Vice President of People

Swift Navigation is hiring. Let us introduce ourselves. Swift is changing the way we navigate and understand the world. Swift’s precise positioning technology platform improves location accuracy from several meters to centimeter-level and is used by millions of devices across the globe. Swift’s technology is trusted by users across industries, enabling safer driving, improving efficiency for last-mile delivery and commercial transport operations, increasing accuracy for mobile devices and creating new possibilities for rail, robotics and machine control. That’s what we offer our customers and partners, but it’s the work we do together as a team that is the best part of our days. We collaborate—across the globe—to tackle problems, to pursue our mission and to make a real impact in the world. We are diverse, flexible, supportive and we believe our team is our most important asset and offer a host of benefits and programs to ensure that they know it.

Swift is seeking an experienced Vice President of People who will lead the people function at Swift Navigation, which has already grown to a 110-person company with a satellite office in Melbourne, Australia and employees located in Detroit, Europe and Asia. The opportunity calls for an experienced and passionate leader with 8+ years experience to work closely with the Executive and Senior Leadership teams. Reporting to the EVP of Marketing and People Ops, the VP of People is a critical position that is both strategic and tactical, will provide guidance and leadership, have a hand in driving in the next phase of growth at Swift and develop an environment where our team can thrive. This is an exceptional opportunity to help us recruit, develop and retain top talent as an emerging and transformative tech company.

Responsibilities

• (25%) - Day to Day Leadership
• Provide HR advising, executive coaching, insights and solutions to the Leadership Team to address business challenges and leader development. Provide expertise and oversight in: employee on-boarding, off-boarding and engagement, career development, performance management, coaching, compensation and rewards, employee relations, learning and development and company compliance.
• Establish trusted relationships with the Management Team to provide thought leadership regarding organization and people-related strategy and execution.
• Provide leadership and support as a trusted employee relations resource for all employees. Provide coaching, mentoring and development for team managers and prioritize staffing plans and strategies to meet team growth needs.
• Lead and oversee ongoing programming related to professional development, feedback cycles, mentorship and career growth for all employees. Partner with managers to drive culture forward and solidify our core values in everything we do.
• Provide strategic leadership on diversity and inclusion efforts.
• Partner with the Leadership Team to develop and design competitive local and global compensation structures including base compensation, incentive plans, equity and benefits.
• Maintain and communicate internal HR policies; manage the completion of employee related legal documents; stay on top of changing laws both local and national.
• Organize and execute regular team-building events and programs.
• Oversee Swift’s full cycle recruitment function including assisting hiring managers and the management team, partner with Swift’s internal and external recruiters, assist with candidate sourcing, oversee the onsite interview experience, reference checking, selection and offers. 
• Lead the development, communication and roll-out of HR policies and programs, as well as providing consultative guidance to both manager and employee inquiries.
• Collaborate with the CEO and Executive Team to develop and implement the company’s compensation and salary administration programs. Assist with company wage and salary structure, pay policies and assist CFO and Leaders with variable pay systems including bonuses and raises and equity rewards.
• Oversee benefits administration, including our TriNet PEO administration platform, provide information to effectively benchmark against other organizations to remain an employer of choice.

• (20%) - People Team Management
• Manage members of the People Operations department including Swift’s People Operations Specialist, office coordinator, senior technical recruiters, overseas external recruiters and executive administrative team members. Responsible for the performance management, mentoring and hiring of new employees within the People team.

• (20%) - Talent Acquisition Management
• Lead engagement with Swift’s full cycle internal recruiters and overseas hiring firms, participate in hiring new talent and ensure the Swift brand is well represented in its hiring practices.

• (15%) - Company-Wide Initiatives
• Manage company-wide HR programs and initiatives (e.g., compensation & benefit reviews, annual open enrollment, equity programs, workforce planning, training & development, retention strategies, diversity & inclusion initiatives, employee engagement surveys).  

• (10%) - Compensation
• Execute compensation and benefits programs to include annual salary review process, salary surveys and analysis, benefit programs and employee services/perks.

• (5%) - Compliance
• Partner with IT, Legal, Finance and Safety to ensure HR policies and practices comply with applicable laws, standards and best practices. Develop a scalable approach to People Operations in line with business needs, culture and values, including relevant programs addressing global programs, compliance and processes. Ensure we scale not only in a compliant way, but in a manner consistent with and mindful of our culture and values.

• (5%) - Data-Driven Decision Making
• Work with the Swift team and company leadership in creating and implementing contemporary, data-driven systems and policies that ground HR decision-making.

Required Skills/Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in HR or equivalent SHRM certifications.
• Excellent communication and strong organizational skills.
• 8+ years of experience as a VP/Director of People or People Operations Manager at another technology startup that grew to over 100 employees.
• 3+ years of experience managing other employees in operations, human resources or recruiting.
• Strong interpersonal skills - you are particularly adept at interacting with engineers.
• Past experience in recruiting - you know how to sell and close candidates. You understand the achievable metrics for a recruiting organization to thrive.
• You have developed a performance management process, standardized and rolled it out company-wide.
• Proven track record of mentorship to both individual contributors and management.
• You have seen the people function at a variety of organizations and you have your own organizational philosophy.
• In-depth knowledge of state, federal and applicable international employment laws and ideally SHRM certifications.
• You have set up an HRIS system and know how to implement it, administer it and roll it out.
• Organized. Truthful. Persistent. You get things done.

Perks

• Flexible vacation days, competitive salary and stock options, employer covered health insurance, 401(k), HSA.
• Stocked kitchen, company events and catered lunches, tech-talks, learning and development budget for every employee.
• Growth and learning opportunities from a startup environment include working closely with an international team of scientists, engineers, platform architects, programmers and professionals.

Swift Navigation is a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status or other defining characteristics.

Swift Navigation will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of SFPC Art.49