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NEOGOV · 1 day ago

Chief People Officer (CPO) Exempt | Olympia

Thurston County – Olympia, WA

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

$98K/yr - $170K/yr

8+ years exp

NEOGOV is seeking a visionary Chief People Officer (CPO) to help lead the mission of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to support vulnerable children and families. This role will involve designing and advancing a people strategy grounded in equity, care, and purpose, while influencing how thousands of employees are supported and empowered to do meaningful work.

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Responsibilities

Design, integrate, and advance a holistic people strategy aligned with DCYF’s mission, values, and long-term goals

Serve as a trusted advisor to the Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Leadership Team on workforce trends, organizational health, and people-centered decision-making

Champion an agency-wide approach to employee experience, wellness, and equity

Foster a workplace culture grounded in belonging, respect, psychological safety, and employee voice

Guide agency-wide onboarding and orientation to ensure new employees feel welcomed, prepared, and connected to the mission from day one

Lead initiatives that strengthen engagement, recognition, leadership effectiveness, and organizational resilience

Provide executive oversight of peer support and wellness programs that help employees recover and thrive after critical or high-impact events

Ensure labor relations practices align with DCYF’s people-centered values and overall workforce strategy

Supervise and support the Labor Relations Administrator, promoting consistency, collaboration, and proactive problem-solving

Build and sustain constructive, respectful relationships with labor partners, including participation in demand-to-bargain conversations

Promote a transparent, communicative, and respectful work environment across the agency

Lead the creation of a centralized, agency-wide learning and development framework that supports employees at every stage of their careers

Align mandatory training, professional development, leadership development, and operational skill-building into a cohesive system

Promote leadership development, succession planning, and continuous learning across the organization

Provide strategic direction and integration for core HR functions through oversight of the Human Resources Director

Ensure recruitment, classification and compensation, HR operations, and investigations align with long-term workforce and equity goals

Support high-quality HR service delivery while improving consistency, clarity, and operational efficiency

Leverage workforce data, analytics, and employee feedback to inform executive decisions and measure the impact of people strategies

Oversee dashboards and metrics that promote transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement

Foster respectful, collaborative relationships with Tribes that honor tribal sovereignty and support meaningful government-to-government partnership

Ensure workforce and people practices reflect cultural humility and support culturally responsive decision-making

Qualification

Strategic leadershipPeople operationsWorkforce developmentLabor relationsEmployee engagementOrganizational effectivenessCultural humilitySPHR CertificationCoachingCollaborationCommunicationContinuous learning

Required

A bachelor's degree or higher from a college or university whose accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the US Department of Education or foreign equivalent

At least eight (8) years of senior-level leadership experience in organizational leadership, people operations, workforce development, or related strategic functions that support employee engagement, culture, and organizational effectiveness

At least five (5) years of experience managing or coaching professional staff, fostering collaborative environments, and leading complex change initiatives

Knowledge of state and federal employment and labor laws, relevant court decisions impacting employers, and American Arbitration Association knowledge of collective bargaining process for general government decisions

Ability to work collaboratively with a variety of constituents including partners and key stakeholders both within and outside the agency

The ability to take action to learn and grow

The ability to take action to meet the needs of others

Preferred

SPHR, PHR, SHRM-SCP, or SHRM-CP Certification

Benefits

Employees and their families are covered by medical (including vision), dental and basic life insurance.

Staff are eligible to enroll each year in a medical flexible spending account which enables them to use tax-deferred dollars toward their health care expenses.

Employees are also covered by basic life and long-term disability insurance, with the option to purchase additional coverage amounts.

Dependent care assistance allows the employee to save pre-tax dollars for a child or elder care expenses.

Other insurance coverage for auto, boat, home, and renter insurance is available through payroll deduction.

The Washington State Employee Assistance Program promotes the health and well-being of employees.

State Employees are members of the Washington Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS).

Employees also have the ability to participate in the Deferred Compensation Program (DCP).

All state employees are covered by the federal Social Security and Medicare systems.

If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, and meet the qualifying criteria, you may be eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid holidays and one paid personal holiday per calendar year.

Full-time employees earn eight hours of sick leave per month.

Full-time employees accrue vacation leave at the rates specified in WAC 357-31-165 or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Washington State supports members of the armed forces with 21 days paid military leave per year.

Most employees whose family member or household member dies, or for loss of pregnancy, are entitled to five (5) days of paid bereavement leave.