VP, Business Partner

Job Description:

Providing for loved ones, planning rewarding retirements, saving enough for whatever lies ahead - our policyholders count on us to be there when it matters most. It's a big ask, but it's one that we have the power to deliver when we work together. We collaborate and innovate - pushing one another to transform not just Pacific Life, but the entire industry for the better.

Why? Because it's the right thing to do. Pacific Life is more than a job, it's a career with purpose. It's a career where you have the support, balance, and resources to make a positive impact on the future - including your own. We're actively seeking a talented VP, People Business Partner to join our People Experience team in Newport Beach CA.

This role is hybrid, four days in office.

As a VP, People Business Partner, you'll move Pacific Life, and your career, forward by serving as a strategic advisor to senior leaders—translating business priorities into people strategies that strengthen leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and talent readiness. You will fill a new role that supports our People Experience organization and Investments, providing clear ownership, thoughtful change leadership, and consistent people partnership during a period of growth and transformation.

• Advise HR and Investments leaders on workforce strategies that enhance business performance, outcomes, and organizational agility.
• Integrate HR priorities—AI readiness, cultural resilience, workforce agility, and future‑critical skills—into business strategies.
• Utilize insights from workforce, performance, and organizational analytics to guide decision‑making.
• Partner with executives to anticipate external forces (AI, shifting employment expectations, regulatory changes) and design future‑ready organizational structures.

• Support workforce planning aligned with leadership development and pipeline strengthening priorities.
• Build and sustain a diverse, high‑impact pipeline for critical roles; integrate succession coverage and mobility metrics.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition and Talent Management to create development paths aligned with future‑critical skills (AI fluency, adaptability, digital capability).
• Support leaders and managers in navigating complexity, driving engagement, and building resilient teams.

• Support transformation initiatives that reinforce agility, cross‑functional collaboration, and responsive operating models.
• Support strategic workforce planning and work redesign by breaking down roles into tasks, identifying opportunities for human‑AI collaboration, and enabling internal talent marketplaces.
• Drive culture readiness and change adoption through targeted interventions and diagnostics (e.g., culture readiness index, workforce agility metrics).

• Leverage AI, analytics, and predictive modeling to identify workforce trends, surface weak signals early, and shape talent investments.
• Partner with HR Centers of Excellence to deploy AI‑enabled HR services.
• Use data to provide regular, strategic insights connecting people analytics to drive business outcomes.
• Guide leaders through responsible AI adoption and capability development.

• Embed a culture that views change as opportunity, reinforces belonging, and supports high performance.
• Counsel leaders on sensitive or complex employee relations issues, balancing compliance with strategic business impact.
• Promote an inclusive, collaborative, and transparent culture aligned with enterprise cultural reinforcements.

• Bachelor's degree required, Master's in HR, Business, or related field preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including 5+ years supporting global, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated success partnering with executive leaders to drive organizational transformation and business outcomes.
• Expertise in strategic workforce planning, organizational…