Director, People & Culture

About JFF

Jobs for the Future (JFF) drives transformation of the U.S. education and workforce systems to achieve economic advancement for all. Seeing that millions of people are unfairly shut out of quality jobs and the chance for a better life, our goal is to align education, workforce, and employment changemakers toward a shared North Star: By 2033, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs.

To achieve that goal, we design solutions, scale best practices, influence policy and action, and invest in innovation. With a staff of more than 200 people across the country working remotely and in offices in Boston (headquarters), Washington, DC, and Oakland, California, we operate at the national, state, and local levels, forging deep partnerships with employers, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and education and workforce development providers to break down barriers and reimagine what’s possible.

We’re on a path of ongoing growth and expanding impact. We have an operating budget of $105 million, and we’re funded by dozens of leading government agencies, foundations, and corporations. Learn more about JFF and join us as we build a future that works—for everyone.

Equal Employment Opportunity at JFF

Inclusion, belonging, and well-being are core to JFF’s North Star and mission, and we seek to invest in and learn from those who represent the communities we serve as it is important to the success of our work and the engagement of our staff members. We aim to cultivate a culture that centers the overall care, well-being, and success of the employee through flexible work hours, balanced workloads, professional development, and career advancement opportunities for all.

JFF is a fair chance employer and in alignment to our North Star , we hire based on qualifications, and experience, and we are committed to fair opportunity for all qualified candidates – including those without a 4-year degree or formally incarnated individuals.

About the Position

The Director, People & Culture leads JFF's People Business Partner (PBP) function. The role owns the segment responsibilities that make People & Culture (P&C) work in practice for leaders, managers, and employees across the organization, and is accountable for the consistency, quality, and risk management of employee relations, career development, employee listening, and the large-scale, people-facing initiatives and processes that reach the full workforce of more than 200 employees working remotely and in offices across the U.S.

This is a functional leadership role on the P&C team. The director sets direction and standards for the PBP team, builds processes that make business partnership consistent and repeatable, and brings both a deep understanding of the business and of the HR practices that matter most to a nonprofit. PBPs lead leader partnership, portfolio context, workforce and talent needs, and employee relations coordination; People Operations provides enterprise infrastructure, specialist expertise, systems, data, rewards, and compliance support. Every handoff has a named owner, next action, and timing. The director is expected to stay close enough to the work to exercise sound judgment on complex people matters, and to escalate early and keep the AVP, P&C informed when issues carry meaningful legal, financial, or reputational risk.

JFF is a complex, matrixed organization with Practices, Centers, Solutions, and Business Operations teams, and decisions are made through shared leadership forums such as the JFF Leadership Council (JLC). The role succeeds by building trust and influence across that matrix, spotting patterns early, and helping leaders make people decisions that are fair, legally sound, and aligned to JFF's strategy.

This role leads the PBP team and reports to the Associate Vice President, P&C. It partners closely with the Director, People Operations & Total Rewards, Finance, Legal, Operations, and JFF leaders.

What You'll Do

Own segment responsibilities and set direction for the PBP function

Own the PBP segments: define portfolios, coverage, decision rights, goals, and success measures so that every part of JFF has a clear, accountable P&C partner.

Align PBP segments and coverage with JFF's evolving organizational structure and where complexity is highest.

Ensure PBPs lead the full talent lifecycle in their portfolios, including leader partnership, workforce and skills planning, performance and team effectiveness, and employee relations coordination.

Translate P&C strategy into clear priorities, proposals, and recommendations that senior leaders can act on.

Lead, develop, and hold accountable a high-performing PBP team

Lead through outcomes: set clear expectations and hold PBPs accountable for quality, timeliness, risk management, stakeholder experience, and clear escalation.

Coach PBPs in judgment, pattern recognition, documentation, decision framing, and stakeholder management.

Build development plans and career paths for PBPs, and give regular, candid feedback.

Review workload and capacity at least quarterly and rebalance early to prevent sustained overextension.

Ensure cross-training, documented backup coverage, and transition plans so the work continues when priorities shift or a team member is out.

Build and manage the Business Partner operating model

Establish, document, and continuously improve the processes that make the PBP function consistent and scalable, including:

A core RACI for PBP processes and cross-functional handoffs.

Standards for case management, documentation, consistency of advice, escalation, and risk management.

A clear intake and triage approach for leader, manager, and employee requests.

A shared annual calendar for major cycles, approvals, communications, and dependencies.

Templates, playbooks, and process maps that reduce reliance on any one person's institutional knowledge.

Institutionalize good ideas: turn what works into standard practice, and evolve established processes based on expertise, experience, and post-cycle lessons.

Clarify handoffs with People Operations & Total Rewards

Lead employee relations

Serve as the escalation point and senior advisor for complex employee relations matters, including conflict, performance and conduct concerns, investigations, accommodations, and separations, in partnership with the AVP, P&C and legal counsel as needed.

Ensure employee relations matters are handled promptly, consistently, and with sound documentation and attention to detail.

Coach leaders and people managers on difficult conversations, performance management, and fair, defensible decision-making.

Review patterns across employee relations cases and PBP data to identify risk, recommend policy or practice changes, and build manager capability.

Ensure guidance reflects the compliance and regulatory requirements that apply to JFF as a nonprofit and a multi-state employer.

Implement and advise on large-scale, people-facing initiatives and processes

Advise on and lead the rollout of enterprise people initiatives and processes, such as performance and calibration cycles, organizational changes, policy updates, and manager enablement.

Plan each initiative from design through communication and adoption, including who is affected, timing, dependencies, and how success will be measured.

Present clearly and confidently to all-staff audiences, JLC, the Executive Team, and, as needed, the Board.

Lead post-cycle reviews, and make sure improvements are implemented, measured, and communicated.

Lead career development, succession planning, and workforce planning

Lead JFF's approach to career development, including career paths, internal mobility, growth conversations, and manager capability to support them.

Lead succession planning, working with executives and senior leaders to identify critic