Director of People + Culture

New Leaf Energy is seeking a Director of People + Culture. This is a crucial strategic role at the company; we identify the first two of our three core corporate strategies as “Lead with our culture” and “Invest in our people.” This leadership role is an opportunity for a particularly motivated individual to make a significant and lasting impact on the organization.

Position Summary 

NLE was founded in July 2022 as a spinoff of Borrego Energy; about 120 employees were with the company at its founding, and we have since added about 90 more. Headquartered in Lowell, MA, NLE has offices in four additional locations: Boston, Chicago, Troy, NY, and Oakland, CA. About 70 percent of our employees are hybrid, which means that they go into an NLE office at least two days out of every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and are free to work from home on the other days. The Director of People + Culture is a hybrid role and can be located in any of these offices; our preference is for a Massachusetts-based candidate.

We’re looking for a person who can be bold in growing with the company, and be thoughtful about new ways to tackle problems we haven’t seen before. Our current Director of People + Culture has been with NLE since its inception, having previously served in a similar role at our predecessor company, and is retiring between January and March 2025. We will accommodate your preferred start date; our current Director will help to train the candidate and align their end date as works best for the candidate and NLE. This role reports to the Senior Director of Operations.

Position responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: 

• Accountability for providing the vision, leadership, and organization to direct the HR function in a manner consistent with the strategic plan of NLE.
• Developing and implementing applicable policies and programs to support that vision.
• Constructively counseling individual employees; providing a welcoming presence and open door for any employee who needs guidance.
• Advising on organizational design, workforce development, and people strategy.
• Managing and administering compensation and benefits for all 200+ NLE employees. This includes adhering to and continuously improving NLE’s published compensation manual and annual salary review process.
• Taking a leadership role in the employee experience, partnering with your direct reports to execute exceptional recruitment, onboarding, employee engagement, career development, and offboarding practices.
• Providing coaching, counseling, and guidance regarding complex employment issues. 
• Ensuring compliance with employer laws in each state. 
• Sharing responsibility for all human resources-related legal issues, working closely with our in-house counsel and external employment attorney.
• Supervising the administration of payroll.
• Administering the company’s 401(k), and serving on the three-member fiduciary committee (along with the VP of Finance and EVP of Engineering).
• Leading New Leaf Energy’s DEI initiatives, and iterating on them in consultation with the rest of the company. Chairing the DEI Leadership Group and the DEI Committee. 
• Managing all aspects of the company’s immigration processes, including visa applications, renewals, and compliance, with the support of NLE’s outside counsel.

With a talented team and committed leadership, the incoming Director of People + Culture is well-positioned to accomplish these tasks and directly contribute to NLE’s success. The Director’s three direct reports—an Employee Development Program Manager, a Senior Recruiter, and a P+C Generalist—execute many of NLE’s day-to-day human resources functions. This structure enables the P+C leader to remain engaged in the department's operations while also building meaningful relationships across the company and creating and delivering on a strategy that advances NLE’s people and business objectives.

Desired Qualifications:  

While no one individual will possess them all, the successful candidate will bring many of the following experiences, skills, and attributes. If you’re unsure whether you meet enough of the qualifications below but believe that your experience and skill set is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply!

• 2-3 years experience leading a multi-person team in a People + Culture/Human Resources capacity.
• Deep experience in at least one and preferably more human resources disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience in managing projects with which you were previously unfamiliar. 
• Highly organized and a clear communicator. 
• Comfortable with leading change, managing to change, and working with large and small teams to drive change.
• Able to be a decisive leader. Capable and confident in bringing a beginner’s mind to a problem, considering options, and making a decision.
  

Compensation

New Leaf Energy compensates all employees in three ways: market-competitive base salary, plus above-market variable compensation, plus an equity-like program such that all employees experience the benefits of ownership.  We use a data-driven and transparent methodology to calibrate compensation that is externally competitive and internally equitable, guided by the New Leaf Energy compensation manual, which is available to all employees.

Under our compensation framework, the likely base salary range for this position in the Lowell location is $175,740 - 202,250. The on-target annual cash bonus associated with this position is an additional 30% percent of base salary. Your actual salary may be above, in, or below this range, depending on your location and experience.

We value transparency and can share more during the interview process.