Chief People Officer (Finance)
Woodard & Curran is a national engineering, science, and operations firm with a simple vision for clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities, and happy people. As an employee-owned company, we strive to cultivate teams that encourage collaboration in an inclusive culture. We seek talented individuals from all backgrounds to help us address a broad range of water and environmental issues. We prioritize our people, offering opportunities for professional growth, ownership, and flexibility. This commitment enables us to make a meaningful impact on our clients, communities, and the planet.
Lead Our Team as Chief People Officer (CPO)!
Are you a visionary HR leader ready to shape the future of a growing, mission-driven organization? As our Chief People Officer, you'll be at the heart of our strategy-leading with empathy, driving transformation, and building a people-first culture that empowers every employee to thrive.
This is a high-impact, executive-level role that partners directly with the CEO and Board to align our people strategy with our organizational goals. You'll lead a talented HR team and oversee every aspect of the employee experience-from recruitment and development to engagement and retention.
Location: Open
Who We Are Looking For:
You're a strategic thinker and a compassionate leader. You bring deep experience in HR and organizational development, and you know how to balance vision with execution. You're energized by complexity, driven by outcomes, and passionate about building inclusive, high-performing teams.
If you're ready to lead with purpose and help shape a culture where people feel valued, supported, and inspired-this is the opportunity for you!
What will you be doing?
Step into a transformative leadership role as our Chief People Officer and help shape the future of our organization. You'll be a strategic partner to the CEO and Board, guiding a people-first approach that balances empathy with business acumen. In this role, you'll lead a high-performing HR team and drive initiatives that elevate our employee experience, strengthen our culture, and support our long-term growth.
Here's how you'll make an impact:
Step into a transformative leadership role as our Chief People Officer and help shape the future of our organization. You'll be a strategic partner to the CEO and Board, guiding a people-first approach that balances empathy with business acumen. In this role, you'll lead a high-performing HR team and drive initiatives that elevate our employee experience, strengthen our culture, and support our long-term growth.
Here's how you'll make an impact:
•Drive Strategic Vision & Execution: Set and execute a comprehensive strategy for learning and development, succession planning, and organizational development. You'll be a broad, high-level thinker who can structure and direct teams to deliver results.
•Foster a Culture of Ownership and Trust: Leverage your experience in employee-owned environments to build trust, influence change, and navigate complexity. Your communication skills and structured approach will help unify teams and align leadership.
•Shape Organizational Learning: Lead and collaborate on a unified and cohesive framework that streamlines vision and execution that includes leadership development, technical training needs and soft skills. You'll also continue to enhance our future succession planning.
•Lead Core HR Functions with Excellence: Oversee benefits, compensation, compliance, and talent management with precision and care. Your ability to balance people-centric decisions with business needs will be key-especially in a competitive landscape that includes PE-backed firms.
•Integrate Health & Safety into People Strategy: While prior experience in health and safety is not required, you'll play a key role in ensuring H&S is thoughtfully embedded into our broader people strategy. Whether you're bringing direct H&S expertise or collaborating with internal leaders, you'll help foster a culture of safety, well-being, and accountability across the organization.
This is a unique opportunity to lead with purpose, inspire change, and build a legacy of excellence in a values-driven organization.
This is a unique opportunity to lead with purpose, inspire change, and build a legacy of excellence in a values-driven organization.
What you need to succeed:
We're looking for a seasoned, strategic HR leader who brings both depth and breadth of experience to the role. Here's what will set you up for success:
•Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree or HR certifications (PHR/SPHR) preferred.
•20+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including cross-functional and enterprise-wide initiatives.
•Proven success in professional services firms of similar or larger size.
•Strong foundation in core HR functions: benefits, compensation, compliance, and talent management.
•Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, structure teams, and drive strategic execution.
•Experience with employee ownership structures is highly valued.
•Perspective from PE-backed environments may be advantageous, given our competitive landscape.
•Exceptional communication and trust-building skills, with the ability to influence, align, and navigate across leadership levels.
•Highly structured and analytical, with a client-service mindset and a passion for continuous improvement.
•Willingness to travel approximately 15-25% of the time.
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$275,000 - $435,000 a year
Salary Range: Commensurate with experience and candidate location.
Location A: $277,000 - $340,000
Location B: $305,000 - $375,500
Location C: $335,000 - $435,000
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Employee Support & Benefits
Retirement Savings:
• 401(k) Pre-tax or Roth Contributions: The company matches 100% of the first 3% of salary contributed
Time away from work:
• Observed holidays: Choose up to 9 holidays to observe annually
• Vacation: Accrued based on years of experience and calculated on hours worked
• Sick time: Paid sick time for non-work related illness or injury.
• Parental leave: Up to 80 hours of Paid Parental Leave for child bonding
Coverage and support for your needs and well-being:
• Disability: Paid short and long term disability
• Health: Medical plan options; plus dental and vision plans.
• Life: Basic employee group life insurance and AD&D benefits; additional voluntary life insurance for employees and families is available through Sun Life.
• Wellbeing: DarioMind assistance program combined with personalized mental health and wellbeing resources.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Woodard & Curran is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Individuals with Disabilities and Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply. We are committed to ensuring our employment practices are non-discriminatory and based solely on job-related factors.
If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to apply, please contact Beth Sweitzer .
Inclusion & Belonging
We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to apply, as we believe that different perspectives and experiences enrich our workplace and enhance our ability to serve our clients and communities effectively.
At Woodard & Curran, we are committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive work environment. We understand that the best solutions for our clients and communities come from a culture that nurtures the success and growth of all employees. As an employee-owned organization, our dedication to fostering growth, access and opportunity empowers us to serve our clients effectively and advance our mission of making a positive impact on the world. Our success is rooted in supporting our team members to reach their full potential, enabling us to deliver the most innovative, sound and effective solutions to improve our communities around us.
Non-Solicitation Disclosure:
Please be advised that we do not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from recruitment agencies. Any resumes or candidate profiles submitted without a signed contract in place will be considered unsolicited and will not be eligible for any referral fees. Recruitment agencies must have a valid, signed agreement with our company prior to following the submission process to consider potential candidates.
