VP of People

About Pursuit

Our mission is to create economic transformation. By training low-income adults to launch & advance careers as software engineers, we help our Fellows earn from eighteen thousand dollars a year to over ninety thousand starting salary on average, adding an estimated $2M in lifetime earnings. Pursuit partners with leading companies like Blackstone, USV, Citi, Peloton, & Uber to employ Fellows in career-defining engineering roles & supports them with on-the-job training to ensure potential translates to performance. Since 2013, Pursuit has created ~$1B in total lifetime wage gains, creating lasting economic mobility that spans generations. 

Pursuits proven solution is built on two interconnected components: training (which includes community development, Core pre-job training, & Commit on-the-job training) & a financial product (known as Bond). However, growing training alone will not meet the magnitude of need nor solve new societal challenges ahead. The typical expectation is to expand our training to other cities, but this will not come anywhere close to creating good jobs for millions of low-income Americans. Instead, our strategy for scaled impact is to evolve our financial product & create tools for other organizations, jobs, & places. We believe that this will not only create good jobs for millions of low-income Americans but will also generate a new trillion-dollar market directly tied to results in the long term.

We are One Big Team

The passionate & collaborative team at Pursuit gives its all to achieve our mission. And its not just staff. We work with employer partners that love hiring our Fellows because they are so well prepared, ranging from big financial firms to scrappy startups, & everything in between. We also activate & engage hundreds of volunteers who come from all areas of the tech industry. These experts & professionals help keep our curriculum fresh & our standards for achievement high by participating in our admissions process, as well as program-specific activities such as interview training, Demo Days, Hackathons, & Capstone projects. Please be sure to review our company values, posted on our website, which will help provide further context on additional concepts that impact how we work here at Pursuit. 

About the Role

As Pursuits first VP of People, you will help shape & enable Pursuits values-driven & innovative startup culture, driving learning & growth across our staff. As part of Pursuits Senior Leadership Team, youll work closely with the COO, CFO, & General Counsel to develop & implement strategy, policies, & processes around compensation, HR compliance, performance management, & talent development. This is a fantastic opportunity for a mission-driven people leader to have a direct impact on Pursuits growth & culture & enable our mission of economic transformation.

As a VP of People you will: 

• Work with the Senior Leadership Team to define the vision for Pursuit culture, & own communication & ongoing training regarding our principles, values, & culture across the organization
• Own end-to-end employee experience & touchpoints, from onboarding through employee exit management, including all-staff internal communications, training, & professional development
• Manage personnel policies & procedures, including performance management, compensation approach, annual review process, goal setting, & implementation of performance improvement plans
• Manage Talent Manager & help develop hiring, recruitment, & onboarding strategy
• Support department managers in carrying out their responsibilities pertaining to personnel & recruitment matters
• Maintain responsibility for compliance with federal, state, & local legislation pertaining to all personnel matters, interface with legal, & develop materials including employee handbook

About you

• You are excited about Pursuits mission & have a strong alignment with Pursuits values
• You are a strategic & analytical thinker with strong communication skills
• You have an entrepreneurial mindset & are willing to be scrappy & roll up your sleeves & get the job done during a period of rapid growth, scrappy
• You have experience working in HR at various companies, ideally at tech companies or companies with 2-sided marketplaces 

What you need to be considered for VP of People role: 

• A minimum of 7-9 years of HR leadership experience, 10-12 years of experience overall in progressively more responsible HR positions, preferably in the tech industry
• Experience in leading HR/people operations in a leadership role 
• Broad HR experience in recruitment, benefits administration, compensation, & professional development
• Previous experience working with senior-level executives ability to work comfortably with executives & juggle multiple viewpoints & priorities
• Experience in change management internal communications & training
• Experience driving & managing company values & culture

Where youll work: 

• Hybrid/Long Island City, NY 
• Staff will be working on-site in our Long Island City Office 2 days/week 

Compensation:

$150,000-$200,000 as a base salary. In addition, this role will participate in our standard annual performance bonus incentive program. 

The range above is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles, & recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Pursuit offers: 

• Great culture where transparency, respect, teamwork, & kindness are valued
• Competitive compensation in base, plus bonus & a full benefits package
• Unlimited PTO & an all-Pursuit week-long holiday the last week of December

Pursuit values diversity: 

Our team has a wide range of backgrounds & experiences, & we value the richness that diversity brings to our organization. We welcome new perspectives & affirm that all employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal opportunity employer.