Vice President, People

Montera • San Francisco, CA

1d • Remote

About The Position

Montera is seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President, People to lead our People function during an exciting period of growth. Reporting directly to executive leadership, this individual will serve as the company's senior HR leader and trusted advisor, responsible for building the people strategies, programs, and infrastructure that enable our business to scale. The Vice President, People will lead all aspects of Human Resources, including talent acquisition, total rewards, learning and development, employee relations, organizational development, performance management, HR operations, and compliance. This role is weighted toward enterprise strategy, executive counsel, and organizational design, while remaining close enough to execution to build what does not yet exist. The role will balance long-term strategic planning with hands-on execution, partnering closely with leaders across the business to foster a high-performing culture and exceptional employee experience. The ideal candidate is a seasoned executive and experienced builder who has built a People function from an early stage through rapid scale, thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments, and pairs strategic judgment with the operational know-how to create scalable people solutions while remaining engaged in the day-to-day needs of a lean, fast-moving business.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field.
• 18+ years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience, with at least 5 years as the most senior People leader in an organization.
• Direct experience in the data center industry: hyperscale, colocation, or mission-critical facilities, including familiarity with the workforce dynamics of construction, commissioning, and 24/7 site operations.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling People functions within high-growth, private equity-backed, or rapidly evolving organizations.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, leadership development, and change management.
• Strong knowledge of talent management, employee relations, total rewards, HR operations, and employment law.
• Proven ability to develop scalable HR programs, systems, and processes that support business growth.
• Experience leveraging HR technology and people analytics to drive informed business decisions.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills with the ability to build credibility across all levels of the organization.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance strategic leadership and operational execution.
• High degree of professionalism, discretion, sound judgment, and emotional intelligence.

Nice To Haves

• Additional experience within adjacent capital-intensive sectors: energy, utilities, engineering, or construction, and within private equity- or infrastructure fund-backed platforms.
• Experience within digital infrastructure, technology, engineering, construction, private equity-backed, or other high-growth organizations is strongly preferred.
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or comparable certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the enterprise people strategy, translating Montera's growth plan and capital deployment roadmap into workforce, organizational, and leadership priorities.
• Develop and execute Montera's people strategy in alignment with business objectives and long-term growth plans.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, leadership development, and employee engagement.
• Build scalable HR programs, policies, and operating processes that support a growing organization.
• Lead the people workstream for new site launches, market entries, and acquisitions, including local labor strategy and organizational readiness for multi-site operations.
• Lead organizational effectiveness, change management, succession planning, and talent development initiatives.
• Establish HR metrics and people analytics to support data-driven business decisions.
• Own Montera's talent acquisition strategy including hiring priorities, workforce plans, sourcing model, and headcount governance.
• Partner with the Head of Talent Acquisition to develop workforce planning strategies that support business growth.
• Set the standards and metrics for hiring speed, quality of hire, and candidate experience, and hold the function accountable to them.
• Ensure recruiting processes deliver exceptional candidate experiences while maintaining speed and quality.
• Own Montera's employer brand positioning in the data center talent market and approve recruiting technology, agency, and vendor investments.
• Support employer branding initiatives and evaluate recruiting technologies and best practices.
• Lead executive and site-leadership searches, including search firm selection, candidate assessment, and executive offer strategy.
• Design leadership development, onboarding, succession planning, and career development programs.
• Build performance management frameworks that promote accountability, growth, and continuous feedback.
• Identify organizational capability gaps and implement development initiatives.
• Lead Montera's total compensation strategy; compensation philosophy, job architecture and leveling, salary structures, incentive design, and long-term incentive planning.
• Oversee compensation, benefits, wellness programs, and leave administration.
• Partner with Finance and external vendors on compensation planning, merit and bonus cycles, job architecture, and total rewards spend.
• Ensure pay competitiveness across the specialized data center labor markets Montera hires in, including site operations, engineering, and construction roles.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations, including pay transparency and pay equity requirements.
• Define and steward Montera's culture as the company scales, ensuring the values hold consistently across a remote-first corporate team and 24/7 site operations.
• Champion Montera's culture and values.
• Own the employee experience and retention strategy, using engagement and attrition data to diagnose organizational health and drive targeted action with business leaders.
• Partner with leaders to strengthen engagement, retention, and organizational health.
• Oversee employee relations and workplace investigations, advising executives on sensitive matters and managing organizational and reputational risk in partnership with legal counsel.
• Coach executives and people managers on leadership effectiveness, difficult conversations, and team performance.
• Lead employee relations, coaching, investigations, and policy interpretation.
• Oversee HR systems, reporting, and people operations.
• Develop scalable HR governance, policies, and employee lifecycle processes.
• Ensure compliance while driving operational excellence.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: We pay 90% of health premiums for employees and their dependents.
• Generous Time Off: Up to 8 weeks of paid time off per year, which includes holidays, PTO, and sick time.
• Parental Leave: Up to 8 weeks of paid time off after 6 months of employment.
• Financial Security: 401(k) plan with immediate eligibility, no vesting requirement, and employer match contributions up to 6%.
• Learning & Development Reimbursement: Up to $3,500 reimbursed annually for approved courses, certifications, conferences and professional development opportunities.
• Extra Support: Remote work stipend to help you stay connected.

What This Job Offers

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