Vice President, People and Culture

National Equity Fund•Chicago, IL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF), a leading non-profit syndicator of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), is seeking a Vice President, People and Culture to conduct a wide range of new business initiatives. The LIHTC program is the most important resource available today for creating affordable housing in the United States. NEF uses its extensive experience, talent, and resources to create sustainable affordable housing. The Vice President, People & Culture is responsible for leading the organization’s talent and people strategy across full-cycle talent acquisition, performance and talent management, learning and leadership development, organizational development, and employee experience and engagement. This role leads and actively participates in recruiting efforts, partnering directly with hiring leaders to identify talent needs, source and assess candidates, and build strong talent pipelines, while also developing the organizational capabilities and leadership effectiveness needed to support the organization’s current and future priorities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive Human Resources experience, with demonstrated expertise in talent acquisition, talent management, learning and leadership development, employee engagement, and organizational culture.
Demonstrated ability to operate as both a strategic leader and hands-on practitioner, translating organizational priorities into actionable people strategies and programs.
Proven experience leading full-cycle recruitment across a variety of roles, including sourcing, candidate assessment, selection, and hiring manager partnership.
Experience designing and implementing performance management, leadership development, employee engagement, and talent development initiatives.
Strong coaching and consulting skills, with the ability to influence, advise, and build trusted relationships with leaders at all levels of the organization.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use workforce data and employee insights to identify trends, evaluate effectiveness, and recommend solutions.
Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Proactive and self-directed, with demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and effectively balance strategic leadership with hands-on execution.
Working knowledge of employment laws, regulations, and best practices related to talent acquisition and people management.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, LinkedIn Recruiter, and HRIS/applicant tracking systems; experience with Paycom preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a strategic talent acquisition approach aligned with organizational priorities, workforce needs, and long-term talent objectives.
Lead and actively participate in full-cycle recruitment, including position intake, sourcing, screening, interviewing, candidate assessment, selection, and offer strategy.
Partner closely with hiring leaders to understand current and future workforce needs, define position requirements, and develop effective recruitment strategies for open and anticipated positions.
Serve as a strategic talent advisor to hiring leaders, providing guidance on organizational needs, position design, candidate profiles, selection decisions, and competitive talent-market considerations.
Develop and maintain proactive talent pipelines for critical and difficult-to-fill positions to strengthen the organization’s ability to respond to future workforce needs.
Ensure recruitment and selection practices are consistent, equitable, inclusive, and aligned with organizational values and employment requirements.
Partner with the People & Culture Manager to continuously strengthen the new-hire experience, including orientation, cultural integration, manager readiness, and early employee engagement.
Establish and monitor talent acquisition metrics, including time-to-fill, quality of hire, candidate experience, source effectiveness, and other workforce trends to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Manage relationships with external recruiting partners, staffing agencies, and other talent resources as needed, including temporary staffing and specialized searches.
Develop and execute a comprehensive learning and leadership development strategy aligned with organizational priorities, workforce capabilities, and evolving business needs.
Partner with organizational leaders to assess current and future capability needs, identify skill and performance gaps, and establish learning priorities that strengthen individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.
Design and lead a structured leadership development framework that builds the capabilities of current, new, and emerging leaders in areas such as people leadership, performance management, strategic thinking, communication, change leadership, and organizational culture.
Partner with leaders and the Head of Human Resources to identify high-potential talent and develop individualized development plans and experiences that strengthen internal talent pipelines and support succession planning for critical roles.
Establish measures to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of learning and leadership development initiatives using participation, employee and leader feedback, skill development, performance outcomes, and other relevant measures; use insights to continuously evolve programming.
Provide coaching and guidance to leaders and managers to strengthen people-management capabilities and reinforce the application of learning in day-to-day leadership practices.
Develop and advance strategies that strengthen employee engagement, belonging, connection, and retention while reinforcing NEF’s mission, values, and culture.
Serve as a strategic advisor to leaders on inclusive leadership, employee engagement, team effectiveness, and equitable workplace practices.
Lead employee listening efforts, including engagement surveys, pulse surveys, and other feedback channels; translate insights into meaningful action plans and recommendations.
Analyze engagement, retention, turnover, and employee feedback trends to identify opportunities to strengthen the employee experience and organizational effectiveness.
Provide strategic direction for initiatives that promote recognition, cultural awareness, inclusion, belonging, and connection across the organization.
Evaluate the effectiveness of employee experience and engagement initiatives and share key insights and recommendations with the Head of Human Resources and organizational leaders.
Oversee the employee exit experience and leverage exit and turnover insights to inform retention, talent, and culture strategies.