Full-Time Senior Manager, People and Culture
Job Description
Do you believe that an organization’s most valuable asset is its people? Are you ready to support purpose-driven teams that are correcting the vision of millions of low-income customers so they can work, learn, stay safe, and care for their families?
The pioneering social enterprise, VisionSpring, seeks a dynamic and experienced senior manager of people and culture to support colleagues in our New York office and seven key markets—Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. The senior manager works with the COO and department leaders to design and implement global people systems and programs for talent development, performance management, compensation and benefits, culture, and human resources administration and compliance. This person is a “values champion” and cultivates high levels of mission alignment, productivity, and engagement. The senior manager coordinates with counterparts in India and Bangladesh to harmonize policies and practices across languages, customs, legal systems, and operating environments. This position reports to the COO and is based in VisionSpring’s New York City office.
Since its founding in 2001, VisionSpring has corrected the vision of 6.9 million people living on less than $4 per day. In the last four years, we have tripled our eyeglasses sales and impact, and expanded operations from 80 people in two countries to almost 300 people in eight. VisionSpring creates access to eyeglasses and shapes lasting markets for vision services through hybrid business models that pair earned revenue with philanthropic capital. Every $1 of philanthropy invested in VisionSpring yields an unprecedented $43 in increased earning potential at the household level. Our growth is backed by a robust portfolio of government agencies, corporate social responsibility initiatives, leading venture philanthropists, and an innovative partnership with Warby Parker. We are on track to serve 10 million people by 2021.
ABOUT YOU
• Building and supporting diverse teams is your passion. You promote belonging, performance, and equity across geographically dispersed teams with broad ranges of experience.
• You have a people-focused, modern take on human resources. When designing and implementing programs and policies, you learn about new and best practices to evolve our unique approach to people operations.
• Empathy is your superpower. You take other’s perspectives. You create psychological safety by building trust, and encouraging risk taking and courageous conversations.
• You are resourceful and structured in a fast-growing organization. You seek answers, create structure, and devise solutions when obstacles appear.
• You feel a deep resonance with our mission and will be organized and relentless in supporting team members in multiple countries to realize our social impact objectives.
ABOUT US
• VisionSpring is creating access to affordable eyewear, everywhere. Clear vision creates opportunities for increased learning, work, safety, civic participation, and quality of life.
• As a social enterprise, social change motivates us first. Our focus on sales and revenue targets serves and advances our mission objective—to increase functioning, productivity, and income earning potential for our low-income consumers by correcting refractive error with eyeglasses.
• We are working to transform the systemic dysfunction of an optical market that has failed to deliver eyeglasses—a 700-year-old technology—to 2.7 billion consumers in need of vision correction, most of whom live on less than $4 a day.
• We serve low-income consumers, not as beneficiaries but as customers. Our customers expect a high-quality and affordable product, and they will spend limited discretionary income for the immediate and tangible benefits of vision correction.
• By selling eyeglasses, we awaken new demand and seed a viable market. By selling new eyeglasses we are able to serve four times as many people per dollar input than the alternative of donating recycled ones. To efficiently scale, we must deliver each new unit with lower cost.
• We run our business on both sales metrics and social impact measures. We use a range of organizational forms and practices to get the job done.
• We believe in scaling our impact, not our organization. We are a lean team of doers.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Values and Culture
• Serve as a visible “values champion” in the organization. Examine how we can do even better to live our values: (1) Help others to do well; (2) Advance equity; (3) Constantly adapt, relentlessly improve; (4) Default to transparency, reveal hard truths; and (5) Learn together.
• Support cross-cultural teams in a matrixed management structure that are serving institutional clients and individual customers in 20 countries by: (1) Fostering relationships, active listening, and shared ownership; and (2) Promoting decision making closest to VisionSpring’s clients and customers.
Recruitment and On-boarding Support
• Work with the senior recruiter to help coordinate the recruitment process for hiring new staff in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, the United States, Vietnam, and Zambia.
• Ensure consistent on-boarding, orientation, and confirmation processes for new hires.
Talent Development and Performance Management
• Work with the COO to develop and administer a dynamic, conversation-based performance review and goal setting practice that ties individual goals with organizational objectives and career development paths.
• Support team members in sharing and receiving feedback across the organization to ensure everyone is learning and growing in their roles.
• Develop a framework for promotional tracks and the transparent basis for advancement.
• Work with organizational leaders to invest in high-performers and establish opportunities for professional growth.
• Organize staff workshops and trainings to foster effective teamwork, continual learning, and skill development.
Reward, Recognition, and Compensation Management
• Assist the COO in establishing the compensation philosophy and guidelines, and developing optimum pay levels and commissions/bonus plans based on factors such as location, experience, responsibility, relevant benchmarks, and statutory requirements.
• Identify opportunities for team- and organization-based incentives.
• Support organizational development as the enterprise expands by recommending changes in compensation structure/bands, titles, and role definitions in order to maintain equity, organizational agility and promote career advancement.
• Provide recommendations on the benefits plan and ensure fair and consistent compensation practices.
• Develop and implement employee engagement, reward and recognition programs, and celebrations to foster a positive, ethical, and collaborative work environment.
Employee Relations and Support
• Build a communication and feedback loop to surface constructive input for managers through organization-wide meetings, one-on-one meetings, and exit interviews.
• Proactively address queries and staff concerns, and resolve grievances in a manner that is responsive to unique needs and cultures.
• Provide support and guidance to employees and managers on all employee-related matters.
HR Administration and Compliance
• Work with managers to renew agreements with VisionSpring’s contracted staff.
• Support finance with payroll processing and benefits.
• Manage HR administration and compliance for VisionSpring’s New York and Dhaka offices, and for teams in key markets, bringing to bear knowledge of, and research on, medical insurance, labor laws, etc.
• Stay up to date on HR statutes and regulations. Update employee manual, policies, and procedures as needed, and proactively communicate changes with employees.
WHAT’S REQUIRED
• A minimum of 6-8 years of professional experience in human resources with personnel located in multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated interest in social enterprise models and desire to learn how to articulate and share VisionSpring’s unique value proposition.
• Extraordinary follow-through, attention to detail and deadlines, and a strong personal sense of accountability.
• Must meet the highest standards of ethics, with a demonstrated capacity for discretion and for handling sensitive information with care.
• A strong commitment to respectful collaboration with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.
• Fluency in English, written and verbal.
• Ability to travel 15% of time. Willingness to travel internationally and work in locations with limited infrastructure.
• Must be permanently authorized to work in the United States.
• Preferred experience: (1) Working in an international organization operating in low- and middle-income countries; (2) Living or working in a low-income setting; and/or (3) Proficiency in Hindi and/or Bengali.
COMPENSATION
• Salary range is $75,000 – $85,000 per year, based on experience and education.
• We offer comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, and vision, as well as 401(k) with match, pre-tax commuter plan, flexible spending accounts, and generous vacation/personal time.
How to Apply
• We want to know more than just what you have done. We want to know who you are. What are the passions and talents that draw you to this role? • Please submit your application, including a thoughtful cover letter and CV/résumé, saved as a single document, to: talent@visionspring.org. Include your last name and "Senior Manager, People and Culture" in the email subject line. • Please update your CV/résumé to include a brief description (one or two sentences) about the business/mission of each organization where you have worked. • The preferred start date is May 4, 2020. • Please note, only candidates to be interviewed will be contacted. • VisionSpring is an Equal Opportunity Employer. People from historically marginalized populations are encouraged to apply.1055 total views, 0 today