Vice President People and Culture; via Search Firm

Job Summary

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The Vice President for People and Culture is a cabinet-level executive leader reporting directly to the President and serving as San Jose State University's (SJSU) chief executive authority on workforce strategy, personnel governance, labor relations, and employment compliance.

The Vice President provides enterprise-wide leadership and strategic direction for all aspects of the University's people infrastructure, including faculty and staff employment across the full employee lifecycle. The role establishes institutional standards for personnel governance, ensures regulatory and collective bargaining compliance, oversees employment-related risk management, and advances a modern, high-performing, people-centered culture aligned with the University's mission and strategic priorities.

As a member of the President's executive leadership team, the Vice President advises on the workforce implications of institutional strategy, leads organizational design and institutional change initiatives, and ensures that human capital strategy supports academic excellence, operational effectiveness, and long-term institutional sustainability.

The Vice President serves as the President's designee for collective bargaining interpretation and labor governance and provides executive oversight of civil rights compliance, Executive Order implementation, and employment-related legal matters.

The role leads a comprehensive People and Culture portfolio that includes, but is not limited to:

• Civil Rights, Title IX & Equal Opportunity
• Classification & Compensation
• Employee & Labor Relations
• Faculty Services & Academic Personnel
• HR Systems & Workforce Analytics
• Payroll & Benefits
• Professional & Organizational Development
• Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
• Workers' Compensation and Employment Compliance

The position functions as an enterprise governance authority rather than a transactional HR administrator and is responsible for shaping institutional policy, mitigating workforce risk, and modernizing people systems and practices across the University.

• Sets enterprise-wide human capital strategy aligned with institutional mission and academic priorities.
• Leads executive-level fiscal oversight and resource stewardship of the People & Culture portfolio.
• Establishes governance frameworks for employment practices, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness.
• Drives modernization of people systems, processes, and service delivery models to improve efficiency, compliance, and user experience.
• Ensures accountability, performance standards, and strategic alignment across divisional leadership, including direct oversight of senior administrators within the portfolio.
• Oversees institutional workforce analytics and reporting to inform executive decision-making.
• Acts as the President's designee for interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements for faculty and staff.
• Leads strategic labor engagement and partnership frameworks with union leadership.
• Anticipates and mitigates institutional labor risk exposure within a multi-union higher education environment.
• Oversees grievance administration architecture and ensures consistent and legally sound contract interpretation.
• Provides executive guidance on disciplinary matters, dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration.
• Aligns bargaining strategy with institutional priorities and workforce sustainability goals.
• Advise the President and Cabinet on workforce implications of institutional decisions, restructuring initiatives, and strategic investments.
• Participates in Academic Senate, executive committees, and campus governance forums as the senior employment authority.
• Leads enterprise-wide organizational development and change management initiatives.
• Oversees complaint management systems and investigation integrity standards to ensure fairness, consistency, and regulatory compliance.
• Directs institutional risk mitigation strategies related to Title IX, equal opportunity, and employment law compliance.
• Advises executive leadership on compliance risk posture and policy implications associated with Title IX and related mandates.

• Executive-level experience in personnel governance within a complex, unionized higher education environment
• Deep knowledge of CSU policies, collective bargaining agreements, and state and federal employment law
• Demonstrated ability to lead enterprise workforce transformation and organizational redesign initiatives
• Experience advising senior executive leadership on labor strategy, compliance risk, and workforce planning
• Proven leadership in modernizing HR systems, workforce analytics, and service delivery models
• Ability to manage institutional risk in highly regulated environments
• Strong strategic decision-making capability with sound judgment in sensitive personnel matters
• Demonstrated ability to build trust across faculty, staff, and…