Senior Director, People

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Energy & Materials, Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, and Robotics.

TRI is seeking an experienced leader for the People team. In this role, the new People team leader will support an empathetic, energetic company culture, provide inspired leadership to our executive team, establish new processes and optimize old ones, and help set a course for long-term sustainability.

The ideal candidate has implemented strategic initiatives that attract, engage, develop, and recognize highly skilled professionals and leads. Reporting directly to our COO, the Senior Director, People will play a critical role in driving employee engagement and culture initiatives, while embodying TRI’s values. This role oversees an established team spanning Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, People Operations, Employee Relations, People Business Partners, and Learning & Development.

The successful candidate thrives in dynamic, fast-paced environments and quickly adapts to learn the latest trends, technologies and HR practices. This is a great opportunity to be a true owner and work closely with our executive team on high-impact initiatives to advance the growth and development of TRI talent.

• Develop TRI’s People strategy, initiatives, and programs that lead to successful business outcomes
• Lead within a fast-growing company with the knowledge that constraints always exist, perfection is rarely attained, and leading through ambiguity is prized
• Develop a progressive compensation and benefits programs to provide motivation, incentives, recognition, and rewards for effective performance. Continually assess the competitiveness of all programs and practices against the relevant comparable companies, industries, and markets
• Partner with executive leadership and recruiting to develop hiring plans that support strategic objectives and advance the business and functions
• Attract and hire amazing talent, foster a learning culture, and create environments for teams to accomplish greater things together
• Implement programs and corrective action plans as identified through our employee engagement survey
• Provide performance management direction including leadership development, accelerated development, planning succession, and facilitation of performance reviews
• Partner with the leadership team and our functional teams, equipping all of us to attract, grow, and retain top talent
• Ability to bring a positive point of view as we continue to scale and take on new challenges
• Provide expert consulting support to various teams within TRI in relation to business process improvement efforts and organizational design

• 15+ years of experience in Human Resources including at least 5 years of people management experience
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study
• Extensive experience overseeing all core People functions: talent acquisition, culture, people growth, business partners, compensation, benefits, employee relations, and learning & development
• Strong leadership and influencing skills
• Ability to remain flexible and agile in a constantly evolving environment along with a willingness to always learn
• Experience successfully scaling companies 
• Experience working with technology-forward organizations
• Experience leading Human Resources in a geographically dispersed environment
• Track record of leading successful change management initiatives
• Experience in defining and nurturing high-performance cultures; ability to create frameworks that reinforce and enhance company culture
• Experience collaborating with and presenting to global leaders
• Collaboration, analytical, and planning skills, with solid understanding of professional best practices
• Communication and presentation skills, with the ability to deliver innovative, complex, or controversial topics in a compelling and engaging manner.
• Demonstrated ability to relate to employees at all levels in a genuine, authentic way– always modeling the desired leadership behaviors

• Experience utilizing Workday, Lever, and Vendor Management Platforms
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate trust and openness amongst colleagues together with a reputation for high personal integrity
• Expertise in building consensus on a cross-functional basis
• A highly motivated, energizing attitude that inspires others to seek higher levels of performance

The pay range for this position at the commencement of employment is expected to be between $232,000 and $360,180/year however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Note that TRI offers a generous benefits package (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave) and an annual cash bonus structure. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

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TRI is fueled by a diverse and inclusive community of people with unique backgrounds, education and life experiences. We are dedicated to fostering an innovative and collaborative environment by living the values that are an essential part of our culture. We believe diversity makes us stronger and are proud to provide Equal Employment Opportunity for all, without regard to an applicant’s race, color, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, religion, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state or local laws.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.