VP of People

Vaco has partnered with a rapidly growing, multi-state organization seeking a transformational VP of People to lead its people strategy during an exciting phase of growth.

This executive will be responsible for strengthening talent acquisition, improving employee retention, enhancing onboarding and employee development programs, building scalable people processes, and serving as a strategic advisor to leadership. The organization has already made significant investments in improving hiring and onboarding practices and is now seeking a leader who can build upon that momentum while helping shape the next phase of growth.

This role requires a hands‑on HR executive who can balance strategy with execution, build trust across all levels of the organization, and create scalable people systems that support continued expansion without sacrificing culture, employee engagement, or operational excellence.

Over time, this leader will play a critical role in developing and sustaining company culture across a growing multi-state workforce.

Location: This position is located just east of Lafayette, Indiana and requires a strong on‑site presence. Candidates should expect to spend a minimum of three days per week on‑site, particularly during the onboarding and relationship‑building phase of the role.

• Lead and develop the organization's recruiting function and recruiting team.
• Build scalable, quality‑focused hiring practices that improve candidate quality, retention, and long‑term workforce success.
• Develop workforce planning models that align hiring demand with growth projections, geographic expansion, and business objectives.
• Partner with leadership to identify staffing needs and proactively build talent pipelines.
• Establish meaningful recruiting metrics focused on quality of hire, retention, and business outcomes rather than activity‑based metrics.

• Continue enhancing onboarding and new hire integration programs with clear milestones, accountability measures, and success indicators.
• Identify retention trends using data‑driven analysis and develop practical solutions that improve employee engagement and workforce stability.
• Create meaningful feedback mechanisms, including employee listening strategies and exit interview processes, while ensuring recommendations are grounded in data and business context.
• Partner with operational leaders to strengthen employee development, training, and performance management practices.

• Provide strategic leadership to a growing HR team that may include recruiters, HR support staff, and future people leaders.
• Establish scalable people processes and infrastructure to support continued organizational growth.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on talent strategy, organizational effectiveness, succession planning, and employee engagement.
• Lead change management initiatives in a way that gains organizational buy‑in and strengthens culture.

• Oversee employee relations matters, workplace investigations, policy administration, and conflict resolution.
• Ensure compliance with multi‑state employment laws and HR best practices.
• Partner with legal counsel and external advisors regarding complex employee relations and compliance matters.
• Create consistent processes for conducting investigations, documenting findings, and managing employee concerns.
• Oversee HR policies, benefits administration, workers' compensation, and HR compliance initiatives.

• Champion and cultivate a strong organizational culture across a distributed and expanding workforce.
• Develop…