Vice President of People Job Denver area,Colorado USA,HR/Recruitment

Our client, a profitable high-growth industry leader, is seeking their first Vice President of People to partner directly with the CEO and build a world-class talent organization. This role carries two mandates: bring in exceptional talent at all times and raise the performance bar across the business. The second is where the greatest opportunity lies: partnering with business unit leaders to see clearly where teams need to strengthen, then designing and executing the plans that get them there.

This is inventive, high-judgment work, and it is central to the role. It also moves fast: talent and performance issues rarely improve on their own, so this team acts with urgency and conviction rather than waiting for problems to resolve themselves.

What You Will Own:

You will be on-site recruiting end to end, personally sourcing and closing high-quality talent; build talent density by partnering with functional leaders to identify strengths, risks, and where the team needs to level up; shape our compensation philosophy, including leveling, bands, merit cycles, and incentives; strengthen organizational capability through org design, succession, and leadership development; and establish a performance discipline that drives honest differentiation, accountability, and meaningful development — partnering with business unit leaders to assess team capability, diagnose where performance is falling short, and build plans to raise the bar through hiring, development, and role changes when needed.

What

Makes This Different:

Administration is handled by the PEO (Professional Employer Organization), with a coordinator supporting you, so your time stays focused on talent, organizational capability, and business impact. This is a strategic People leadership role with broad ownership: you will set the philosophy, own the function, sit on the executive leadership team, and present directly to the CEO and board. It is a high-accountability proving ground for a rising leader ready to take on the scope and be measured on results.

Best-in-Class

Benefits and Culture:

Our client values their employees' time and effort. Their competitive compensation of $170,000 - $190,000 annually, plus target bonus and equity participation, demonstrates their commitment to attracting exceptional talent. Their benefits package includes:

Medical, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) with company contribution
Life and disability insurance
Employee assistance program
Paid time off
· Paid holidays
Executive leadership team membership

Plus, we work to maintain the best environment for our employees, where people can learn and grow with the company. We strive to provide a collaborative, creative environment where everyone feels encouraged to contribute to our processes, decisions, planning, and culture.

To thrive as the Vice President of People, you should have:

AI-first mindset with hands-on experience using AI to increase leverage, paired with strong judgment to verify and challenge its output.
Roughly five years of people leadership experience, including time in a senior People leadership role; high-potential, rising talent is encouraged.
Experience leading People in a growth-stage, private equity-backed company of roughly 75-400 employees.
Proven recruiter who has personally sourced and closed VP-level talent.
Track record of raising team performance — assessing capability, addressing underperformance directly, and partnering with business leaders on development and hiring decisions.
Strong compensation and financial expertise, including building compensation philosophies, reading P&Ls, modeling fully loaded headcount costs, and connecting workforce planning to business results.
Executive presence and analytical rigor, with the ability to communicate clearly with boards, defend a point of view, and stand behind data-driven recommendations.

We are an equal opportunity employer that welcomes and encourages diversity in the workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law. We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment.

We anticipate that the application window will close in 60 days.