Vice President of People & Culture

Essen Medical Associates•New York, NY

50d•Onsite

About The Position

Essen Health Care is one of the fastest-growing, privately owned, multi-specialty medical groups in New York City, with a strong presence in the Bronx. With a mission centered on delivering compassionate, accessible, and high-quality care to underserved communities, Essen serves a diverse patient population through office, hospital, and home-based care. At Essen, our people are at the heart of what we do. We are seeking a passionate People & Culture Generalist with a specialty in employee integration to support our continued growth and commitment to a positive employee experience. Essen Healthcare is seeking a strategic and operationally strong Vice President of People & Culture Operations to lead all human resources functions across our Nursing Home division, House Calls program, and Health Home program. This executive leader will play a critical role in advancing organizational performance, driving workforce planning, and ensuring HR excellence across high-growth and high-complexity service lines. The VP of P&C will oversee end-to-end HR operations including employee relations, compliance, workforce planning, performance management, compensation alignment, onboarding, and operational HR support. This role requires a highly collaborative, process-driven leader who excels in building scalable HR systems, partnering with clinical and operational leaders, and navigating the complexities of a multi-site healthcare environment. This is a full-time, onsite leadership role based at our Seabury Avenue office in the Bronx.

Requirements

Masters degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, or related field required
10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including 5+ years in an executive or senior HR operations role.
Prior experience in healthcare HR is required; experience across nursing homes, home care, or ambulatory/home-based healthcare is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated success leading HR teams across multi-site or geographically dispersed environments.
Strong knowledge of healthcare labor laws, long-term care regulations, and home-based care compliance requirements.
Proven experience building scalable HR infrastructure, optimizing processes, and driving operational excellence.
Exceptional communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to influence leaders at all levels.
High sense of urgency and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven organization.

Responsibilities

Lead and continuously improve the onboarding experience for clinical and non-clinical new hires across Essen’s locations.
Ensure smooth transition from recruitment to day-one readiness, including coordination with hiring managers, credentialing, training, and IT.
Create a consistent and welcoming integration process that aligns with Essen’s culture, mission, and patient care standards.
Conduct onboarding sessions, check-ins, and surveys to assess new hire experience and identify opportunities for improvement.
Collaborate with Talent Acquisition, Training & Development, and Compliance teams to ensure alignment with licensure, regulatory, and organizational standards.
Support employee relations and engagement initiatives, especially during the critical first 90-180 days of employment.
Assist with compliance-related onboarding documentation and processes, including credential verification and policy acknowledgement.
Maintain and update employee records in the HRIS system, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality.
Support broader People & Culture functions including employee communications, recognition programs, surveys, and wellness initiatives.
Serve as a trusted point of contact for employees with questions about culture, benefits, or policy.
Provide executive oversight of HR operations for the Nursing Home, House Calls, and Health Home divisions, ensuring strong alignment with organizational goals and regulatory requirements.
Build and refine scalable HR processes, systems, and SOPs to support workforce efficiency, compliance, and operational growth.
Lead HR business partners and operational HR teams to ensure high-quality service delivery and timely support to all divisions.
Oversee HR analytics, workforce metrics, and staffing models to identify trends, forecast needs, and drive informed decision-making.
Partner with clinical and operational leaders to forecast staffing needs, streamline workforce allocation, and strengthen recruitment pipelines for clinical and administrative roles.
Enhance onboarding and retention strategies to support workforce stability across all three divisions.
Support leaders with performance management, talent development, succession planning, and coaching initiatives.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, particularly those governing nursing home and home-based care environments.
Lead and guide HR teams in managing employee relations, investigations, corrective actions, and ethical HR practices.
Collaborate with legal and compliance teams to maintain adherence to regulatory standards specific to long-term care and home-based programs.
Oversee compensation alignment and job leveling across divisions to ensure internal equity and competitive market positioning.
Review and refine policies, handbooks, and HR procedures to support consistency and operational excellence.
Partner with Finance to ensure workforce plans and budgets align with organizational priorities.
Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on HR operations, culture, workforce risks, and organizational health.
Work closely with Operations, Clinical Leadership, Training & Development, and Compliance to support a cohesive, high-performing workforce.
Lead change management initiatives and culture-building efforts to improve employee engagement and organizational cohesion.