Vice President, Global People Operations

Athena•Wilmington, DE

About The Position

Athena is a 4,000-employee, multi-country organization generating approximately $100M in annual revenue and continuing to grow. As we’ve scaled, our people systems and processes have not kept pace with our global footprint. Historically, HR ownership was distributed across multiple executives — payroll and compensation under Finance, talent processes under Operations, and HR systems under Technology. We are now consolidating People Operations under a single leader to modernize our infrastructure, unify governance, and build a scalable employee lifecycle experience. This is a rare opportunity to step into VP-level scope and architect a global People Operations function at scale. We are seeking a high-impact, systems-oriented People leader — likely at the Director or Senior Director level today — who is ready to step into enterprise VP scope. You will lead a global team of approximately 20 and own the operational backbone of the employee lifecycle across multiple countries. This role does not oversee Talent Acquisition or Learning & Development. Instead, it focuses on: People Operations strategy & governance Compensation and organizational design infrastructure Workforce planning and analytics HR systems (including WorkDay optimization) Global process standardization End-to-end employee lifecycle execution If you are energized by building structure, modernizing systems, and scaling operational excellence — this role is for you.

Requirements

10–15+ years progressive HR / People Operations leadership
Currently Director or Senior Director (or equivalent) in a global organization
Experience leading HR Operations, Total Rewards, or People Infrastructure
Direct experience with enterprise HRIS implementation (WorkDay preferred)
Compensation architecture and org design exposure
Experience managing multi-country processes
Systems thinker who builds scalable infrastructure
Strong financial and workforce planning acumen
Data-driven and analytically rigorous
Experienced people leader comfortable managing distributed teams
Strong cross-functional partner with Finance and Technology
Builder mindset — comfortable operating in evolving environments

Responsibilities

Lead Global People Operations
Consolidate and unify People Operations under a clear model
Define KPIs, dashboards, and executive reporting
Establish governance, standards, and accountability across regions
Lead and develop a 25-person global team located primarily in the Philippines, Kenya, and Guatemala
Modernize Infrastructure
Optimize and expand WorkDay adoption
Ensure clean data architecture and reporting rigor
Identify automation opportunities and eliminate inefficiencies
Build scalable, repeatable processes
Elevate Compensation & Org Design
Standardize global leveling frameworks
Renovate compensation structures and pay architecture
Improve span-of-control discipline and org modeling
Partner with Finance on workforce planning alignment
Strengthen the Employee Lifecycle
Redesign onboarding and offboarding processes
Standardize performance management governance
Institutionalize succession planning infrastructure
Lead engagement measurement and action planning
Ensure consistent employee experience across countries