Executive Director - People Strategy & Chief of Staff

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.

About the Role

The Executive Director, People Strategy & Chief of Staff serves as the Chief People Officer’s (CPO) strategic partner, translating the CPO’s enterprise People Strategy and priorities into integrated plans, disciplined execution, and measurable outcomes. The role ensures alignment across Divisions, Corporate Functions, and COEs by driving a coherent enterprise People roadmap on behalf of the CPO and acting as the CPO’s chief integrator to clarify priorities and orchestrate execution.

As leader of the Corporate HRBP team, this role strengthens strategic talent partnership across Corporate Functions and acts as a key connector between the CPO, Division HR, and COEs to ensure consistent application of enterprise People principles. The Executive Director also serves as a trusted advisor to the CPO, surfacing tradeoffs, enabling informed decision‑making, and shaping the evolution of the People Strategy through insights, execution learnings, and enterprise-level perspective, under the direction of the CPO.

Your Team

• Two direct reports and global cross-functional partners.

What You Will Do

People Strategy & Planning

• Build and operationalize the enterprise execution framework that enables delivery of the CPO’s Global People Strategy.
• Develop strategic insights and materials for and with the CPO for engagements with the Board and SLT.
• Partner with Division HR and COEs to ensure strategic alignment and surface enterprise-level tradeoffs for CPO review and decision-making.
• Oversee governance models defined by the CPO to ensure division strategies align to enterprise principles.

Governance, Portfolio Management & Chief of Staff Responsibilities

• Serve as Chief of Staff to the CPO, leading PLT operating rhythm, agenda design, decision tracking, and follow‑through.
• Shape executive communications and leadership narratives in partnership with Communications and People Enablement.
• Lead intake, prioritization, and sequencing of enterprise People initiatives; maintain a disciplined 12–18‑month roadmap.
• Manage RAID processes, surfacing risks, dependencies, and recommended actions.
• Prepare executive materials and briefings for PLT, SLT, and Board interactions.
• Lead the Office of the CPO to ensure CPO-led decision clarity, follow‑through, and effective use of CPO time. Drive enterprise integration and prioritization primarily through influence, not direct authority.

Strategic Initiatives & Program Leadership

• Lead cross‑functional teams to pilot high‑impact HR capabilities (e.g., Manager Excellence, Skills Architecture, Talent Marketplace, HR Service Model).
• Define scope, success metrics, and transition successful pilots to COEs for enterprise scale.

AI Enablement/Acceleration

• Translate enterprise AI strategy into People operating model changes, including workforce capabilities, org design, leadership readiness, and ethical governance.
• Serve as the People Team liaison to enterprise AI initiatives, ensuring workforce and operating model considerations are embedded.
• Align workforce strategy and org design roadmaps with AI‑driven capability and productivity shifts.
• Partner with HARMAN University to drive AI literacy, leader enablement, and adoption.
• Track adoption, value realization, and ROI of AI‑enabled People initiatives.

People Metrics & Analytics

• Partner with People Intelligence to turn people data into insights, KPIs, and decision frameworks that guide enterprise investments, capabilities, and organizational choices.

Budgets

• Support Corporate People team budget planning, forecasting, and variance analysis in partnership with Finance.
• Provide scenario modeling and tradeoff analysis to inform enterprise People investments.
• Benchmark HR cost‑to‑serve and identify efficiency opportunities.

Corporate HRBP Leadership

• Lead and elevate the Corporate HRBP team as strategic partners to Corporate Function leaders.
• Drive workforce planning, executive talent management, organizational effectiveness, and capability strategies across Corporate Functions.

What You Need to Be Successful

• 12–15+ years of progressive experience across HR strategy, enterprise transformation, and leadership roles, with demonstrated enterprise‑level impact.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide transformation initiatives in complex, global matrix environments.
• Demonstrated ability to orchestrate strategy and lead cross‑functional enterprise programs.
• Strong fluency in people analytics, KPI design, and financial acumen.
• Experience with AI enabled HR use cases and governance.
• Exceptional executive communication, influence, and stakeholder management.

• Enterprise strategic and systems thinking, including organizational and operating model design in complex matrix environments.
• Program and portfolio leadership with executive judgment and influence under ambiguity.
• Analytical rigor, executive‑level storytelling, and change leadership.
• Financial and vendor management.
• HR Technology/AI fluency (HRIS, ATS, LMS, ServiceNow; AI copilots/agents).

What is Nice to Have

• Master’s (MBA/MPA)

What Makes You Eligible

• Be willing to travel up to 25%, domestic only OR domestic and international travel.
• Be willing to work in an office in Stamford, CT in a hybrid model.
• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment.

What We Offer

• Flexible work environment, allowing for full-time remote work globally for positions that can be performed outside a HARMAN or customer location
• Access to employee discounts on world-class Harman and Samsung products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, etc.)
• Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University
• Competitive wellness benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program
• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development

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Salary Ranges:

$ 210,000 - $ 308,000

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.