About Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Founded in 1974, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is one of the largest food banks in the nation and a trusted nonprofit leader in ending local hunger. The organization distributes nutritious groceries through a network of more than 300 partners at drive-thru and walk-up sites across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Due to the prohibitively expensive cost of living in Silicon Valley and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Second Harvest is now serving an average of 400,000 people every month, a 60% increase over prepandemic levels. Second Harvest also connects people to federal nutrition programs and other food resources, and advocates for anti-hunger policies on the local, state and national levels.

Second Harvest receives the support of corporate community builders that include organizations such as Applied Materials, Chegg.com, Oracle, Bank of America, ServiceNow, NetApp, United Airlines, LinkedIn, Intel and others. Second Harvest is also supported by thousands of individuals who donate time, energy, and funds to the organization.

The Opportunity

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley seeks a mission-driven Chief People & Inclusion Officer (CPIO). Reporting to the CEO, the CPIO will be responsible for guiding, developing, and executing an integrated people strategy that will enable the organization to grow and develop while advancing inclusion and equity across the enterprise. Second Harvest is coming of a period of rapid growth (50%+ since 2020) and now needs to review its organization design and processes while identifying and developing leadership competencies for the future.

As a member of the Executive Team, the CPIO will lead the HR and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion functions to build and strengthen organizational capacity to value people through inclusive and equitable human resources policies and practices. They will role model Second Harvest’s values by being Client Centered, working collaboratively within and across the organization as One Team to deliver impactful programs.

The CPIO will act as a thought partner to the CEO and other executives, advising on best human resources practices as the organization continues to grow and develop. This individual will help create space for all employees to work, develop, succeed, and belong. They will continuously improve initiatives on hiring, learning, leadership development, compensation, benefits, people metrics and talent management. The CPIO will be a clear communicator and bring a track record of rolling out effective change initiatives across an organization.

The CPIO will need to be a skilled relationship navigator who can work across all levels of the organization to attain buy-in for an evolving culture. This is a change agent who brings rigor, a passion for problem-solving, and an inspirational leadership style. Second Harvest is seeking a leader who is bold in their efforts to innovate, leveraging the organization’s strong culture and history.

Building on an established and successful HR team already in place, the successful candidate will bring a deep expertise in human resources and demonstrated understanding of the importance of a transparent, values-driven and inclusive employee culture. The CPIO will manage the strategy, policies, and processes related to recruiting, building, developing, rewarding and retaining a growing team of professionals with different lived experiences

The Competencies

Passion for the Mission

The Chief People and Inclusion Officer will have a passion for the mission and values of Second Harvest and for growing the organization’s capabilities to meet increased and changing demands. This leader will ensure the health of the food bank’s culture overall and proactively seek opportunities to highlight positive contributions to long term success.

Transformational Human Resources Leader

The CPIO will be a strategic thinker and a hands-on leader with the experience of having led an organization through periods of growth and transformation with the ability to balance a complex array of organizational needs. A successful CPIO will be highly skilled business partner with the ability to collaboratively shape strategy, and programs, processes and procedures needed to achieve the strategy. They must have experience leading all aspects of HR, including business partnership, compensation and benefits, learning and development, talent acquisition, HR operations, employee relations, and organizational development. They will be an inclusive leader, with a track record of delivering human resources solutions which are equitable and accessible.

Diversity Equity, and Inclusion vision, program design, and execution

The next HR leader will be a change leader in the DE&I space who can drive a transformational vision through strong communication skills and innate leadership qualities. This CPIO will partner with leaders, team members, and other stakeholders to develop creative and cutting-edge ways to drive culture transformation through a DE&I lens and redesign HR programs and policies from an equity perspective. This is a critical role that will require not only strong thought leadership skills, but also the ability to develop executable, successful programs. They will work with the HR team and others on program design, data management, project management and execution, and will be known for their passion for driving new programs and initiatives through the finish line.

People-Centric Leadership

The Chief People and Inclusion Officer will be inspirational people leader. They will be highly responsive, leading a team of DEI and HR professionals to resolve immediate issues while solving root causes strategically and inclusively. They will be committed to developing staff, providing the tools, education and support to allow them to flourish in their roles, and will promote a culture where everyone is valued and included, fostering a sense of belonging in an environment where employees can reach their full potential.

Relationship Builder

This leader will be emotionally intelligent, flexible and adaptable, and will be deeply comfortable connecting with people of different philosophies, backgrounds, cultures and life experiences. They will work to develop relationships with their teams and across the organization to foster teamwork and collaboration ensuring positive outcomes for the organization. This leader will include the perspectives of team members from across the organization while setting clear objectives for the HR & DEI function.

Change Agent

The Chief People & Inclusion Officer will bring energy to inspire the team leading Second Harvest and the community that it serves to achieve new heights as a mission-driven inclusive organization. They will have an exceptional ability to listen and respond effectively with empathy. This individual will be a proactive, collaborative change agent with the skills to make innovative change while remaining sensitive to Second Harvest’s culture and place in the community.

The Role

Key Responsibilities

• Drive accountability around employee engagement, talent acquisition, total compensation, talent management, training and development, and access by focusing on positioning HR policies and practices within an equity imperative and a culture of inclusion
• Develop a strong people focused human resources and reception team and structure to support a rapidly growing organization.
• Provide leadership and support to design, develop, and communicate a clear Second Harvest Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Liberation (IDEAL) people strategy that is aligned to the mission and critical organization outcomes
• Develop a strategic, thoughtful and inclusive talent strategy with a keen understanding of the food bank’s goals and initiatives
• Drive utilization of a training and development program to support accessible management, leadership and skill development for all staff across the organization
• Develop metrics and ongoing benchmarks that support growth as organizational capabilities and competencies evolve
• Support and enable effective union education and relations
• In partnership with senior leadership, guide effective and transparent communications across teams, departments, and functions to identify opportunities for impact and trust building
• Serve as a thought partner and subject matter expert to CEO and senior executive team as they grow and develop the organization