Vice President, People Operations

Memorial Health • Springfield, IL

4d

About The Position

The Vice President, People Operations is a strategic and operational executive leader responsible for designing, delivering, and continuously advancing a high-performing People Operations function across the Memorial Health enterprise. This role provides enterprise leadership for total rewards, colleague health and relations, childcare, HR shared service, HRIS and people analytics – ensuring Memorial Health’s workforce infrastructure enables organizational performance, clinical excellence and a differentiated colleague experience.
The VP serves as a key architect of Memorial Health’s workforce strategy, translating enterprise goals into scalable people systems, policies and programs that are equitable, compliant, data-driven and aligned with the organization’s mission, vision and values. This leader balances strategy with execution, driving operational excellence while advancing modernization, transparency and continuous improvement across the colleague life cycle. The VP will oversee strategic process, workflow and technology optimization across the colleague lifecycle, applying a continuous improvement mindset to drive measurable gains in efficiency and deliver a seamless, high
quality experience for both leaders and colleagues.
Bringing deep expertise in human capital strategy, workforce operations and analytics, the VP leads a multidisciplinary team of People Operations leaders and professionals. The role establishes clear goals, key performance indicators, and accountability frameworks that ensure operational effectiveness, financial stewardship, compliance and measurable outcomes in colleague engagement, retention, health and total rewards.
Embodies the Memorial Health System values of Safety, Integrity, Quality and Stewardship that support our mission, vision and goals.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in business administration, human resources or related field is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration or related field is required.
• Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent process improvement certification strongly preferred.
• Human centered design or equivalent change management certification strongly preferred.
• Continuing education in a minimum of two specialty areas, including but not limited to total rewards, workforce analytics, employee relations, HR operations, HR technology or healthcare labor regulations.
• Minimum of ten years of progressive experience in human resources, people operations or workforce strategy roles.
• Minimum of ten years of experience leading complex HR operational functions such as total rewards, employee relations, shared services, HRIS or workforce analytics.
• Minimum of five years of demonstrated executive or senior leadership experience required, preferably within a healthcare or similarly complex, regulated environment.
• Demonstrated leadership, team-building and performance management skills.
• Advanced knowledge of total rewards strategy, including compensation, benefits, incentive design, wellbeing and childcare programs.
• Demonstrated expertise in HR operations, shared services models and HRIS platforms, with a focus on scalability, automation and user experience.
• Strong understanding of employee and labor relations, compliance, policy governance and risk mitigation in healthcare environments.
• Demonstrated ability to gather, interpret and analyze workforce and operational data to drive evidence-based decisions and measurable outcomes.
• Proven ability to design and implement enterprise-wide people programs that balance colleague experience, operational efficiency and financial stewardship.
• Exceptional consultation, influencing and relationship-building skills with senior leaders, physicians and cross functional partners.
• Advanced written, verbal and presentation skills; ability to communicate complex information with clarity and credibility.
• Demonstrated proficiency with reporting, analytics and presentation tools utilizing Microsoft and HR technology platforms.
• Proven ability to lead through complexity, ambiguity and change while maintaining trust, transparency and accountability.
• Strong personal and professional commitment to Memorial Health System’s mission, vision, values and culture.

Nice To Haves

• Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent process improvement certification strongly preferred.
• Human centered design or equivalent change management certification strongly preferred.
• Continuing education in a minimum of two specialty areas, including but not limited to total rewards, workforce analytics, employee relations, HR operations, HR technology or healthcare labor regulations.

Responsibilities

• People Operations Strategy:• Partners closely with the CHRO and executive leadership to align People Operations strategy with Memorial Health’s enterprise strategic plan.• Designs and executes an integrated People Operations strategy that supports workforce sustainability, clinical excellence and organizational performance.• Serves as a strategic advisor to senior leaders on workforce trends, labor dynamics, operational risks and people investments.• Ensures people systems, policies and programs support physician alignment, leadership effectiveness and cultural priorities.• Leads end-to-end optimization of HR processes to improve efficiency, reduce waste, ensure compliance, and maximize colleague and leader experience.
• Total Rewards• Provides executive oversight of total rewards strategy, ensuring programs are competitive, equitable, transparent and financially responsible.• Partners with finance and leadership to align compensation and benefits investments with workforce and performance objectives.• Evaluates and evolves rewards programs using market data, analytics and colleague insights.
• HR Operations, Shared Services & Technology Enablement• Leads HR shared services, HRIS and operational delivery models to ensure efficient, consistent and high quality colleague support.• Partners closely with the VP, Talent and Culture to strengthen colleague and leadership support and elevate overall HR service delivery across the enterprise.• Oversees HR technology strategy, optimization and governance, ensuring systems enable accurate data, compliance and an intuitive colleague experience.• Drives standardization, automation and process improvement across People Operations to improve service levels and scalability.• Ensures data integrity, system security and regulatory compliance across HR platforms.
• People Analytics & Data-Driven Decision Making• Establishes a robust people analytics capability that delivers actionable insights on workforce trends, engagement, retention, performance and cost.• Develops dashboards, KPIs and reporting frameworks that support executive decision-making and operational accountability.• Uses predictive and descriptive analytics to inform workforce planning, risk mitigation and strategic investments.
• Colleague Health, Compliance & Relations • Provides executive leadership for colleague relations, ensuring fair, consistent and legally compliant practices.• Oversees policy development, interpretation and governance aligned with regulatory requirements and organizational values.• Partners with legal, compliance and operational leaders to proactively identify and manage workforce risks.• Champions respectful workplace practices and supports leaders in navigating complex employee situations.
• Team and Operational Leadership• Lead, mentor and develop a high performing marketing and communications team with clear roles, expectations and success metrics.• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement and engagement aligned with Memorial Health’s mission, vision and values.• Develop and oversee operating models, workflows and governance for intake, prioritization and execution of strategic and operational portfolio of work.• Manage budgets, resources and vendor partnerships ensuring efficient use of investments and talent, with clear ROI expectations for major initiatives

What This Job Offers

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