Description

Step Up For Students is a state-approved, nonprofit scholarship funding organization that helps administer scholarships for Florida schoolchildren:

• The donor-funded Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) Program and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) helps K-12 students attend private schools.
• The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) empowers families to personalize the education of their students by directing funds to where they’re needed most.
• The Personalized Education Program (PEP), which is part of FTC, for students who are not enrolled full-time in private or public school.
• New Worlds Scholarship Accounts supports K-5 public school students who need additional academic support in reading and/or math.
• The Transportation Stipend to help K-8 students travel to a public school of their choice

Public education is rooted in the promise of equal educational opportunity, regardless of income, special needs, or home address.

Step Up For Students is a partner of public schools, and these scholarships strengthen public education by offering options to all families so they can choose the learning environment that best meets their children’s individual needs.

The Opportunity:

The Chief People Officer (CPO) plays a critical role in supporting the transformation and growth of Step Up For Students. Reporting directly to the CEO, the CPO will provide strategic leadership across Human Resources, Workforce Planning, Coaching and Culture, and Internal Communications. This role requires a collaborative, forward-thinking leader who can align people strategies with the organization’s mission and long-term goals. The CPO will work closely with executive leadership to shape a high-performing, inclusive culture that supports both employee well-being and organizational success.

Responsibilities:

• Build and operationalize a workforce planning model that aligns headcount, skills, and organizational structure to SUFS’ growth strategy.
• Establish an organization-wide performance and talent review rhythm, including leadership assessment, development planning, and succession visibility.
• Redesign onboarding and reboarding to accelerate clarity, connection to mission, and understanding of the value chain.
• Set the Learning and Development strategy and introduce programs that strengthen leadership capability and functional excellence at scale.
• Elevate employee communications and modernize the intranet experience to improve clarity, transparency, and alignment across a fully remote workforce.
• Lead and develop HR Operations, Talent Acquisition, L&D, Culture, and Employee Communications teams with clear goals, expectations, and operating standards.
• Partner with C-Suite to integrate people strategy into financial planning, systems design, and organizational priorities, including compensation philosophy and job architecture.
• Advise the CEO and senior leadership team on culture, organizational health, and talent decisions while maintaining high standards for employee relations, compliance, and policy stewardship.

Requirements

Ideal Candidate:

• Minimum 15 years of leadership experience in talent management, including hiring, onboarding, upskilling, performance tracking, and contractor management.
• SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification required.
• Proven track record of successfully scaling organizations through periods of rapid growth, with experience leading cultural and operational change.
• Experience leading through complex, high-pressure, and challenging organizational scenarios with confidence and effectiveness.
• Demonstrated strategic leadership capabilities and strong policy development proficiency.
• Minimum 7 years of experience working within nonprofit organizations, especially those serving diverse socio-economic populations and individuals with a broad range of abilities.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in fast-paced, process-critical sectors such as large enterprises, banking, payments, or retail is an asset, especially with experience supporting timely and efficient operations.
• Clear alignment with the mission and values of Step Up For Students.
  Location: United States Remote, East Coast working hours

DRiWaterstone is proud to lead this search on behalf of Step Up For Students.