The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) is a $1.5 billion philanthropy working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, data science, and the public interest. This role exists to make sure the team advancing our mission is supported, developed, and set up to do the best work of their careers.

The Head of People Operations reports to the VP, People and Culture, and leads several critical pillars of the P&C function: manager capability, performance culture, organizational and manager learning, technical and non-technical recruiting, employee relations, HR compliance, and benefits.

This is a role for someone who excels at both strategic people conversations and being in the weeds of an employee relations matter. You bring sound judgment to hard situations. You build teams and systems that hold up over time. You care about the mission, and that care shows up in how you treat your colleagues every day.

How You’ll Make An Impact

What We Are Looking For

Skills and Competencies

• Communication and influence. You read the room and adjust. With a skeptical manager, you are direct and concrete. With senior leadership, you lead with the implication. Your documentation stands on its own. Managers come to you before situations escalate because your advice works.

• Sound judgment. You know when a decision is not yours to make alone, and you say so clearly. You are analytical when data is available and decisive when it is not. You see trends in people data and name them to leadership without being asked.

• Execution. You bring structure to ambiguous work. You take a program from concept to rollout and track what is working without being prompted. When you own something, it gets done.

• Process and people in balance. You hold the line on process without losing sight of the person in front of you. You are consistent without being rigid.

• Equity in practice. You have changed a hiring, performance, or development outcome through this lens. You can point to the specific decision you made differently and what happened as a result.

• AI fluency. You have used AI tools in HR work, whether in recruiting, performance, or people analytics. You understand where these tools add value and where human judgment cannot be replaced. You can help the team think through adoption decisions with that context in hand.

• Comfort with start-up-like environments. You have worked in a place where strategic and administrative work land in the same space. You treat operational tasks with equal urgency as larger initiatives. You understand that credibility at this scale is built through consistent execution.

• Remote-first effectiveness. You thrive in a 100% remote environment and can build connections to work and people without having to share physical space. You communicate proactively in writing. You build relationships without relying on proximity. You stay visible without being performative.

• Work eligibility: Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. (No visa sponsorship available)

What We Offer

The salary range for this is $130,000-$150,000. Starting salaries are typically placed in the lower half of the range, with flexibility based on the experience you bring. Beyond career-defining work, we offer a comprehensive benefits package to support you along the way:

• Health Coverage – Foundation-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees, spouses/domestic partners, and dependents. Coverage includes family planning support, a One Medical subscription, and begins on the date of hire.

• Employer-paid group term life insurance and short-term and long-term disability insurance.

• Long-term Rewards – 401(k) retirement plan with generous matching up to 6% of annual pay, plus an additional discretionary match at the end of the year.

• PTO & Leave Options – Paid time off, which allows team members to take the time they need for vacation, illness, volunteer time, bereavement, medical leave, so they can return to work able to contribute fully to our mission. The foundation recognizes 11 paid national holidays per year and also hosts a winter break at the end of the year.

• Parental Leave – Up to 6 months of gender-neutral paid leave for parents and caregivers when they have a new addition to their families

• Remote Work Environment - Ability to work 100% remotely within the USA, but not alone, with mature, socially minded professionals. Annual all staff summit in the Summer. Remote work stipend to support remote working needs.

• Wellness Support – Employee Assistance Programs, access to Ginger, Headspace, and SmartSpend Plus, along with financial well-being providers

• Learning Reimbursements – Foundation policy encouraging employees to explore development opportunities such as peer learning, internal training, and external activities; savings on student loans (available via insurance provider)

• Philanthropic Gift Matching – opportunity for team members to support nonprofits in their community, reflecting PJMF’s commitment to social impact

PJMF is committed to fair and transparent compensation practices. Our salary ranges are informed by market data from peer organizations in our sector. Our salaries are competitive and equitable, and they align with peers in the same job group. Because salary ranges are small and the internal parity review is thorough, offers are firm.

It is important to us that our hiring process is accessible to everyone. If you require accommodations to participate in the interview process, please let us know at people@mcgovern.org.

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We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.