Director of People & Culture

Position Summary

The Director of People & Culture is the senior HR leader responsible for translating business strategy into people strategy. This role leads employee relations, culture integration, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, succession planning, workforce planning, HR compliance oversight, and manager coaching. The Director partners closely with the VP of Business Operations, Business Operations Manager, Finance, operational leaders, and site leadership to ensure people practices are consistent, legally sound, scalable, and aligned with company values.

This position profile identifies the key responsibilities and expectations for performance. It cannot encompass all specific job tasks that an employee may be required to perform. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and perform job-related duties as may be reasonably assigned by his/her supervisor.

Key Performance Areas (Essential Functions of the Position) 

• A stable and consistent employee-relations framework across the combined organization.
• Clear manager expectations for corrective action, performance management, documentation, investigations, and escalation.
• Culture integration support and leadership communication reinforcement during transitions.
• A practical succession and leadership development process for critical roles.
• Workforce planning that connects staffing decisions, business priorities, seasonal workforce needs, and organizational structure.
• Reduced VP bandwidth spent on routine HR escalation while preserving executive visibility into high-risk matters.

Key Success Factors for Position

Employee Relations & Risk Management 

• Lead employee relations strategy, investigation standards, corrective action consistency, terminations review, and escalation protocols.
• Coach leaders on employee performance, documentation, workplace conduct, and conflict resolution.
• Partner with Legal on high-risk, complex, or compliance-sensitive matters as needed.

Culture, Communication & Integration 

• Lead people-focused change management and culture integration.
• Develop manager talking points, employee messaging, FAQs, and communication reinforcement in partnership with leadership.
• Identify retention risks, critical roles, and employee experience concerns.

Talent, Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness 

• Build leadership development, succession planning, talent review, and workforce planning processes.
• Partner with functional leaders on organizational design, role clarity, spans and layers, and future-state structure.
• Support compensation discussions, career path consistency, internal equity reviews, and role-leveling recommendations.

HR Compliance & Policy Oversight 

• Oversee HR policies, employee handbook updates, compliance-sensitive practices, documentation standards, and audit readiness.
• Ensure HR processes align with applicable employment requirements and internal controls.
• Partner with Business Operations on HRIS, payroll, benefits, onboarding, records, and employee data processes.

Experiences / Education Requirements

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Marketing, or related field with an Ag background preferred
• 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including employee relations, compliance, manager coaching, and organizational effectiveness.
• Experience supporting multi-site, manufacturing, agriculture, distribution, or operational workforces strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage investigations, corrective action, performance management, employee communications, and leadership coaching.
• Strong knowledge of HR compliance, documentation standards, leave/accommodation coordination, and risk escalation.
• Ability to build practical processes, influence leaders, and support change in a fast-moving environment.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with UKG or comparable HRIS platforms.
• Bilingual

Working Conditions

General Office Environment:

Work is generally sedentary in nature but may require standing and walking for up to 10% of the time. The working environment is generally favorable. Lighting and temperature are adequate, and there are no hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by noise, etc. work is generally performed within an office environment, with standard office equipment available such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Requirements:

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

While performing the duties of the job the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, read, write, and communicate in fluent English. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This is a Full-Time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, with an occasional Weekend. Unless otherwise notified in advance by supervisor.

Professional Conduct:

Each employee of Standlee Premium Western Forage has a responsibility to know, to understand and to abide by Workplace Professional Standards of Conduct. Professional Conduct includes Customer Service, Courtesy, Ethics, Safety, Teamwork, Responsibility, Accountability, Confidentiality, and Professionalism

Travel Requirements

Frequent travel to local Standlee locations (by vehicle), occasional travel by air as directed.