Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)

Covenant House Texas

Houston, Texas

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Member of Executive Leadership Team

Position Summary

The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) will serve as the executive leader responsible for building and overseeing a comprehensive, enterprise-level human resources strategy that supports Covenant House Texas’ mission, growth objectives, and operational excellence.

The CHRO ensures organizational integrity through disciplined workforce planning, regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, leadership development, performance management systems, and compensation strategy.

This role is responsible for architecting scalable HR infrastructure to support a $50MM+ nonprofit organization serving youth experiencing homelessness in a trauma-informed, highly regulated environment.

Executive Responsibilities

• Enterprise Workforce Strategy:
• Develop and implement a 3–5-year workforce plan aligned with revenue and program growth.
• Create a clear talent map using the 9-box or talent matrix for all senior leaders.
• Design scalable organizational structures.
• Lead succession planning across executive and senior leadership roles.
• Align staffing models with financial projections and program capacity.
• Compliance & Risk Management (Primary Function):
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws.
• Oversee audits, investigations, and employee relations matters.
• Maintain updated HR policies and employee handbook.
• Mitigate legal and reputational risk.
• Partner with external legal counsel as needed.
• Performance Management & Accountability Systems:
• Implement structured performance management framework.
• Establish measurable KPIs by department.
• Train managers in documentation, corrective action, and coaching
• Build systems that reinforce accountability and clarity of expectations.
• Compensation & Benefits Architecture:
• Conduct compensation benchmarking (nonprofit, housing, healthcare sectors)
• Design equitable salary bands and pay philosophy.
• Oversee benefits strategy and vendor relationships.
• Align compensation with retention and performance goals.
• Talent Acquisition & Workforce Stability:
• Oversee recruitment strategy for clinical, programmatic, and administrative roles.
• Reduce time-to-fill and improve retention in high-impact positions.
• Strengthen onboarding and orientation processes.
• Develop workforce stability metrics.
• Leadership & Management Development:
• Create supervisory training standards.
• Develop leadership competency framework.
• Support executive team development.
• Strengthen internal promotion and succession pathways.
• HR Operations & Systems:
• Oversee HRIS and data integrity.
• Develop workforce analytics dashboard.
• Modernize HR processes for efficiency and transparency.
• Manage HR team structure and budget.
• Process bi-weekly payroll, quarterly and annual tax reporting.
  
  

Qualifications

Required:

• 12+ years progressive HR leadership experience
• 7+ years in senior HR leadership role
• Experience leading HR in organizations of 75+ employees.
• Demonstrated experience in compliance-heavy environments.
• Experience supporting executive leadership and Board reporting.
  
  

Preferred

• Nonprofit, healthcare, housing, or social services experience.
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or equivalent certification
• Experience in growth-stage or scaling organizations
• Experience in trauma-informed environments
  
  

Core Competencies

• Enterprise systems thinker
• Regulatory expertise
• Executive presence
• High emotional intelligence
• Conflict resolution expertise
• Data-driven decision maker
• Courageous and clear communicator
  
  

Key Performance Indicators (First 12 Months)

• Reduce staff turnover by 25+%
• Reduction in time-to-fill critical roles.
• Create a 3-year workforce plan linked to strategy.
• Implementation of updated performance management system
• Completion of annual compensation benchmarking study
• Strengthened compliance posture with zero major audit findings.
• Strong Leadership and Staff Development Plan in Place
• Create a structured leadership pipeline for succession planning for mid-level and above.
• Culture Diagnosis and Action Plan with engagement data tied to business outcomes.
  
  

Compensation Range

• Negotiable and Commensurate with Experience
• Comprehensive benefits package
  
  

What Success Looks Like

By Year Two:

• HR is viewed as a strategic executive function, not administrative.
• Leadership accountability culture is strengthened.
• Clear compensation philosophy and pay structure implemented.
• Workforce planning aligned with financial modeling
• Board has confidence in talent depth and risk management.
• CEO can focus on growth, knowing internal infrastructure is sound.
  
  

About Covenant House Texas

Covenant House Texas (CHT) opened its doors in 1983 to provide shelter for homeless, abused and abandoned youth ages 18 – 24. After more than 35 years of service, CHT offers an extensive continuum of care model for homeless youth including mental health and substance abuse counseling, educational and vocational training, transitional and permanent living programs, street outreach and prevention, pastoral ministry and parenting classes in addition to providing the basic necessities of food, clothing, medical care and safe shelter from the streets for youth in crisis.