Deputy Chief People Officer (E1)

Save the Children

For over 100 years, Save the Children has been fighting for the rights of children. The right to a healthy start in life. To have access to education. To be in a safe environment, protected from harm. We work in some of the world's hardest-to-reach places - over 100 countries, including the U.S. No matter what your role is, when you join Save the Children, you're creating positive, irreversible change for children, and the future we all share.

The Role

The Deputy Chief People Officer (DCPO) is a strategic and operational leader who plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our people strategy. Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer, the DCPO will lead core People & Culture functions-including HR Business Partners (HRBPs), Employee Relations (ER), Talent Acquisition, and Talent Development, to drive a high-performing, inclusive, and values-driven organization.

This is a critical leadership role focused on enabling organizational effectiveness through talent, culture, and change leadership. The DCPO will serve as a key advisor to senior leaders and a champion for employee experience and equitable workplace practices across the agency while aligning people strategies with the Agency's mission, values, and long-term goals.

Location

Hybrid - Washington DC, Fairfield, CT or Lexington, KY office locations

What You'll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Strategic Leadership

• Partner with the Chief Administrative Officer and senior leadership to co-create and operationalize a forward-looking strategy aligned with organizational priorities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to executive leaders on all matters related to talent, culture, and change.
• Drive culture transformation efforts that reinforce the organization's values, commitments to inclusion and belonging, and mission.

Functional Oversight

Provide strategic direction and oversight to high-performing teams in the following areas:

• HR Business Partnership: Deliver strong, strategic HR consultation to functional leaders to support organizational design, workforce planning, performance management, and change initiatives.
• Employee Relations: Ensure fair, respectful, and legally compliant practices that align with organizational values; lead conflict resolution and internal investigations with integrity, consistency, and in alignment with organizational values.

• Talent Acquisition: Drive inclusive global recruitment strategies to attract top, varied talent; ensure equitable, efficient hiring processes and strong candidate experience.
• Talent Development: Set the strategy and vision for talent development and succession planning. Champion leadership development, learning, and career growth initiatives that strengthen organizational capability and build a robust leadership pipeline.

Organizational Development & Change

• Lead organizational development (OD) strategies that promote and enable scalability, agility, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Champion and implement change management strategies that drive successful adoption of organizational change through clear communication, stakeholder engagement, and leadership alignment.
• Lead change management efforts during periods of growth, restructuring, or transformation.
• Develop tools, frameworks, and guidance to empower leaders to effectively manage and lead through change.

Culture & Engagement

• Advance a culture of inclusion, belonging, collaboration, and innovation across the organization.
• Oversee initiatives that support employee engagement, well-being, and belonging grounded in measurable outcomes.
• Leverage survey and continuous listening strategies to assess and improve employee experience, driving responsive and meaningful action.

Metrics & Continuous Improvement

• Define and monitor KPIs to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of people strategies and programs.
• Use data-driven insights to inform decision-making, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure alignment with global compliance standards, donor expectations, and sector best practices.
• Ensure alignment of people practices with global compliance standards, donor requirements, and sector best practices.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, develop, and inspire a high-performing, mission-aligned HR team rooted in collaboration, accountability, and innovation.
• Foster an inclusive team environment with clear priorities, defined performance expectations, and robust growth and development opportunities.

Required qualifications of the role

• Bachelor degree or equivalent experience plus at least 15 years of progressive HR leadership experience, including global or multi-regional organizations.
• Demonstrated experience leading multiple HR disciplines such as talent acquisition, development, business partnership, and employee relations.
• Proven track record in designing and executing people strategies that support organizational growth and mission delivery.
• Experience navigating complex change and building culture in global, matrixed environments.
• Strong culture acumen and commitment to equitable HR practices.
• Exceptional leadership, influencing, and relationship-building skills across all levels of the organization.
• Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission and supports Save the Children values
• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $188,700 - $210,900 base salary

• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $171,700 - $191,900 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $154,700 - $172,900 base salary

The salary ranges listed above are for US based candidates. For candidates located outside of the US, salary ranges will be based on the salary scales of the local employer of record. Actual base salary may vary based on, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here).

About Us

We are looking to build an inclusive team at Save the Children. We offer a range of outstanding benefits to support this goal:

• Flexible schedules and time off: Generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
• Health: Competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Family: A variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
• Employee Rewards Program: Annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
• Retirement: A retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
• Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
• Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
• Learning & Growth: Access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in you.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

If you require disability assistance with the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to applicantsupport@savechildren.org.