Director, People & Culture

Job description

About the Role We are looking for a Director, People & Culture who is passionate about building and scaling an exceptional company, not simply managing established HR programs. Partnering closely with the Chief People Officer and senior leadership team, this highly visible, hands-on leader will help shape our culture, develop our leaders, strengthen talent, and build the People practices and infrastructure needed to support the organization as it grows and evolves. We’re looking for a culture builder, trusted advisor, and pragmatic operator who has experienced what it takes to scale a smaller organization and can move seamlessly between strategy and execution. This person will translate our business priorities and values into how we lead, develop talent, recognize performance, and work together. Key Responsibilities Build and strengthen our culture. Partner with leaders to foster a high-performing, engaged culture grounded in our values, with a focus on connection, collaboration, accountability, and recognition. Build for scale. Assess where our People practices, programs, and ways of working need to evolve as the company grows. Build practical, scalable solutions, improve what already exists, and create what is needed next while maintaining the agility of a smaller organization. Develop leaders and talent. Build and deliver leadership development, coaching, learning, succession, and talent programs that strengthen our leadership pipeline and help people do their best work. Turn insights into action. Use workforce data, employee feedback, and business insights to challenge thinking, identify opportunities, and provide simple, actionable recommendations. Elevate the employee experience. Listen to employees and leaders, identify opportunities for improvement, and create People programs and experiences that strengthen engagement and performance. Drive performance and organizational effectiveness. Lead and evolve key talent processes, including performance management, calibration, development planning, succession, and compensation planning. Partner with leaders through organizational growth, change, and increasing complexity. Be a trusted People partner. Coach and advise leaders on people, organizational, and employee relations matters, balancing employee advocacy, business needs, sound judgment, and appropriate risk management. What You'll Bring Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of progressive People/HR experience, with level determined based on experience and scope. Meaningful People/HR experience within the biotechnology industry, with an understanding of the talent, organizational, and business dynamics of a biotech company. Experience in a small-to-mid-sized organization that has scaled or evolved significantly, with firsthand experience building and evolving People programs, processes, and infrastructure to support growth. Deep experience across talent and performance management, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, change management, and employee relations. Demonstrated success strengthening culture, employee engagement, leadership effectiveness, talent, and ways of working. A strategic, data-driven mindset paired with a willingness to be highly tactical and hands-on, with the judgment to determine what needs to be built, improved, or kept simple. Strong business acumen and the ability to translate business priorities into practical People strategies and solutions. Experience leveraging HR technology, employee listening, and workforce analytics to inform decisions, along with strong knowledge of HR best practices, employment law, and compliance requirements. Exceptional communication, coaching, influencing, and relationship-building skills, with a high degree of ownership, curiosity, and judgment. This role adheres to our 4 days/week (Monday–Thursday) onsite policy at our Boston headquarters. Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Zevra is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. Notice to External Recruiters Zevra does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies or search firms. Recruiters are requested not to contact employees or hiring managers. All candidate submissions must be coordinated through our Human Resources team and require a prior written agreement. Any resumes sent without such an agreement will not create any implied obligation. About Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. We are a rare disease therapeutics company leading with science to make life-changing therapeutics available to patients with significant unmet needs. We involve key thought leaders, physicians, patients, care partners, and advocacy groups in all of our clinical and regulatory development strategies. With a keen understanding that drug development often requires creative solutions, we have the insight and expertise to forge new pathways to success that others have missed. By following the data without bias, our transparent narratives and common-sense perspective have successfully overcome complex development challenges to make much-needed therapies available to patients. Nimble and dauntless, we push boundaries beyond what is thought to be possible and advance new therapies that have the potential to bring meaningful improvement to patients’ lives.