VP of Talent and People

We are hiring a VP of Talent & People for our client.

About the clie

ntA national art education franchise with 15+ schools, six new locations signed this year, and a pipeline built for a much larger network is hiring its most senior people leade

r. About This R

oleThis is a people-strategy seat, reporting directly to the CEO, at the moment it matters most: right before scale. The fundamentals are covered, a two-person team runs payroll, onboarding, and HR administration, and will report to you. What the company doesn't have is the executive who designs everything above that: workforce planning that stays ahead of expansion instead of chasing it, the talent architecture a franchise network needs to grow without breaking, and the People function that future HR and recruiting hires will be built in

to.You'll be a thought partner to the CEO and founder, and the owner of how this company hires, develops, and keeps people at every level, in every market it ente

Own: Talent Strategy for a Scaling Ne

• tworkDesign end-to-end recruitment playbooks for franchise schools: sourcing channels, job posting templates, structured screeners, interview guides, and audition-style teaching
• demosAdvise franchise owners on hiring practices and tools (ATS platforms, assessments such as Predictive Index) - you build the system; they make the
• hiresContinuously improve the playbook based on what's working across the ne
• ystemsBuild end-to-end recruitment playbooks franchise owners run themselves: sourcing, structured screeners, interview guides, audition-style teaching demos, and assessment tools (e.g., Predictive
• Index)Advise and enable franchisees on hiring - designing the system and guidelines while they make their own employment dec
• isionsEvolve the playbook into a signature strength of the franchise of

fering Talent Development & Internal M

• obilityCreate the pathway that turns high-potential part-time teachers (~250 part-timers network-wide, many promotable) into full-time
• leadersBuild leadership development for school-level directors and m
• anagersSource, adapt, and deploy training curriculum across the

network People Operations & Team Le

• adershipLead and grow the People team - starting with two direct reports, expanding as the company scales, with future HR and recruiting hires reportin
• g to youModernize operations: automate manual processes, close ADP gaps, and build people systems th
• at scaleOversee multi-state compliance, employee relations, and performance ma

nagement How We'll Measure Success (

• Year One)Improved retention across our sch
• ool teamsFaster time-to-hire at corporate and across the franchis
• e networkMore part-time team members promoted into full-t
• ime rolesA talent infrastructure the company can scale on - playbooks, pathways, and processes that run without you in
• the room

the room W

• ho You AreA proven people leader from a multi-unit, multi-location, or high-growth brand - you've lived the stage we'r
• e enteringA builder at heart: systems, playbooks, and programs you created are still run
• ning todayStrategic and hands‑on in equal measure - comfortable setting direction Monday and fixing an onboarding workfl
• ow TuesdayExtroverted and genuinely people-oriented, and rigorously analytical - you bring objective methods to a creative, artist-heavy
• workforceEnergized by ambiguity, ownership, and building a function from a strong foundation rather than inheriting a finish
• ed machineADP Workforce Now experience strongly

preferred Compensation &am

• base salaryPerformance bonus
• eligibilityEquity participation potential for the right long-term leader
• (years 2–3)Health, dental, and vision insurance; pa
• id time offHybrid schedule: 2 days per week in our Englewood and Montclair, NJ offices (with flexibility toward 1 day per week after onboarding for candidates based farther out), plus travel to school locations a few time
• s per monthDirect partnership with the CEO and founder at a defining moment in the compa