Vice President, Global People Operations & Transformation (USA Remote)

Turnitin•Chicago, TX

3d•Remote

About The Position

Turnitin is seeking a global HR executive to lead People Operations and its continued transformation. Reporting to the Chief People Experience Officer, the Vice President oversees Global People Shared Services, Benefits, HR Systems and Analytics, and Employee Relations operations, including an external ER partnership. The role will also lead the planned integration of global Payroll operations from Finance. The leader will design organizations, build capabilities, and create operational leverage through effective structures, systems, technology, and people. This includes challenging legacy practices, testing hypotheses, making fact-based investment decisions, and using AI and automation to simplify work and improve productivity. The position operates in a global, remote-first and evolving environment, requiring leadership through ambiguity, sound judgment, and the ability to turn complex problems into practical solutions. The role is expected to build a more scalable, resilient, and accountable People Experience function, while maintaining operational performance through organizational change. The Vice President will serve as a trusted adviser to the CPXO and senior leaders, bringing independent judgment, business acumen, and practical recommendations on operational, organizational, and employee matters.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive global HR leadership experience, including senior accountability for HR Operations, Shared Services, or organizational transformation.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
Strong understanding of global Benefits, Payroll operations, HR compliance, and employee lifecycle services.
Experience advising C-suite leaders, including a Chief People Experience Officer, and senior business leaders, with strong business acumen and the ability to balance business objectives and priorities.
Demonstrated organizational design expertise, including restructuring teams, developing management capacity, establishing decision rights, and improving spans of control and operational leverage.
Deep Employee Relations expertise, including sound judgment in complex matters, employment risk, external provider oversight, and developing internal ER capability.
Proven leadership of significant HRIS implementations or transformations, including systems integration, process redesign, automation, and adoption.
Experience applying AI, automation, or intelligent technologies to improve employee self-service, knowledge management, case management, workflow execution, analytics, or operational productivity.
Strong financial and analytical acumen, including building fact-based business cases, testing assumptions, evaluating service-delivery alternatives, and demonstrating measurable returns.
Ability to build strong leadership teams, develop successors, address capability gaps, and reduce operational dependency on individual employees or external providers.
Experience leading global, multidisciplinary teams in remote-first, distributed, or complex matrixed environments.
Resilience through organizational change, competing priorities, and constructive challenge, while maintaining delivery and improving how work gets done.
Strong executive communication, sound judgment, and ability to influence stakeholders while remaining open to alternative perspectives.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Relevant HR qualification.
Employment Legal qualification or JD.

Responsibilities

Lead global People Shared Services across employee lifecycle operations, including onboarding, offboarding, leaves, immigration coordination, and employee support.
Design and continuously improve the People Shared Services delivery model, clarifying ownership, decision rights, escalation protocols, and accountability, and coordinating handoffs with PBPs, COEs, and external providers.
Evaluate organizational structure, staffing, spans of control, and work allocation to improve service effectiveness, productivity, and management capacity.
Build scalable operations through standardization, self-service, documented procedures, cross-training, and succession coverage.
Establish performance measures to identify service gaps, recurring issues, operational risks, and opportunities to redirect work to more effective delivery channels.
Lead the global Employee Relations operating model, including governance and oversight of the quality and performance of external ER partners.
Provide judgment and practical expertise on complex employee matters, including investigations, performance, restructuring, separations, and employment risk.
Establish ER decision rights, case ownership, service standards, and escalation protocols with Legal and People Business Partners.
Evaluate the effectiveness and economics of the ER delivery model and develop internal expertise or alternatives to external providers where appropriate.
Anticipate employee risks and operational vulnerabilities, and establish ER case tracking and reporting on volumes, themes, resolution timelines, outcomes, and recurring risks.
Strengthen operational management of employee separations and HR offboarding through clear ownership, timely coordination, consistent documentation, and cross-functional partnership.
Lead HRIS modernization, including strategy, selection, implementation, integration, adoption, and ongoing optimization.
Use AI, automation, and integrated systems to simplify People services, improve self-service, reduce administrative work, and create capacity for higher-value activities.
Expand AI-enabled employee and manager support, knowledge management, case routing, workflow automation, and workforce analytics.
Establish reliable People data, reporting, and governance, including security, privacy, and responsible AI controls.
Develop fact-based business cases, test hypotheses through pilots, and measure productivity, adoption, service improvements, and return on investment.
Lead global Benefits operations, including administration, enrollment, vendor performance, financial stewardship, and employee experience.
Design and implement the integration of global Payroll operations from Finance, including organizational structure, resourcing, systems, controls, and transition readiness.
Partner with Finance, Legal, and IT to strengthen Payroll governance, compliance, accuracy, and integration with People systems.
Evaluate opportunities to standardize, simplify, and automate Benefits and Payroll processes while maintaining service continuity and financial controls.
Build sustainable functional leadership and operational coverage across Benefits and Payroll.
Assess capabilities and capacity against future operating requirements and recommend whether to build, buy, automate, or redesign work.
Lead effectively in a remote-first environment by establishing operating rhythms, communication, collaboration, and accountability across countries and time zones.
Partner with the CPXO, PXLT, Finance, Legal, and IT on business-critical decisions, operational risks, and transformation priorities.
Provide well-supported recommendations, welcome constructive challenge, and adapt plans when new evidence warrants a different approach.
Maintain operational performance while implementing organizational change, balancing speed, employee experience, risk, and financial discipline.
Advise the CPXO and senior leadership on complex operational, organizational, and employee matters; anticipate risks and translate business priorities into effective People practices.