Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, in the digital age, and that government at all levels can and should work well for all people. For more than a decade, we’ve worked to show that with the mindful use of technology, we can break down barriers, meet community needs, and find real solutions.

Code for America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, social impact organization that works shoulder to shoulder with governments to build digital tools and services, change policies, and improve programs that alleviate poverty and advance equity.

Code for America seeks to fundamentally change the way people interact with government by changing the systems that underpin it and showing what’s possible when communities are included in all aspects of policy design and implementation. Our current programs are:

• Safety Net: Partnering with 15 states across the country to unlock $30B in benefits for 13 million people.
• Tax Benefits: Working with federal and state governments to improve, simplify, and modernize the process of tax filing.
• Criminal Justice: Assisting federal and state legislators and administrators to develop and implement automatic record clearance policy, like Clean Slate Initiatives, that have passed across the country.
• Local Initiatives: Managing a fellowship program that works with city and county governments on specific projects related to housing/homelessness.

At Code for America, you contribute to exciting work while learning and developing in a supportive, flexible, and matrixed environment. Our compensation and benefits are holistic and thoughtfully curated to represent our employees and our mission.

Code for America is looking for a talented Vice President of People & Culture to lead our HR efforts. This role will be a member of the org-wide leadership team and currently reports to the Chief of Finance.

Important note: Code for America reached a voluntary recognition agreement with Code for America Workers United, affiliated with OPEIU (Office Professional Employees International Union, Local 1010), effective on October 22, 2021. We are currently engaged in negotiations towards our first collective bargaining agreement.

About the Role:

Code for America has significantly scaled its impact over the last 3 years, growing from fewer than 80 staff members to over 200 today. The organization has also transitioned from being based in the Bay Area and meeting in person to being remote-first, with employees spread out across 25 different states. The Vice President of People & Culture will serve as a critical senior leader charged with leading all human resources functions, including culture/employee experience and engagement, hiring and recruiting, training and performance management, compensation and benefits administration, and employment law and labor relations. This role will lead the efforts to cultivate and maintain CfA’s unique culture in a distributed and primarily remote work environment, by operationalizing a positive, inclusive culture.

Reporting directly to the CFO and actively engaged in the org-wide leadership team, the VP of People & Culture will help translate Code for America’s strategic vision into a sound people plan that fosters a positive and inclusive culture. The VP of People & Culture will directly manage a team of 2-3 direct reports, and an overall team of approximately 10 - 12. The VP of People & Culture will play a critical role in evaluating, improving and at times implementing organization-wide initiatives and systems to support Code for America’s work. The VP of People & Culture role is an exciting opportunity for a people operations guru who thrives in organizations that are constantly adapting to people’s needs and that have a deep commitment to the mission of creating a government by the people, for the people, in the digital age.

You will be responsible for:

Team Leadership and Strategic Planning (30%)

• Promote and serve Code For America’s values with a deep commitment to holding themselves (and others at the organization) accountable to our mission and those we serve.
• Lead CfA’s efforts to formalize practices and systems that promote a positive, connected employee experience in a remote-first environment.
• Establish effective objectives and key results (OKRs) for the human resources and recruiting teams while regularly evaluating, tracking and managing progress to goals.
• Participate in setting the strategic vision and implementation of contract negotiation objectives, resulting from a collective bargaining agreement (CBAs) that supports operational and culture goals.

Culture, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (25%)

• Oversee org-wide efforts to maintain and continue to build a positive, inclusive culture with a focus on meaningful connectivity and a strong commitment to our mission.
• Support the creation and ongoing improvement of Code for America’s equity framework with the intention of ensuring Code for America stays true to its commitments including the development, refinement and tracking of metrics related to Code for America’s equity goals.
• Serve as a leadership voice reporting on DEI goals to internal and external audiences.

Human Resources Management (20%)

• Build, implement, improve and maintain systems and processes to support Code for America’s human resources and recruiting infrastructure. Ensure that our People systems and processes evolve along with the organization’s evolving remote work environment.
• Set the vision for and track and monitor key human resources and recruiting metrics.
• Provide practical advice on sensitive issues including, but not limited to, investigations, performance management, conflict management, and interpretation of policies or CBA language.

Union Establishment and Implementation (20%)

• Contribute to union contract negotiations as the People expert with the focus on fairness, transparency, and respect.
• Develop an org-wide plan for implementing a first-ever CBA agreement identifying and establishing needed frameworks, resources, and training to support a new, unionized environment.
• Hold the lead management relationship for labor-relations by proactively building trust and working collaboratively with OPEIU and union representatives.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

• Given the recent growth and collaborative teaming style, there are often shorter term duties assigned to senior leadership members.
  

About you:

The position is a perfect fit for a senior people operations leader who is excited about establishing and implementing a positive, innovative working environment with a collaborative learning mindset, a focus on DEI, and a passion for employee experience.

• 10+ years of work experience in human resources / people operations, including a minimum of five years of senior management experience, ideally in an innovative / tech-based environment with a distributed workforce
• Experience operationalizing a strategic plan into tactical implementation; even better if you’ve previously operated in a unionized environment
• High degree of emotional intelligence with the ability to build trust and buy in-from a wide array of stakeholders; including during CBA/union negotiations
• Exceptional people and operations skills; ability to establish and identify opportunities for process and systems improvement in order to maximize efficiency and deliver high-quality results across an organization
• Experience managing highly effective teams across a variety of engagements and ensuring opportunities for cross functional collaboration
• An unwavering belief that people are the core to any mission-driven organization and that strong operations foster the ability to manage through complex, challenging issues
• Possesses strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to organize and interpret data, generate insights, and anticipate challenges and opportunities
• Enjoys the challenge of operating within ambiguity and driving to clarity wherever possible
• Deep commitment to Code for America’s mission, ethos, and values is an absolute must
  

It’s a bonus if you have:

• Lived experience within any of our impact areas (Criminal Justice, Tax Benefits, Safety Net)
• Experience in non-profit, tech, government, non-profit tech, or civic-tech work environments
  
  

What you’ll get

Salary:

Code for America’s salary bands are transparent internally as a part of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are happy to extend this transparency during the recruitment process. As a part of our equitable hiring practices, we aim to target the midpoint of the 2nd quartile of the range for all new hires.

The targets for this role are dependent on the market/geographic location. The targets for this role range from $157,250 to $192,500.

Benefits and perks:

• Values:
  • Leadership and teammates who value Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (DE&I)
  • A collaborative, cross-functional, hardworking and fun environment
• Medical & Retirement:
  • Full benefits package with 100% coverage towards select medical, dental and vision plans and contributes 80% of the cost towards dependent and family coverage
  • 401k plan with matching funds up to 3%
• Professional development:
  • Bi annual 360 review process alongside compensation reviews
  • $1000 annual (per calendar year) stipend towards professional development
  • A manager and org-wide structure that supports and enables professional development
• Flexible Time:
  • Unlimited Paid Time Off policy
  • Flexible working hours- we aim to hold all internal meetings between 10 AM - 3 PM PT
  • CfA employees may work remotely across the US
    • CfA employees may not work remotely outside of the US at anytime during their employment
• Employee enablement support:
  • $200 stipend in first paycheck for remote environment setup
  • Additional equipment reimbursement of up to $500 for remote enablement
  • Cell phone and/or internet reimbursement of $50 per month

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Code for America values a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. Code for America is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.