• Associate Vice President for People and Workplace Culture
  • Salt Lake Community College

Position Information

  • Salt Lake Community College seeks an Associate Vice President for People and Workplace Culture
    Click here to view position profile: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SLCC_AVP_PWC_Profile.pdf
    Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

    The Position:
    Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) is seeking an Associate Vice President for People and Workplace Culture (AVP) to serve as a strategic partner to the Vice President, Finance and Administration and SLCC’s executive leadership in proactively recruiting, retaining, and developing talent. The AVP will be a member of the President’s expanded Cabinet Team and will have regular involvement in discussions with the President and the Team. The People and Workplace Culture staff consists of 32 full-time employees. Six administrators report directly to the AVP, with responsibilities for staff development, benefits, compensation, employment, faculty support, and overall administration. Two administrative assistants support the work of the AVP. The successful candidate will serve as a champion for SLCC’s operating culture and values to promote exceptional college performance and must be an enthusiastic advocate for working at SLCC.

    As the College’s chief human resources officer, the AVP oversees the design and implementation of SLCC’s approach to attracting, engaging, retaining, and developing high-performing, competent, and collaborative people. The successful candidate will provide strategic leadership and operational management of all human resources and workplace culture initiatives, creating alignment with the strategic mission, vision, values, goals, and overall culture of the organization. The AVP leads the full range of services across faculty, staff, and administration including talent acquisition, professional learning and development, succession management, performance management and coaching, faculty and staff relations, compensation and benefits, human resources information systems and policy development, and equal employment opportunities.

    The AVP must be well-versed in reviewing and improving processes and utilizing technology to enhance the end user experience. Key projects for this position will be to oversee improvements to (1) compensation evaluation, equity, and transparency; (2) the employee concern reporting and response process; and (3) leading the development and implementation of process modernization efforts. The AVP will lead process improvement to support integration efforts, ensuring organizational capabilities and talent development programs are appropriately scaled to match organizational priorities and initiatives. The AVP will take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of students and employees and will demonstrate willingness to engage in the necessary, and sometimes difficult, conversations and decision-making that can lead to transformational change for student learning and achievement.

    The successful candidate will be a courageous HR leader who can build trust with senior leaders. The person will build transformative and programmatic approaches to supporting and developing SLCC employees as the institution, industry, and talent base evolve. Developing a strong HR framework based on SLCC’s values will be critical to promoting cultural consistency and ensuring that the College’s values and strategy are front and center in every decision. Target start date is January 5, 2026.

    Responsibilities:
    Key Responsibilities and Job Duties
    • Revise, implement, and lead a comprehensive workplace culture strategy. Consult and advise the Vice President, Finance and Administration and executive cabinet on the strategy.
    • Operate as a senior leader who contributes insights to the College’s overall strategy, priorities, and future direction.
    • Oversee streamlining and optimization processes and provide critical data for development of the People and Workplace Culture strategy.
    • Champion the effective use of technology and administrative systems within the department.
    • Ensure organizational capabilities and talent development programs are appropriately scaled to match organizational priorities and initiatives.
    • Lead, develop, and maintain a skilled and high-performing HR and professional development team.
    • Provide leadership, direction, and management for the personnel, resources, and processes of the People and Workplace Culture division.
    • Hire, train, and supervise supporting personnel, including scheduling, delegating, coordinating, and clarifying work.
    • Ensure budget and other College resources are used effectively.
    • Build, lead and assess a world-class, innovative department that supports and serves the entire College.
    • Other duties as assigned.

    Key Priorities
    • Develop strong working relationships with the People and Workplace Culture team and take the lead in providing the team robust opportunities for professional development and training.
    • Champion efforts to improve the reputation and standing of the PWC team with key College stakeholders.
    • Review, redesign, and optimize People and Workplace Culture processes.
    • Ensure that the PWC division is capitalizing fully on the College’s NeoEd human resources software and Ellucian Banner administrative software.
    • Provide innovative leadership to ensure that the College’s compensation, benefits, and workplace climate support the hiring and retention of a skilled and mission-focused workforce.
    • Regularly communicate with College stakeholders about PWC policies and processes, highlighting improvements and innovations focused on quality improvement.

    Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
    People and Culture Leader
    • Demonstrated ability to act as a confidante and trusted advisor to the VP, Finance and Administration and the College’s executive team. A strategic partner who has supported a C-suite in decision-making and communicating strategy and vision throughout an organization.
    • Possesses strong organizational acumen and ability to quickly link college strategic initiatives to potential people and human resources implications.
    • Begins conversations from an operational perspective, using HR as a lever to drive strategic success.
    • Effectively supervises a team of managers towards a common goal and targets; able to be a manager of managers.
    • Exhibits cultural competence and the desire to learn and grow from difference.
    • Demonstrates a willingness to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of our students and employees; critically reassesses her or his own practices.

    People Process Optimization
    • Demonstrated knowledge and skill in building, scaling, and optimizing HR systems, programs, and processes in a complex organizational environment.
    • Must possess a broad understanding of all functional parts of HR management, in addition to principles and methods of strategy development and management and how they apply in a higher education context.
    • Demonstrated ability to gather, report, and analyze people data to optimize and improve outcomes.
    • Experience creating alignment across a diverse workforce, bringing employees together under a cohesive cultural dynamic aligned to organizational vision, mission, and strategic goals.
    • Experience in HR change management, along with a demonstrated ability to drive significant transitions and effectively influence multiple stakeholders.

    Content Expertise
    • Knowledge of human resource management, employment and labor laws (Title IX and EEO) and their application to public higher education institutions.
    • Knowledgeable with employee relations and faculty and staff development theory and practice.

    Communication
    • Strong organizational skills with attention to detail; able to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
    • Must be a proactive, open, and direct communicator who engages comfortably and credibly with all levels of the organization.
    • Ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of people with a variety of abilities and backgrounds, to maintain good working relationships across the College.
    • Ability to work with all groups from a variety of academic, socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, and with community college students, faculty, and staff, including those with disabilities.

    Minimum Qualifications:
    • Master’s degree or equivalent knowledge in business, economics, HR management, social science, or related field of study.
    • Ten (10) years of experience in organizational development, compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, learning and development, employee relations, HR management, or other related fields.

    Preferred Qualifications:
    • Experience in higher education (public or non-profit) strongly preferred.
    • SPHR certification preferred.

    Why Consider the Opportunity:
    • Opportunity for Innovative Leadership. SLCC is experiencing transformational change, creating significant opportunities for courageous leadership and innovation by the AVP. Active change management and review and improvement of key processes and outcomes are essential in the leadership of the People and Workplace Culture office.
    • Responsive and Purpose-Driven Community College. Salt Lake Community College is responsive to the needs of its students and the various communities it serves. Its purpose – to provide educational opportunity to students of all backgrounds and ages – informs all aspects of the College’s work.
    • Opportunity for Impact. SLCC is a large and impactful institution in the Salt Lake region. It provides significant opportunity and mobility for students. This is an outstanding opportunity to support the College’s mission.
    • Location. The Salt Lake area offers a lively mix of city life and nearby natural beauty. The greater Salt Lake City metropolitan area has grown to a population of over one million people. The region’s growing diversity fuels a lively and diverse cultural scene.
    • Compensation and Benefits. Highly competitive salary and benefits package.
    To Apply:
    Salt Lake Community College, in consultation with Summit Search Solutions, Inc., will begin a confidential review of application materials immediately and continue until the position is filled; parties who apply by September 28 will be given first consideration. Please submit a CV/resume and letter of interest upon application. All applications and nominations will be held in confidence.

    To apply online, go to: https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su467

    For more information or to offer recommendations or nominations:
    Tammarah Townes
    Senior Consultant
    Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
    Direct: (302) 388-9480
    ttownes@summitsearchsolutions.com

    It is the policy of Salt Lake Community College to comply with all federal, state, and local authorities requiring nondiscrimination, including, but not limited to Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order No. 11246, 45 CFR Part 90, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, and Utah’s Executive Order, issued December 13, 2006.

    The College is fully committed to policies of equal employment and nondiscrimination and works to prevent any form of exclusion from participation in, denial of benefits of, or subject any individual to discrimination, harassment, or prejudicial treatment on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, religion, protected veteran status, expression of political or personal beliefs outside of the workplace, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

     

Organization Information

  • About Salt Lake Community College:
    Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) has come a long way since its founding as a small technical college 76 years ago. SLCC now serves tens of thousands of students at 8 SLCC locations and online throughout Salt Lake County.

    SLCC serves its students by offering programs with highly transferable credits and at affordable cost. Flexibility, choice, and job relevance are hallmarks of the SLCC educational experience. Highly qualified and engaged faculty, assisted by academic and career advisors, provide the academic support that students need.

    SLCC is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

    Leadership for SLCC’s Future
    SLCC is a comprehensive community college that includes a distinct technical college. It works as an educational collaborator, with a unique mission to be a bridge between high schools and Utah’s four-year and research universities. The College also links students and their training to the needs of the community’s employers. SLCC is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of students and the community.

    The Associate Vice President for People and Workplace Culture will be joining SLCC at a pivotal time, partnering with the College’s new President, Dr. Greg Peterson, who was selected to lead Utah's largest two-year higher education institution in April 2024. Throughout Dr. Peterson's tenure in higher education, he has demonstrated his commitment to the community college mission of providing all students with access to and success in higher education and in life.

    A first-generation community college student himself, Dr. Peterson has launched many initiatives focused on student learning and success. He led college promise programs at several two-year institutions and pioneered the nation's first associate degree programs in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Dr. Peterson has a strong track record of establishing partnerships with community and industry leaders to strengthen workforce pipelines, enabling students to translate their education into family-sustaining careers. Additionally, Dr. Peterson has led efforts to improve the rate of community college student transfer to four-year and research universities. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Education recognized his work in this area. Most notably, at one institution Dr. Peterson oversaw a 45% increase in transfers for Native American students, a 39% increase for Black students, and a 13% increase for Latinx students.

    Planning for the Future
    Salt Lake Community College is Utah's largest two-year college with 50,000 students, proudly educating the state's most diverse student body in eight areas of study at eight locations and online. Almost half of our students are first in their family to attend college, and over 24% are from Hispanic/Latinx communities.

    To learn more about trends shaping SLCC’s future and the College’s responsive strategic plan, click here: https://www.slcc.edu/Plan/index.aspx#trends.

    Salt Lake Community College is a part of the Utah System of Higher Education governed by the Utah Board of Higher Education. SLCC is institutionally governed by the SLCC Board of Trustees, the SLCC President, and the SLCC Executive Cabinet.
     
  • https://www.slcc.edu/
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