.
• Provide 1:1 executive coaching for C-level leaders to strengthen individual and team performance.
• Oversee the creation and implementation of succession planning and leadership development frameworks that support a strong leadership bench and reinforce CapMetro’ s core values and culture.
• Develop and deploy a holistic management training program for leaders at all levels, building consistent leadership practices and core management skills.
• Drive organizational design and change management initiatives that enable scale and performance.
• Collaborate with executive leadership on organization design initiatives that optimize structure, efficiency, and performance.
• Drive frameworks for talent calibration, change communication, and team transition planning to ensure agility and resilience through agency growth.
• Optimize efficiencies and performance across operations through targeted support programs, standardized processes, and implementation of scalable HRIS and systems to enable data-driven decision-making and consistency.
• Partner with Finance on labor budgets and workforce cost forecasting.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and executive leadership on all people-related matters, shaping agency direction through people-centered strategies and insights.
• Support Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Safety Management Systems (SMS) process by ensuring staff follow safety and security policies, consider safety in every action, and ensure safety and security concerns are reported.
• Perform other duties as required and/or assigned.

What This Job Offers

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