Vice President, People eXperience, West Coast

Sony Music Global•Los Angeles, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Vice President, People Experience (PX) Business Partner, West Coast owns the strategy, leadership and delivery of the PX agenda for Sony Music Entertainment's West Coast business units, supporting approximately 350+ employees across labels and corporate teams in the Los Angeles office. This role serves as the senior PX voice in the market, acting as a trusted partner to the CEO, COO, and label/BU Presidents. The position involves translating business plans into best-in-class employee experiences across the full employee journey. It is a strategic and delivery-focused role, requiring partnership with Americas and Global PX leadership to set direction and leadership of a team of two to three PX Business Partners for execution. The role is part of the PX Americas leadership team, contributing to the vision of being a people-centric company that transforms the music industry.

Requirements

10+ years in HR / People function
5+ years as a senior HR business partner to C-suite or equivalent executives
Experience leading and developing a team of HR/PX professionals, including a global distributed or matrixed team
Demonstrated success coaching senior executives as a trusted partner
Ability to shape, challenge, anticipate needs, speak in business outcomes, and influence at the top table
Track record driving transformative change across culture, organization, and business
Proven experience in creative, global, matrixed organizations, moving fluidly between creative communities and corporate cultures
Ability to pivot between strategic solutions and executional delivery as the environment and priorities shift
Experience in handling complex, high-stakes people matters and difficult messages with integrity, confidentiality, and empathy
Ability to hold the whole organization in view while adapting to local needs and nuance

Nice To Haves

Experience in music, entertainment, or another creator- or talent-driven industry
Experience supporting artist-centric or creative teams across different cultures and time zones
Experience leading global distributed teams
Bilingual in Spanish
Exposure to M&A due diligence and integration

Responsibilities

Serve as day-to-day PX partner and trusted advisor to the CEO, COO, and Presidents, overseeing the wider employee experience delivered through the team.
Set market priorities with leaders, anchored in business plans and annual culture surveys, and translate them into a clear PX plan across the employee journey.
Build durable, strong, and candid relationships with local leadership and employees, balancing strategic counsel with hands-on support.
Drive operational improvement in systems, processes, new technology, ways of working, workflow integration, workforce planning, and staffing models, in partnership with the wider Americas PX team and Business Leaders.
Provide oversight and judgment on employee relations matters with the People Relations team, owning the leadership-facing dimension of sensitive issues.
Lead with data, analytics, and financials to build the business case for change, including quarterly people-data and insight reviews with leadership teams.
Contribute to M&A activity through PX due diligence and cultural and systems integration.
Lead the annual compensation planning and review cycle for supported business units.
Partner on the annual Business Planning process, setting people priorities that enable the strategic plan.
Drive weekly people planning and executive updates on headcount, open roles, employee contracts, and people shifts.
Partner with PX COEs and local PX partners across the full employee lifecycle, from hiring to exit, including the intern and early career experience for LA offices.
Oversee the onboarding experience of all new hires.
Own the annual employee engagement survey process, from planning and communications through analysis and action planning.
Lead and role-model a strong, label- and business-specific culture through the Global People Promise and Values.
Drive organizational change and transformation, guiding leaders and employees through the change curve.
Build deep commercial and industry acumen and adapt PX practices to enable a creator-first approach.
Advance diversity, accessibility, and inclusion at every level.
Champion The Learning Collective and continuous growth for leaders, LA-based employees, the team, and oneself.
Deliver for the LA office by working with various departments to ensure a strong experience for everyone based there.
Raise engagement by owning employee engagement initiatives that lift performance and satisfaction.
Advance inclusion by developing and delivering strategies for diversity, accessibility, and inclusion.
Lead, coach, and develop the team of 2-3 PX Business Partners, setting clear goals and holding a high bar.
Partner and collaborate with local PXBP leads in different markets across the US and globally.
Partner with the COEs across Talent Acquisition, People Operations, People Relations, Total Rewards, The Learning Collective, Organization Success, D&I, PX Branding & Projects, and Communications.
Contribute to a highly collaborative US PXBP, Americas, and Global PX team on cross-functional and global projects and initiatives.
Ensure compliance with local employment law, data-privacy standards, and relevant policies, with particular attention to California requirements.