Joint Chief People, Culture, & Equity Officer

About Sierra Club

At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of togetherness. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel inequity, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our democracy. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it. 

Sierra Club comprises 850+ staff, 64 chapters, 2 unions, 8,500 volunteer leaders across the country and millions of members across a network of local chapters that power our grassroots engagement, and place us at the forefront of climate change activism.  Learn more about Sierra Club.

About the Opportunity

For the first time in the organization’s history, Sierra Club is joining together its talent, HR, culture and equity functions into one blended department that is dedicated to supporting the overall health and well-being of the organization’s people and culture. Due to the tremendous span, reach and impact of this department, Sierra Club has established a co-leadership model in which two People, Culture and Equity executives will lead with one shared vision and strategy, with clear delineation of responsibilities, while sharing accountability for the work of the department.  

As such, we are seeking two experienced People, Culture and Equity leaders, who bring complementary levels of expertise and experience in the qualification areas below to helm this new department that supports all of our community members throughout their entire time with the organization, from recruitment to offboarding, creates a culture where community members across all identities and positions can grow and thrive, and ensures that equity, justice and inclusion are centered in all aspects of Sierra Club’s people and culture work. 

Together, our first-ever Joint Chiefs of People, Culture & Equity will work together to advance and deepen the organization’s ongoing equity transformation by leading a team of equity transformation experts, advisors and trainers. Additionally, the Department will house the teams dedicated to successful org-wide HR and talent functions and operations which span the full talent lifecycle, including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, professional development and general and legal Human Resources administration and labor relations. The Co-Chiefs will work with staff on their team -  human resources, employee relations, labor relations, people analytics, equity and conflict resolution professionals - along with the organization’s leadership, volunteers and necessary stakeholders - to create and implement a comprehensive and equity centered strategy to support the Sierra Club community.

Ideal candidates bring a mix of expertise in equity and anti-oppression work, executive experience in HR and talent management, organizational development and leading change, ideally with specific experience in or passion for shared dispersed or collaborative leadership structures.

Areas of Leadership

• Co-build the new People, Culture & Equity Department. 
  • Learn and co-lead the continued assessment of the current HR/people, culture and equity functions to solidify the vision, strategy and structure for the new department;  Build out the department, addressing capacity gaps, to ensure adequate resources and expertise are dedicated to building an equitable, just and inclusive culture and community, and designing a structure that results in a cohesive and fully integrated team that effectively meets the needs of the organization  Partner with key stakeholders and experts across the organization to co-create an equity-centered approach to all stages of the talent lifecycle including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, professional development, conflict resolution and assessment. 
  Co-lead the new People, Culture & Equity Department. 
  • Ensure the systems and practices that support the full spectrum of talent management are comprehensive, equitable, and aligned with best practices, and reflect desired outcomes and organizational priorities  Provide leadership around major team functions and design and integrate new team functions in particular around learning and development,community engagement and feedback and assessment.  Co-manage, mentor and develop diverse function area leaders and co-develop and implement team alignment, communication and cohesion strategies. In partnership with functional leaders, team staff and other stakeholders within the organization, ensure compliance with all state and federal employment regulations and laws.
  Advance Sierra Club’s organizational equity transformation:
  • Co-lead implementation of the organization’s comprehensive equity transformation strategy driving toward the vision of a Sierra Club that effectively fights for a more just and livable planet by authentically and meaningfully centering Black, Indigenous and People of Color voices and leadership and advancing equity, justice and inclusion, internally and externally; Operationalize equity throughout the organization by closely partnering with team members to embed equity into all parts of the talent management life cycle, and building and managing a team of equity experts and trainers to advise national Departments and local Chapters on their own equity transformation plans, in alignment with the Equity Learning strategy; Collaborate with and center key organizational stakeholders including Sierra Club’s BIPOC and other affinity groups. Serve as organizational leaders and resources on equity, justice and inclusion. Promote support, collaboration, communication, commitment and accountability to and around equity practices and goals throughout the organization. 
  Provide Organizational Leadership & Manage Change: 
  • In partnership with organizational leaders and varied stakeholders, help to guide people across the organization through significant organizational change; In partnership with organizational change leaders, cohere and align multiple organizational change processes and integrate into all phases of culture and talent supports and management; Support responses to organizational changes and crises in ways that advance rather than detract from needed transformation; Act as key members of organizational leadership and governance bodies tasked with collaboration, problem solving and decision making across the organization; Build authentic relationships with staff and volunteer stakeholders throughout the organization.

Key Qualifications

While we do not expect anyone candidate to have high level competency in each of these areas, we do expect candidates to have some level of exposure to the below areas. We expect that candidates will bring different levels of experience with and skills around each and are looking to hire two candidates who, together, fulfill all of the below.  Applicants are welcome to apply as individuals or in pairs. 

• Mission & Values Alignment: Demonstrates interest in and commitment to social justice work and progressive causes.  Demonstrates alignment with and centers the values of empathy, self-transformation and just relationships.   Expertise & Leadership in Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity: Experience developing, leading and implementing effective equity transformation processes across an organization. Significant experience operationalizing equity within an organization; experience and skills in analyzing, measuring, and reporting on the efficacy of equity practices and transformation strategies. Understanding of how white supremacist culture works in institutions (ie in capitalism and philanthropy) and how to shift away from those existing systems to do more expansive work, and how identity dynamics impact supervisory relationships, organizational culture, partnerships, campaigns and coalition work. Track record in successfully intervening in problematic dynamics and deepening a social justice approach within an organization, team, or campaign. Expertise & Leadership in People/Talent, Culture and Human Resources Functions: Extensive knowledge about and experience leading the key facets of HR administration (including healthcare benefits, 401k, leaves, administration, equal employment, onboarding and offboarding etc), ensuring legal compliance throughout the talent lifecycle. Experience developing and leading organization-wide talent management programs that center and embed equity, justice and inclusion.  Track record of building and maintaining a positive, equitable organizational culture in a dynamic environment; trauma-informed and victim-centered approach to problematic interpersonal issues; coaching and mentoring direct reports, peers, and senior leaders on effective talent management practices and equity skills and practice; and, developing and implementing effective learning and development programs and interventions.  Executive & Change Leadership:  Experience working and effectively leading in complex, ambiguous, highly dynamic environments. Ability to identify and address root causes and to work within and improve opaque systems and processes. Practiced in successful organizational and cultural change and experience partnering with team members, senior leaders, labor, Board members and other stakeholders to manage complex organizational change. Experience leading around organizational crises and leveraging them to identify gaps and advance change. Strong strategic and analytical thinking skills and a track record of creatively solving complicated management and culture related problems within a complex organization. Ability to lead work planning that strategically and effectively sequences staff engagement and learning opportunities.  Experience designing and building teams, structures of functions from scratch. Experience in or passion for shared, dispersed or collaborative leadership structures. Communication & Relationship Building:  Track record in developing a clear and compelling vision or strategy and creating buy-in across varied and expansive stakeholders. Experience designing and facilitating inclusive, impactful and transformative community engagements, demonstrating openness, transparency, direct communication, engagement, and active listening. Drives transparent, timely internal communications. Highly skilled communicator - either individually, in large audiences, or public communications. Self-aware and a developed ability to manage one’s own emotions and engage with others’ emotions. Track record of employing emotional fortitude and awareness and skill to navigate complex and difficult relationships and interactions. Demonstrated track record of developing relationships across positions and identities. Fosters relationships that support individual and collective ability to grow, thrive, and work effectively together.  

Location

These are full-time, exempt positions, ideally based in either Oakland, CA or Washington, D.C. with openness to other locations. The positions require an ability to travel at an approximately every other month frequency. 

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for each of these roles is $200,000 - $230,000.

Sierra Club employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, employee assistance program, short and long-term disability insurance. A 401(k) Plan is available to save for retirement with a match and a generous employer contribution that increases with service time. Vacation, holiday and leave of absence policies prioritize work-life balance for Sierra Club staff. 

To Apply

As part of Sierra Club’s equity practices, applicants are not required to submit a letter of interest and are asked to remove university names and geographic locations of universities. 

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These are category 1 exempt positions. Sierra Club is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Sierra Club employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club Human Resources in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition.

The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity.

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