Senior Vice President Human Resources
ABOUT SAN DIEGO FC
At San Diego FC, we believe football is more than a game — it’s a community, a culture, and a movement. As MLS’ newest club, we’re building not just a team, but a brand that reflects the heart of San Diego.
This is an opportunity to join a team of passionate people and play a meaningful role in evolving the Club’s people systems from solid startup foundations into a scalable, high-performance, people first organization.
SUMMARY
The Senior Vice President, Human Resources serves as the Club’s Chief People Officer and steward of San Diego FC’s people strategy. As a member of the Leadership Team, this hands on role sets the strategic direction for the full employee lifecycle—including workforce planning, talent acquisition, onboarding, development, performance management, rewards, engagement, and retention—while overseeing a lean HR team responsible for execution.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Talent & Workforce Strategy
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive Leadership Team, and Board on sensitive employee matters, workforce strategy, organizational health, and leadership effectiveness.
- Lead workforce planning across full-time, part-time, seasonal, and contingent populations.
- Partner with Finance on headcount planning and labor cost strategy.
- Guide organizational design to support clarity, accountability, and scalability.
- Provide executive oversight of talent acquisition strategy, recruiting processes, and hiring governance.
- Ensure effective onboarding and integration practices that reinforce culture and accelerate productivity.
Leadership, Culture & Employee Experience
- Serve as steward of the Club’s culture, values, and leadership behaviors.
- Lead employee engagement strategy, culture measurement, and organizational feedback practices.
- Guide leadership development initiatives and management capability building.
- Ensure consistent employee experience across front office, sporting operations, academy, retail and stadium environments.
- Promote a workplace culture that reflects the Club’s mission and values.
Performance, Development & Talent Management
- Own the design and governance of the Club’s performance management framework, including goal setting, review cycles, and calibration.
- Ensure alignment between performance outcomes, development planning, compensation decisions, and succession planning.
- Guide learning and development initiatives that support leadership growth and internal talent pipelines.
- Support succession planning and long-term leadership continuity across the organization.
Total Rewards
- Own the Club’s compensation philosophy, job architecture, salary band structure, and incentive frameworks.
- Lead compensation modeling, benchmarking, and external market analysis.
- Provide executive oversight of bonus programs, retention strategies, and pay equity reviews.
- Ensure internal equity and compliance across all employee populations.
Governance, Compliance & People Risk
- Oversee employment law compliance, including California labor regulations, wage and hour, leaves, MLS regulations, and workplace accommodations.
- Partner with Legal on complex investigations, high-risk employee relations matters, and regulatory exposure.
- Ensure safeguarding strategy aligns with MLS, U.S. Soccer, FIFA, and industry best practices.
- Maintain strong HR governance including policies, employee handbooks, and audit readiness.
- Oversee HR systems, people analytics, and workforce data integrity to support executive decision-making.
HR Leadership & Operations
- Lead and develop a high-performing HR team with clear accountability and scalable operating practices.
- Provide executive direction for people-related communications to ensure alignment with Club values and leadership messaging.
- Serve as the final escalation point for complex people decisions and sensitive organizational matters.
REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS
Experience
- 15+ years of progressive human resources leadership experience, including senior HR leadership roles (VP, SVP, or Chief People Officer level).
- Proven success building and scaling HR functions within growing or evolving organizations.
- Experience advising executive leadership on workforce strategy, organizational design, and leadership development.
- Strong experience with compensation strategy, performance management frameworks, and workforce planning.
- Deep knowledge of employment law and HR compliance, particularly within California.
Leadership
- Strategic leader with the ability to translate organizational goals into effective people strategies.
- Trusted advisor capable of influencing senior leaders and managing complex organizational dynamics.
- Strong judgment and discretion when handling sensitive employee and organizational matters.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in HR, Organizational Leadership, Business Administration, or related field preferred.
Preferred
- Experience within professional sports, entertainment, or similarly dynamic operational environments.
APPLICATION PROCESS
We invite all qualified candidates to apply on our LinkedIn posting. This is an opportunity to be a part of a great team building something meaningful for San Diego. We offer excellent benefits including multiple health plans, lifestyle & wellness plans, over 30 days of paid time off, and a 4% company match on your 401(k).
San Diego FC is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We strongly value student athlete safeguarding and do background screening and training for certifications.
