People and Culture Business Partner

The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work and may come from several different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you believe you must meet every qualification for the position.

About the Opportunity:
The Academy is looking to hire an experienced and results driven People & Culture Business Partner to build out the evolving People & Culture Division and align our initiatives with our leaders, programs, and teams. This role will act as a strategic partner to create and execute thoughtful people strategies that accelerate business objectives and allow us to scale. If you enjoy creating strong relationships across an organization while helping people achieve their best in the workplace, and you have a bias toward action and a knack for strategic thinking, this could be the ideal role for you!

Organizational Culture:
Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy’s strategic plan includes three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are intrinsic to Academy culture and operations, from recruitment and retention to development, learning and contributing to the mission. 

This position is based in San Francisco, California. Staff are expected to work from the Academy offices at least 3 days per week, which may fluctuate based on business needs. Please only apply if you are able to also work onsite.

About the People & Culture Team (PACT)
The People & Culture team collaborates across the Academy to: 1) build a thriving culture in which all staff members feel cared for and respected, with opportunities for growth: and 2) deeply connect employees to the Academy’s purpose of regenerating the natural world.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Director of People Experience and the PACT leadership team to help execute on our People roadmap
• Consult with leaders and teams on talent development strategies and enhancing overall organizational effectiveness
• Support and develop a diverse workforce that includes both union and non-union employees
• Develop or recommend systems and processes to drive continuous learning and knowledge-sharing across the organization through the lenses of transparency, growth, and scale
• Proactively lead the execution and implementation of People initiatives, including, performance management, succession planning, equity & inclusion, culture, and workplace and employee experience
• Recommend thoughtful organizational design and partner with business leaders and Talent
• Acquisition to align hiring plans to strategically staff all functional areas of the business
• Work closely with the Director of Employee and Labor Relations to provide effective guidance and coaching to leadership and employees in the resolution of employee relations concerns, as well as issues in compliance with company policies, practices and values
• Help leaders develop and retain the talent needed to achieve business and growth objectives
• Work closely with the People Operations team to ensure that consistent policies, programs and practices are followed across the organization
• Project manage complex programs: You’ll work closely with the business to drive the project management of certain programs where we’re building the foundation of our teams
• Complete special projects and other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

Experience and/or Education:

• Minimum of 8 years of People & Culture/HR experience, with 5+ years as a People/HR Business Partner in a matrix organization
• Degree in HR Management or equivalent with PHR/SHRM-SCP certification
• Experience working in a union environment strongly preferred

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong EQ and sense of empathy, balancing a strong commitment to ethics and confidentiality  while prioritizing employee wellness
• while also driving organizational effectiveness
• Experience with and utilizing Human Capital systems, Google Suite, business applications, Intermediate level experience with excel and creating reports and presentations
• Comfort with interpreting and using people data to tell a story and translating it into actionable strategy
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills - you can work effectively across all
• levels, and utilize a variety of methods to ensure shared understanding
• Thorough understanding of relevant state and federal employment laws and People & Culture trends
• Experience applying best practices around coaching, employee engagement, and change
• management
• Proven track record of identifying people problems and using strategic skills to drive and
• influence appropriate solutions
• Ability to work independently and come up with creative solutions
• Ability to balance strategic leadership responsibilities with a bias towards action - you
• have experience with managing both short-term and long-term goals
• Roll up your sleeves: From data entry to ad-hoc administrative work, you’re ready to jump in and do what it takes to support our people operations and programs
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

This job description may change as our team continues to grow and evolve – we hope you’ll be

excited to evolve with us as we scale and increase our impact.

Physical Environment:

The Academy complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable

accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is

needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job

functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our

People & Culture team at recruiting@calacademy.org.