VP of People Operations

Your Role:

As the Vice President of People Operations, you’ll shape the strategic direction and operational excellence of our global People function. You’ll serve as a trusted advisor to the General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer and collaborate with leaders across the business to ensure talent, culture, and compliance align with the organizational goals. Success in this role means leading culture-building efforts, supporting employee growth, ensuring compliance, and strengthening organizational effectiveness. This role blends both strategic vision and a hands-on approach to deliver meaningful results across the People Function.

You’ll be part of our hybrid team in Phoenix, AZ—currently three days in the office and two remote, with final scheduling to be set based on the business needs.

What You’ll Do:

• Shape and execute a scalable People strategy that supports CEA CAPA’s growth and global operations.
• Build and maintain executive dashboards that track HR metrics like turnover, engagement, talent pipeline, workforce trends, and compliance.
• Partner with executive leadership on workforce planning, organizational design, and change management. Use data and predictive analytics to forecast needs and identify retention risks.

• Lead organization-wide initiatives to strengthen culture, engagement, and performance across global offices and teams.
• Align people practices with CEA CAPA’s mission, values, and growth strategy.

• Develop and deliver a comprehensive learning and development strategy, including compliance, leadership, and career development programs that build accountability, skills, and knowledge.
• Create scalable onboarding and performance management frameworks to support a high-performance culture.

• Ensure proactive compliance with employment laws, including wage and hour, anti-discrimination, immigration, and data privacy regulations.
• Maintain company-wide adherence to employment standards by developing and updating HR policies and handbooks across all jurisdictions.
• Lead or support internal investigations and advise on complex employee relations issues in partnership with Legal.
• Lead regular HR audits and risk assessments to identify gaps and implement corrective actions globally.
• Oversee timely and accurate submission of all required labor-related filings and disclosures.

Talent Strategy & Operations

• Oversee recruitment, retention, and workforce planning to attract and retain top talent.
• Partner with business leaders on accessible initiatives and equitable compensation practices.
• Leverage data and analytics to inform decision-making and improve organizational health.

What Makes a Great Candidate:

• 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience
  • Including 5+ years in a senior strategic HR role, ideally in a growth-stage, PE-backed, or global organization.
• Bachelor's degree required
• Experience advising executive teams and boards on people and culture strategy, even if not a formal member of the executive team.
• Proven track record in building high-impact learning and development programs and cultivating mission-aligned culture.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. employment law and exposure to international HR compliance (especially in UK, Europe and APAC regions).
• Demonstrated success in leading change and scaling HR systems and policies in complex, geographically distributed environments.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build trust and influence across stakeholders.

• Professional certifications (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR)

We believe great talent comes in many forms and that there is no one size fits all in hiring. If you feel you may be a great fit for this role but do not check all of the boxes, we encourage you to apply and show us why you're the right candidate for this position.

Who We Are:

CEA CAPA is a premier provider of transformative international education experiences, committed to empowering students to become thoughtful and thriving leaders through living and learning abroad. With a presence in 62 cities across 22 countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia, we offer comprehensive study abroad and career readiness programs that integrate academic excellence and cultural immersion. Our global footprint includes 11 international study centers, and we proudly support over 10,000 students annually in partnership with more than 375 U.S. universities and over 50 international institutions. CEA CAPA is in a dynamic phase of growth and is powered by a global team of nearly 700 professionals who are deeply mission-driven and committed to creating inclusive, supportive and enriching environments that help students grow academically, personally and professionally.

Why You’ll Love CEA CAPA:

• Health & Wellness Benefits – in office Fresh Fruit Wednesdays, Wellness room, ergonomic options & more!
• Up to 8 hours of paid volunteer time in addition to PTO
• Healthy snacks and a coffee bar provided in office
• 12 paid holidays
• Opportunities for employee growth
• Benefits coverage for domestic partners
• Pet insurance available
• Employee discounts at 35+ vendors including Apple, T Mobile, Walt Disney World, Hello Fresh & more!

Our commitment to creating a sense of belonging means we welcome individuals of all abilities, ages, citizenships, educations, ethnicities, family statuses, gender identities, genders, genetic information, languages, marital status, military experiences, political views, pregnancy, races, religions, sexes, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, and work experiences and therefore we encourage applicants from diverse lived experiences to apply.