VP Human Resources | Cherokee Federal

Cherokee Nation Businesses•Tulsa, OK

About The Position

Cherokee Federal is seeking a Vice President of Human Resources to serve as a key member of the senior leadership team. This role will have direct influence across the C-suite and a voice in people decisions that shape the business. The VP of HR will be both a strategic architect and a hands-on operator, building the HR infrastructure, processes, and team needed to support a complex, multi-entity government contracting enterprise. This is a high-visibility role for a leader who wants to make a real impact at an organization with a compelling mission and a strong global footprint rooted in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 5 years in a senior HR leadership role.
Background in professional services, consulting, staffing, technology services, engineering, or a related project- or contract-delivery environment strongly preferred.
Demonstrated track record of building HR functions and teams in a scaling or growth-stage organization.
Experience in M&A, with the ability to integrate teams, align cultures, and build organizational resilience.
Proven success building and leading talent acquisition functions across a distributed, high-growth workforce — with the ability to attract specialized talent in competitive markets.
Working knowledge of federal contractor HR compliance (FAR, SCA, OFCCP) is a meaningful plus — but not a barrier to entry for strong candidates from adjacent industries.
Hands-on experience with Oracle HCM or similar HRIS — optimizing, refining, and managing the system to support a complex, growing workforce.
Strong command of federal and multi-state employment law and HR compliance best practices.
Proven ability to partner with and influence at the C-suite level — a collaborative style with a bias toward action.
Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification preferred.
Master’s in HR, Business, or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Build, mentor, and grow the HR team to scale with the business.
Establish clear roles, career paths, and a culture of accountability and continuous development within the function.
Build and operate a scalable, data-driven talent acquisition and engagement engine aligned to business development, capture, and contract demand.
Develop forward-looking pipelines in cleared and mission-critical skill areas, leveraging digital channels, employer brand, and proactive outreach to attract and convert high-quality candidates.
Create a competitive advantage through speed, access, and sustained engagement with talent pools across a globally distributed workforce.
Champion a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance culture.
Design and lead a modern employee experience strategy that leverages HR technology, data, and feedback loops to drive engagement, retention, and performance.
Create a seamless employee lifecycle from onboarding through development — using systems and insights to proactively identify risks, improve satisfaction, and strengthen connection to mission and organization.
Ensure HR practices align with federal, state, and local employment law, with working knowledge of applicable labor compliance requirements including SCA and federal contractor obligations.
Lead the evolution of Oracle HRIS into a strategic workforce platform — enabling real-time visibility into talent, predictive workforce planning, automation of HR processes, and data-driven decision-making across the enterprise.
Drive adoption of HR technology to enhance employee lifecycle experience, engagement, and operational efficiency.
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, succession planning, and the people strategy required to successfully integrate acquisitions and new business onboarding.
Design and implement the company’s people strategy in alignment with business growth, new contract awards, and headcount expansion.
Lead HR integration efforts related to mergers, acquisitions, and new business onboarding — aligning cultures, harmonizing policies, and ensuring a seamless employee experience through organizational change.
Drive full-cycle talent acquisition across professional, technical, program, and corporate functions — building pipelines across all markets where Cherokee Federal operates globally.
Partner with Marketing to activate a digital employer brand and candidate engagement strategy.
Build and maintain compliant HR policies, an employee handbook, and operating procedures consistent with federal, state, and local employment law across all jurisdictions where Cherokee Federal operates.
Oversee benefits administration, total rewards philosophy, and annual compensation review cycles benchmarked to regional and industry norms.
Manage the full performance management lifecycle — goal-setting, mid-year check-ins, year-end calibrations, and performance improvement processes.
Partner with operations and program leadership to ensure right-size staffing across the enterprise, including labor category alignment where applicable.
Lead employee relations matters — investigations, conflict resolution, and disciplinary processes — with consistency, fairness, and legal rigor.
Collaborate with legal counsel on employment matters as needed.
Report HR metrics to the executive team — headcount trends, attrition, time-to-fill, engagement results, and compliance posture.