Vice President, Global People Operations
Location: USA (any state) Reports to: President & COO Team: ~20 globally About Athena Athena is a 4,000-employee, multi-country organization generating approximately $100M in annual revenue and continuing to grow. As we’ve scaled, our people systems and processes have not kept pace with our global footprint. Historically, HR ownership was distributed across multiple executives — payroll and compensation under Finance, talent processes under Operations, and HR systems under Technology. We are now consolidating People Operations under a single leader to modernize our infrastructure, unify governance, and build a scalable employee lifecycle experience. This is a rare opportunity to step into VP-level scope and architect a global People Operations function at scale. The Opportunity We are seeking a high-impact, systems-oriented People leader — likely at the Director or Senior Director level today — who is ready to step into enterprise VP scope. You will lead a global team of approximately 20 and own the operational backbone of the employee lifecycle across multiple countries. This role does not oversee Talent Acquisition or Learning & Development. Instead, it focuses on:
- People Operations strategy & governance
- Compensation and organizational design infrastructure
- Workforce planning and analytics
- HR systems (including WorkDay optimization)
- Global process standardization
- End-to-end employee lifecycle execution
If you are energized by building structure, modernizing systems, and scaling operational excellence — this role is for you.
What You Will Do
Lead Global People Operations
- Consolidate and unify People Operations under a clear model
- Define KPIs, dashboards, and executive reporting
- Establish governance, standards, and accountability across regions
- Lead and develop a 25-person global team located primarily in the Philippines, Kenya, and Guatemala
Modernize Infrastructure
- Optimize and expand WorkDay adoption
- Ensure clean data architecture and reporting rigor
- Identify automation opportunities and eliminate inefficiencies
- Build scalable, repeatable processes
Elevate Compensation & Org Design
- Standardize global leveling frameworks
- Renovate compensation structures and pay architecture
- Improve span-of-control discipline and org modeling
- Partner with Finance on workforce planning alignment
Strengthen the Employee Lifecycle
- Redesign onboarding and offboarding processes
- Standardize performance management governance
- Institutionalize succession planning infrastructure
- Lead engagement measurement and action planning
- Ensure consistent employee experience across countries
What Success Looks Like (First 18 Months)
- A unified and clearly defined global People Operations model
- Stabilized and optimized WorkDay ecosystem
- Standardized compensation and leveling architecture
- Embedded workforce planning discipline
- Clear, measurable People Operations KPIs
- Improved operational efficiency and employee experience metrics
What We’re Looking For Experience
- 10–15+ years progressive HR / People Operations leadership
- Currently Director or Senior Director (or equivalent) in a global organization
- Experience leading HR Operations, Total Rewards, or People Infrastructure
- Direct experience with enterprise HRIS implementation (WorkDay preferred)
- Compensation architecture and org design exposure
- Experience managing multi-country processes
Capabilities
- Systems thinker who builds scalable infrastructure
- Strong financial and workforce planning acumen
- Data-driven and analytically rigorous
- Experienced people leader comfortable managing distributed teams
- Strong cross-functional partner with Finance and Technology
- Builder mindset — comfortable operating in evolving environments
Why This Role Is Compelling
- True VP scope with enterprise visibility
- Lead a global team of ~20
- Opportunity to build — not inherit — a mature system
- Direct exposure to executive leadership
- Chance to modernize People Operations for a 4,000-person organization
This is an opportunity to move from functional leadership into enterprise impact. If you are ready to step into VP-level responsibility and build something enduring, we would love to meet you.