VP Talent - Beachwood - Robots & Pencils

Description

Company Overview

Robots & Pencils is a digital innovation consulting firm that partners with organizations to solve meaningful, complex problems through technology, design, and engineering. We move fast, work at the edge of what's possible, and rely on exceptional people to deliver for our clients.

Be one of the first applicants, read the complete overview of the role below, then send your application for consideration.

As we scale across geographies, clients, and delivery models, we are investing in a single executive owner for the entire talent ecosystem — someone who can bring clarity, cohesion, and strategy to how we attract, grow, deploy, and support our people.

Position Overview

Reporting to the COO and overseeing a team of 10+ HR/talent professionals at various levels, the VP of Talent owns all People and Talent functions globally and serves as a core business leader. You will design and lead the systems that allow a highly distributed, remote-first consulting workforce to scale sustainably while delivering exceptional client outcomes.

This is a build-and-lead role for a seasoned executive who understands that in consulting, talent strategy is business strategy.

Scope of Ownership

• Talent Attraction & Resourcing
• Workforce & Capacity Planning
• Resource Management & Deployment
• HR Operations & Compliance (multi-state and international)
• Talent Experience & Engagement
• Performance, Development & Career Pathing
• Compensation & Total Rewards
• Leadership Development & Succession
• People Technology & Data
• Culture, Values & Change Leadership

Key Responsibilities:

Talent Strategy & Executive Partnership

• Define and execute a multi-year talent strategy aligned to company growth, delivery models, and financial goals.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team on workforce risks, tradeoffs, and opportunities.
• Translate business strategy into talent decisions that support scalability, margin, and client satisfaction.

Resourcing, Workforce Planning & Delivery Alignment

• Set and lead strategic end-to-end resourcing model — from demand forecasting through deployment.
• Partner with Delivery, Sales, and Finance to align pipeline, capacity, and hiring decisions.
• Introduce discipline and visibility to bench management, utilization, and hire-ahead strategies.
• Ensure talent decisions support client delivery excellence, not just headcount growth.

Recruiting & Talent Attraction

• Build and scale a best-in-class talent attraction function capable of supporting rapid growth across roles, regions, and time zones.
• Lead business planning with long term capability needs, shifting the organization from reactive, just-in-time hiring to proactive, planned talent attraction.
• Position the company as the employer of choice in a competitive technical market through a developed employer brand and candidate experience.

HR Operations & Global People Infrastructure

• Oversee all HR operations across multiple states and countries, ensuring compliance, consistency, and scalability.
• Set an employee relations and policy framework that enables performance management and compliance across a distributed workforce.
• Scale talent systems and processes that support remote, global teams while maintaining clarity and fairness.

Talent Experience, Culture & Engagement

• Design a cohesive talent experience across the employee lifecycle — from onboarding through growth and retention – that can scale across multiple locations.
• Strengthen culture in a remote hybrid and distributed fast-growing organization.
• Lead engagement, listening, and action planning efforts that result in real change.

Performance, Development & Leadership

• Design and scale performance management systems that enable a high performance team, aligning individual and team outcomes with overall company strategy.
• Establish and develop clear career frameworks and development pathways that support retention and internal mobility.
• Own leadership development and succession planning ensuring organizational readiness for a scaling organization.

Compensation, Rewards & Equity

• Own compensation strategy, leveling, and pay practices across geographies.
• Ensure total rewards programs are competitive, equitable, and aligned with business priorities.
• Partner closely with Finance on cost modeling and workforce economics.

People Data, Systems & Insight

• Lead people analytics and technology strategy (ATS, HRIS, performance tools).
• Bring clear, actionable insights to leadership — not just reports.
• Use data to inform decisions, anticipate risks, and drive continuous improvement.

Candidate Qualifications:

Experience & Background:

• Degree in Human Resources, Business or a related field.
• 15+ years in Talent / HR leadership with senior executive responsibility.
• Proven experience supporting multi-state and international and fully remote workforces.
• Strong understanding of employment law, compliance, and global people operations.
• Experience with scaling global talent strategies.
• Experience partnering closely with Delivery, Sales, and Finance leaders.
• Prior experience in client delivery environments is strongly preferred.
• Technically savvy, including experience with communications systems such (ex. Slack and SharePoint).
• Excellent leadership, coaching, and communication skills.

You are someone who:

• Is a business leader first, with deep talent expertise.
• Have led end-to-end talent and HR functions at scale, ideally in consulting, professional services, or project-based delivery environments.
• Understand how workforce decisions directly impact delivery quality, utilization, and margin.
• Are comfortable operating across ambiguity, growth, and complexity — including global, remote teams.
• Can build systems from scratch while stabilizing what exists.
• Influence senior leaders with credibility, data, and calm judgment.
• Balance empathy with accountability and clarity. xhmxlyz
• Is comfortable with up to 25% travel to our various office hubs.