People Programs Lead

About the Team

OpenAI’s People team aims to hire, engage, and retain world-class talent who will safely build and deploy universally beneficial Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The HR team is an important subset of the People team and supports a complex, growing employee group of scientists, engineers, and business professionals. The team contains expertise across employee relations, immigration, compensation and benefits, learning and development, project management, and more.

About the Role

As the People Programs Lead, you will lead the strategy and execution of all people programs at OpenAI. You will champion our culture and drive initiatives that support our values and business goals. This role requires a deep understanding of aligning people strategies with business objectives to foster a high-performance culture.

This role reports to our Head of HRBP and Programs and is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and execute a holistic People Programs strategy encompassing learning and development, performance reviews, onboarding, feedback mechanisms, and employee surveys.
• Lead and mentor a small but mighty team of People Programs professionals, empowering them to execute initiatives that enhance employee growth and satisfaction.
• Champion feedback and continuous improvement culture, leveraging engagement surveys and performance data insights to inform People Programs strategies.
• Oversee the design and implementation of a scalable, inclusive onboarding program that accelerates time-to-productivity and fosters a sense of belonging from day one.
• Innovate and iterate on People Programs to ensure they remain relevant, impactful, and aligned with our evolving business needs and workforce dynamics.
• Facilitate engaging and productive offsites and training sessions that bolster team cohesion and strategic alignment.
• Champion DEI efforts, creating programs that foster an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued.
• Act as a strategic partner to business leaders, providing insights and solutions that drive organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Are passionate about building a culture that aligns with business goals and values creativity.
• Possess strong leadership skills, with the ability to inspire and mobilize a team towards a common vision.
• Are adept at using data to inform decisions and measure the impact of people programs.
• Exhibit excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey complex ideas and persuade stakeholders at all levels.
• Are innovative and flexible, with a talent for thinking creatively about solutions to people-related challenges.
• Exceptional coaching, communication, and leadership skills, serving as a role model for excellence within and outside the HR function.
• The ability to provide strategic HR partnership and counsel that aligns with our business objectives rather than adhering to HR best practices for their own sake.

We're looking for a mix of the following experiences:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience developing and scaling programs and initiatives focused on people, ideally in the technology or research-based industry
• Demonstrated success in managing a team and leading through change, with a track record of developing high-impact People Programs.
• Are a creative problem-solver who can think outside the box and is unafraid to try new approaches to old problems.
• Move quickly to action, demonstrating an ability to make informed decisions rapidly and execute them with precision.
• Are a strong communicator and collaborator, capable of building relationships and influencing across all levels of the organization.
• A background in strategy development and program execution.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. 

For US Based Candidates: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

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At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.