Vice President of Legal and Human Resources

Job Title: Vice President of Human Resources and Legal

Department: Headquarters

Location: Hybrid, Washington, D.C.

Reports to: President

Direct Reports: Yes

Classification: Exempt

Position type: Full-Time Employee

Anticipated Pay Range at Commencement of Employment: $128,000 - $177,000

Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 300,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country.

Our mission is simple and bold: We make military life awesome for families. 

We listen, share, partner, and act to deliver evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work for real people. We’re a lifestyle organization, a friend and neighbor, and a trusted partner. Our approach is collaborative, human-centered, and designed with the whole family in mind.

A Blue Star Family is one with an immediate family member — a spouse, parent, or child — actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Guard and Reserves. These families face unique challenges: frequent relocations, deployments, career disruption, and isolation. We respond with research-informed programs that create connection, build resilience, and foster a true sense of belonging.

We serve with urgency but build trust over time — because change happens at the speed of trust. Whether we’re driving spouse employment, supporting caregivers, or helping communities welcome military families, we strive for upstream solutions.

Who We’re Looking For:

• Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change — and who care deeply about making an impact that matters.

What You’ll Do Here:

• Solve complex challenges with data, heart, and humility
• Build cross-sector partnerships that get things done
• Help military families feel at home wherever they live

If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment — and to make life better for those who serve — Blue Star Families is where you belong.

General Description

Reporting to the President and serving on the executive leadership team, the Vice President of Human Resources and Legal (approximately 75% HR / 25% Legal) is a trusted advisor to organizational leadership and the Board of Directors. This role leads the organization's HR strategy, operations, and people practices — including workforce planning, employee relations, performance management, talent management, compensation and benefits, organizational development, engagement, policy, and employment compliance — while leading and developing the HR team.

The role also serves as the organization's in-house legal resource, providing practical, solutions-oriented counsel on employment law, contracts, governance, compliance, investigations, privacy, intellectual property, fundraising, and nonprofit operations, and determining when matters should be handled internally versus in partnership with outside counsel.

This position requires a collaborative, hands-on executive who moves fluidly between strategic leadership and day-to-day execution, builds strong cross-departmental partnerships, and ensures people, legal, compliance, and risk strategies work together to support a strong, effective organization.

This is a hybrid position requiring regular on-site presence in a Blue Star Families office in addition to remote work. In-person attendance in a Blue Star Families office is an essential function of the role and is necessary to support collaboration, communication, and the successful performance of essential job responsibilities.

Periodic overnight travel is an essential function of the role. Team members are required to travel several times per year to attend meetings, trainings, offsites, and organization-wide events. Attendance and participation in these in-person gatherings are necessary to support collaboration, organizational alignment, and the successful performance of essential job responsibilities.

Key Job Functions

Human Resources Leadership

• Serve as strategic advisor to the President, executive team, and organizational leaders on workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, employee relations, talent, and culture.
• Lead, develop, and manage the HR team, establishing priorities and a culture of accountability, service, and continuous improvement.
• Lead workforce planning, organizational design, restructurings, succession planning, leadership transitions, and other change initiatives in partnership with leaders.
• Provide guidance on employee relations, performance management, disciplinary actions, accommodations, leaves, separations, and reductions in force; direct workplace investigations into discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and misconduct.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment law across a multi-state workforce (wage and hour, leave, EEO, accommodations).
• Direct HR policy, program, and systems development — including performance management, talent acquisition, onboarding, retention, employee development, succession planning, and compensation strategy (salary structures, market benchmarking, internal equity).
• Oversee employee benefits programs to ensure they remain competitive, compliant, and sustainable.
• Use workforce data and HR metrics to identify trends, drive engagement and retention, and inform organizational decisions.
• Support leadership development and manager effectiveness through coaching, tools, and training.
• Manage HR vendors, consultants, brokers, and other external partners.

Legal Leadership and Counsel

• Serve as the organization's primary internal legal advisor on employment, contracts, governance, compliance, privacy, IP, fundraising, and nonprofit operational matters.
• Ensure HR policies, practices, and organizational decisions appropriately address employment law requirements and risk.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage organizational agreements — vendor, technology, partnership, MOU, grant, sponsorship, and federal subaward agreements.
• Advise leadership on legal issues affecting programs, fundraising, marketing, advocacy, and partnerships; monitor relevant legal and regulatory developments.
• Maintain legal policies, templates, and internal controls; manage relationships with outside counsel as the primary internal point of contact.
• Manage legal disputes, claims, and threatened litigation in partnership with outside counsel and insurers.
• Support protection of intellectual property and brand assets, and provide guidance on privacy, cybersecurity, and data governance.

Risk Management, Governance, and Compliance

• Partner with executive leadership to identify, assess, and mitigate employment, legal, operational, compliance, and reputational risk.
• Advise executive leadership and the Board on governance, fiduciary responsibilities, and compliance matters; support Board and committee operations.
• Oversee compliance reviews, internal investigations, audits, and regulatory inquiries, recommending corrective actions.
• Partner with external advisors to evaluate insurance coverage, claims, and organizational risk.
• Develop and deliver training on employment practices, compliance, ethics, and risk management.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Experience, Skills, Background

• 10+ years of progressively responsible HR leadership experience, including senior-level responsibility across employee relations, performance management, talent management, compensation and benefits, organizational development, and employment compliance.
• JD from an accredited law school; active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. State Bar.
• Significant knowledge of employment law with demonstrated experience applying it to HR policy, practice, and organizational decisions.
• Experience providing legal counsel on contracts, employment law, compliance, governance, or organizational risk.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing HR teams and advising senior executives on complex, sensitive workforce matters.
• Experience supporting a multi-state workforce and navigating federal, state, and local employment requirements.
• Strong business acumen, judgment, and communication skills, with the ability to translate HR and legal concepts into practical guidance.
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, use data and metrics to inform decisions, and manage multiple priorities with a high degree of autonomy.
• Ability to travel locally and overnight as needed, and to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as required.

Desired Experience, Skills & Background

• Experience in a nonprofit, mission-driven, or similarly complex organization, ideally with a geographically dispersed or multi-state workforce.
• Experience with organizational development, workforce/succession planning, or organizational change initiatives.
• Experience managing compensation structures, benefits programs, and engagement strategies, plus HRIS/workforce analytics.
• Experience supporting federal grants or cooperative agreements.
• Experience drafting or negotiating commercial, partnership, grant, or nonprofit agreements; familiarity with contract lifecycle management.
• Familiarity with nonprofit governance, privacy/cybersecurity/data governance, membership-driven organizations, and military/Veteran communities.

More About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families empowers military and Veteran families to thrive by connecting them with their civilian neighbors — both people and organizations — to create strong communities of mutual support. We believe we're all stronger when we take care of one another.

Our groundbreaking research is raising the nation's awareness of the unique challenges of military family life. With the help of neighbors across the country, Blue Star Families is overcoming the isolation and alienation of frequent moves, deployments, and reduced support from the government. Our innovative programs are solving specific challenges for military families, including fighting economic insecurity with resources that foster spouse career development, creating family strength with rich family programming, and providing critical peer support for caregivers, whose numbers are only increasing.

Blue Star Families is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 

EEO Policy

Blue Star Families is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Why Blue Star Families?

• Mission-driven work supporting military service members and their families
• Flexible work options (remote, or hybrid depending on the role)
• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• Flexible Spending Accounts, life insurance, and disability insurance
• Communications allowance
• Professional development and career growth opportunities
• PCS leave for Active Duty military spouses