Director, People Strategy

Company Description

Rapid7 (NASDAQ: RPD) is helping organizations around the globe advance securely. Our technology, services, and community-focused research simplify complexity for security teams, helping them reduce vulnerabilities, monitor for malicious behavior, investigate and shut down attacks, and automate routine tasks. With more than 9000 customers across 120+ countries, Rapid7 is a recognized leader in cybersecurity that has proudly earned numerous industry accolades and strong recognition for our technology and culture. For more information, visit our website, check out our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn.

Our Mission By continuously improving our technology, stemming the creation of risk in the community, and making security more usable and accessible, Rapid7 enables technology professionals to gain the clarity, command, and confidence they need to safely drive innovation and protect against risk. Our product suite helps organizations to quickly predict, deter, detect, and remediate attacks and obstacles to productivity. The Opportunity

The People Strategy team is, at its core, obsessed with bringing out the best in our people to achieve transformational growth within themselves and for Rapid7 because we believe that our people are the lifeblood of our company and central to achieving our mission. We do this through a People Strategy partnership model that starts with a deep understanding of our business, our culture and our people.

Rapid7 is looking for a business-savvy, growth minded, collaborative, and people-focused leader to join our People Strategy team and be a key driver in achieving the company’s mission. As a Director of People Strategy reporting to the VP of People Strategy, you will partner with business leaders and people managers in North America to develop, implement and improve people programs with a shared goal of creating incredible experiences for our employees, while supporting our growth and the achievement of Rapid7’s business goals. 

The Role

The Director of People Strategy will be in charge of implementing, scaling and improving people strategy programs designed to support business goals. They will be asked to understand overall people trends, challenges and opportunities and with the support of a people strategist, they will implement solutions that increase engagement, strengthen the effectiveness of our managers, and reduce unhealthy turnover, thus creating the most productive and satisfying work experiences for our people. 

In addition, the Director will be leading the implementation (with a focus on scalability, accountability and consistency) of management practices such as talent assessments, 9-boxing, career development planning, continuous feedback and performance management with an emphasis on enabling leaders to make effective decisions that promote the development of our people and the success of our teams. With a deep focus on our culture and the “HOW” we engage with our people, the Director of People Strategy is not your typical HR leader. We are looking for someone who is passionate about our people and their experience as well as our business and is driven by the desire to make an impact in people’s careers and for Rapid7.

What the role will look and feel like:

• You will be managing the day-to-day People Strategy initiatives for technical and G&A talent. In doing so, you will not only manage a people strategist but be a trusted and knowledgeable leader partnering with the other people teams such as Total Rewards, People Development and Talent Acquisition to ensure seamless support to our people and teams.

• You will be a trusted partner to people across all levels of the organization, laser-focused on understanding business goals and challenges and the people dynamics that exist to build exceptional experiences and support strong talent decisions that enable achievement of those goals.

• You will be a partner and advisor to our leaders and proactively diagnose and communicate trends around their people and teams (i.e., engagement, development, retention, collaboration) and lead the development of solutions to address them - with the goal of supporting their business goals through a people lens.

• In partnership with the Total Rewards leader and our People Strategy team, you will lead the execution of activities within the employee lifecycle for your line of business - including performance management, merit and bonus planning, promotions and internal transfers and exits/terminations.

• You’ll be a key partner to the People Development team and help determine learning needs for our people and build strategies to ensure effective application of learning principles on the job.

• You will be a coach and advisor to our leaders and managers in their efforts to strengthen their management bench and build teams that scale.

• Working with the People Strategy team and business leaders, you’ll ensure that employee initiatives are in line with and reinforce our company’s culture and core values.

• You’ll lead and deliver with a consistent focus on building a high-performing culture of growth and development through a connection to our people and managers built through effective communication, trust and feedback.

• You’ll be laser-focused on understanding and leveraging People Strategy data to articulate insights and develop action plans to address people challenges.

Qualifications and Traits:

• 8-10 years of professional work experience in HR (with a focus on Business Partner experience), Organizational Development, Talent Consulting or a related field

• Bachelors of Arts or Science required

• A natural leader with an impressive balance of business acumen, influencing skills, empathy, relationship building, and courageous authenticity with unquestionable integrity

• A instinctive influencer with a clear point of view - you are seen as a trusted advisor, people seek you out, trust your advice and follow your lead 

• Excellent at delivering difficult feedback/messages with a unique balance of directness, objectivity and transparency

• Able to embody Rapid7 core values in how you lead and manage through complex and challenging situations

• Expert at coaching leaders through challenging team dynamics and helping them build alignment through effective communication, conflict resolution and an ability to truly understand the root cause of issues

• Strong management track record in building and developing people strategy talent and skills

• Capable of imbuing teams with a learning mindset - you encourage your team to try something different and learn from mistakes

• Proactive, self-motivated with a strong work ethic 

• Posess an amazing attitude – personable, approachable, and always eager to help

• An amazing communicator, able to effectively work with discretion and sensitivity across all levels of the business

• Creates a team culture that handles ambiguity well, and actually thrives in it

• People love working with you because you:

  • Don’t just enjoy being in “HR” because you “love people” - you value the difference your role can make in the experience people have at work 

  • Avoid drama like the plague

  • Provide insight and support without solving their problems for them

  • Are collaborative, warm, and instill a sense of support