SVP of People

About Pursuit

Our mission is to create economic transformation. By training low-income adults to launch and advance careers as software engineers, we help our Fellows earn from eighteen thousand dollars a year to over ninety thousand starting salary on average, adding an estimated $2M in lifetime earnings. Pursuit partners with leading companies like Blackstone, USV, Citi, Peloton, and Uber to employ Fellows in career-defining engineering roles and supports them with on-the-job training to ensure potential translates to performance. Since 2013, Pursuit has created ~$1B in total lifetime wage gains, creating lasting economic mobility that spans generations.

Pursuit’s proven solution is built on two interconnected components: training (which includes community development, Core pre-job training, and Commit on-the-job training) and a financial product (known as Bond). However, growing training alone will not meet the magnitude of need nor solve new societal challenges ahead. The typical expectation is to expand our training to other cities, but this will not come anywhere close to creating good jobs for millions of low-income Americans. Instead, our strategy for scaled impact is to evolve our financial product and create tools for other organizations, jobs, and places. We believe that this will not only create good jobs for millions of low-income Americans but will also generate a new trillion-dollar market directly tied to results in the long term.

We are One Big Team

The passionate and collaborative Pursuit team gives its all to achieve its mission. And it’s not just staff. Pursuit works with employer partners that love hiring its Fellows because they are so well prepared, ranging from big financial firms to scrappy startups, and everything in between. The organization also activates and engages hundreds of volunteers who come from all areas of the tech industry. These experts and professionals help keep Pursuit’s curriculum fresh and its standards for achievement high by participating in our admissions process, as well as program-specific activities such as interview training, Demo Days, Hackathons, and Capstone projects. Please be sure to review the company’s values, posted on Pursuit’s website, which will help provide further context on additional concepts that impact how we work at Pursuit.

Opportunity for Impact

As Pursuit’s first SVP of People, you will help shape and enable Pursuit’s values-driven and innovative startup culture, driving learning and growth across the staff. As part of Pursuit’s Senior Leadership Team, this person will work closely with the COO, CFO, and General Counsel to develop and implement strategy, policies, and processes around compensation, HR compliance, performance management, and talent development. This is a fantastic opportunity for a mission-driven people leader to have a direct impact on Pursuit’s pivotal growth and culture and enable our mission of economic transformation.

As SVP of People you will:

• Work with the Senior Leadership Team to define the vision for Pursuit culture, and own communication and ongoing training regarding our principles, values, and culture across the organization.
• Own end-to-end employee experience and touchpoints, from onboarding through employee exit management, including all-staff internal communications, training, and professional development.
• Manage personnel policies and procedures, including performance management, compensation approach, annual review process, goal setting, and implementation of performance improvement plans.
• Manage a talent team and help develop hiring, recruitment, and onboarding strategy.
• Support department managers in carrying out their responsibilities pertaining to personnel and recruitment matters.
• Maintain responsibility for compliance with federal, state, and local legislation pertaining to all personnel matters, interface with legal, and develop materials including employee handbook.

About you

• You are excited about Pursuit’s mission and have a strong alignment with Pursuit’s values.
• You are a strategic and analytical thinker with strong communication skills.
• You have an entrepreneurial mindset and are willing to be scrappy and “roll up your sleeves” and get the job done during a period of rapid growth.
• You have experience working in HR at various companies, ideally at tech companies or companies with 2-sided marketplaces.

What you need to be considered for VP of People role:

• A minimum of 10-15 years of HR leadership experience; 10-15 years of experience overall in progressively more responsible HR positions, preferably in the tech industry.
• Experience in leading HR/people operations in a leadership role.
• Proven track record in navigating early-stage startups, with hands-on experience scaling companies from under 100 to 200+ employees, demonstrating exceptional growth management skills.
• Broad HR experience in recruitment, benefits administration, compensation, and professional development.
• Previous experience working with senior-level executives – ability to work comfortably with executives and juggle multiple viewpoints and priorities.
• Experience in change management and internal communications.
• Experience driving and managing company values and culture.

Where you’ll work:

• Long Island City, NY
• 2 days a week on-site and 3 days remote, with 5 days on-site beginning in Q3.

Compensation:

$250,000-$350,000 as a base salary. In addition, this role will participate in our standard annual performance bonus incentive program.

The range above is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Pursuit offers :

• Great culture where transparency, respect, teamwork, and kindness are valued
• Competitive compensation in base, plus bonus and a full benefits package
• Unlimited PTO and an all-Pursuit week-long holiday the last week of December

Pursuit values diversity:

Our team has a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and we value the richness that diversity brings to our organization. We welcome new perspectives and affirm that all employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal opportunity employer.