Vice President, People & Culture

Vice President of People & Culture

Sault Tribe Incorporated (“STI Federal”) is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Vice President of People & Culture to join our leadership team and shape the future of our enterprise technology environment! This role will support our external Technology requirements by leading the RFP process for prime and sub responses.

Who We Are & What We Do…

At STI Federal, we drive growth through strategic government contracting, fulfilling our mission to support the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Our company reinvests 100% of its profits into tribal businesses or community programs, enhancing the well-being of nearly 50,000 tribal citizens. Our work empowers federal agencies and strengthens some of the nation’s most critical initiatives, while fostering opportunities for skilled professionals to make a meaningful impact.

What You’ll Do…

As the Vice President of People & Culture, you will serve as the architect and executive leader of STI Federal’s People & Culture function, establishing a scalable, values driven people strategy that enables enterprise growth, strengthens organizational clarity, and ensures readiness for both organic expansion and M&A integration. You will build and operationalize the systems, structures, and leadership capacity needed for STI Federal to sustain rapid annual growth while maintaining a high-performance, high-trust culture. 

Key Responsibilities & Expected Outcomes

• Lead Enterprise People Strategy–Design and operationalize an enterprise People & Culture strategy directly tied to STI Federal’s growth objectives. Continuously refine organizational structure, decision rights, leadership accountability, and bench strength to support increasing scale and complexity.
• Strengthen a High-Performance, Values-Driven Culture–Shape and reinforce a values-driven culture capable of thriving in an environment of significant growth and change. Embed core values into leadership behavior, communication practices, and decision-making frameworks to sustain alignment across teams and subsidiaries.
• Provide Strategic Oversight of Enterprise Knowledge Management– Oversee enterprise Knowledge Management strategy to put information at our employees’ fingertips and build a culture of capturing and using organizational knowledge. Ensure systems, processes, and governance support consistency, adoption, and effective integration across subsidiaries and contracts.
• Lead People & Culture Dimensions of M&A–Serve as a core leader in acquisition strategy, diligence, and integration. Develop and execute people-side integration plans that address organizational design, leadership alignment, communication, culture integration, and talent retention throughout acquisitions.
• Build a Predictive Workforce Planning & Talent Engine– Develop a data-informed workforce planning system aligned to business development pipelines and contract demands. Integrate talent acquisition and talent experience into a cohesive talent lifecycle that supports proactive hiring, strong retention, and differentiated employee value.
• Establish Scalable People Compliance & Governance–Develop enterprise-wide people-related compliance and governance systems that ensure audit readiness across all entities. Define expectations for documentation, regulatory adherence, and disciplined execution while reducing operational friction.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities for Success

• Demonstrates a dedication to upholding and enhancing STI Federal’s core values.
• Excels in a collaborative team environment, fostering positive relationships and contributing to shared goals with professionalism and mutual respect.
• Ability to architect enterprise-wide people strategy and systems in a high-growth federal contracting environment.
• Ability to lead with clarity during organizational change, enabling high-trust and high-performance team dynamics.
• Ability to build scalable processes and operating models supporting rapid expansion and acquisition integration.
• Strong executive communication and leadership presence; able to influence across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrates strong judgment in complex, ambiguous, and high-stakes people-related decisions.
• Proficiency in organizational design, workforce planning, and leadership development.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of federal contracting HR requirements, compliance systems, and audit readiness.
• Proficiency in M&A integration planning, cultural assessment, and talent risk mitigation.
• Familiarity with knowledge management principles, systems architecture, and governance models.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Organizational Development, Business, or related field.
• 10+ years in people leadership in a high‑growth small‑mid GovCon organization.
• 3+ years leading people strategy at the VP or equivalent level, overseeing both Talent Experience (HR) and Talent Acquisition (recruiting) functions. 
• Must have direct experience leading people aspects of buy-side M&A integration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree preferred (MBA, MPA, or similar)

• Certification in SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
• Demonstrated experience successfully guiding the development and ongoing integrating of Knowledge Management into company culture. 

Compensation & Work Environment

• Salary Range:$165,000 - $190,000, dependent on experience.
• Environment: This is a remote position that may be based anywhere within the continental United States. Preference will be given to candidates located in or near the following metropolitan areas: Sault Ste Marie, MI; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; San Antonio, TX: Denver, CO.
• Travel: This position will require periodic travel (up to20%) for key meetings, team collaboration, integration work, and onsite engagements, as required.

STI Federal is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Qualified applicants are considered for employment regardless of age, disability, ethnicity/race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Native American preference applies when candidates meet qualifications equally.

STI Federal participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program. Learn more about E-Verify.