The Vice President of Employee Lifecycle Programs & Belonging leads the design, development, and execution of programs aimed at enhancing every stage of the employee journey—from recruitment to exit. This role ensures that all talent programs are impactful, scalable, and aligned with the company’s strategic and diversity goals, fostering an inclusive and equitable culture that prioritizes employee experience, engagement, and retention. You will be responsible for creating and managing a holistic employee lifecycle strategy that drives recruitment, onboarding, development, engagement, retention, and offboarding, ensuring we attract, develop, and retain top talent. Your role will be critical in building the next generation of leaders and maximizing the engagement of our people.

At REI Co-op, we believe time outside is fundamental to a life well lived and exist to inspire and enable a life outside for everyone.  To deliver on that promise, we are working with our 17,000+ employees, 23M members and the broader outdoor community toward a reality where everyone has the opportunity to be themselves, to access opportunities and find their place in the outdoors. For us, that means: 

• Investing in work that removes the barriers people and communities face to getting outside.
• Delivering relevant products, experiences, and expertise to equip and inspire a new generation of outdoor stewards.
• Cultivating a workforce that reflects the demographics of the markets we serve.
• Leading the industry’s efforts to welcome people and communities historically underrepresented into outdoor media and culture.

Leading the Way

• Develop a deep understanding of, effectively communicate, and support the execution of the company's growth agenda and priorities.
• Translate company strategy into comprehensive, actionable employee lifecycle programs that foster a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing workforce. Lead cross-functional teams to design and implement programs across the employee lifecycle, ensuring alignment with business goals and culture. 
• Ensure accountability by translating company strategies into actionable, aligned divisional plans and executing successful delivery.
• Identify and communicate key responsibilities and practices to promote a successful attitude, confidence in leadership, and teamwork.
• Collaborate with senior leaders across the organization to ensure that employee lifecycle initiatives support business objectives and drive organizational growth. 
• Provide coaching, direction, and leadership support to employees to achieve division, company, and customer results.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement by using data and feedback to refine lifecycle programs and address emerging workforce needs. 
• Recruit and build high-performing teams that inspire others to learn, solve problems creatively, and succeed.
• Develop and manage an environment that fosters the development of future leaders and embraces the company’s values in action and behaviors.
• Develop and communicate a clear and compelling talent and workforce DEI vision, strategy, and 5-year roadmap aligning with the organization's broader business objective, enacting the Co-op’s Talent Philosophy and driving the REDI (“Racial Equity Diversity and Inclusion”) agenda.
• Oversee, develop, recommend, and lead key strategic talent initiatives such as leadership development, change management, succession planning, talent acquisition, employee training and development, performance management.
• Lead the strategy for employee programs across the entire employee lifecycle. This includes:
• Talent Acquisition & Recruitment Programs: Develop initiatives that streamline recruitment, improve candidate experiences, and ensure diverse talent pipelines.
• Onboarding & Orientation Programs: Implement programs to help new hires integrate quickly and effectively into the organization’s culture and operations.
• Learning & Development (L&D) Programs: Create continuous development opportunities that support leadership and skills growth, promoting internal mobility and cross-functional learning.
• Performance Management & Feedback Programs: Establish clear and transparent systems for setting goals, providing feedback, and evaluating performance.
• Retention Programs: Design targeted initiatives to improve retention, job satisfaction, and employee development.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs: Ensure all lifecycle programs align with DEI goals, fostering an inclusive culture where employees from all backgrounds feel valued.
• Internal Mobility & Career Pathing Programs: Promote opportunities for internal growth and development, ensuring employees have clear career progression within the company.
• Offboarding & Alumni Programs: Standardize offboarding processes to gather feedback, ensure smooth transitions, and maintain alumni relationships for potential rehires or brand advocacy.
• Help develop, deploy, and refine the employee life cycle at REI (goal setting, performance evaluations, succession planning, individual development, capability building, and top talent development programs).
• Drive initiatives to enhance employee engagement, increase retention, build employee growth and development, and meet diversity and inclusion goals.
• Analyze data and understand market trends, employee behavior, and the competitive landscape to develop talent strategies that support Co-op strategy.
• Partner with relevant teams to create data-driven talent strategies that align with overall business objectives.
• Provide leadership and strategic direction to achieve financial goals, drive the core business, and the transformation agenda.

• Significant amount of progressive HR, organizational development, talent management, and talent acquisition
• Extensive experience in talent management, organization development, performance management, employee communications, culture development, learning & development, training, and/or performance management.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing successful talent and culture strategies and programs.
• Experience impacting change in a fast-paced, highly distributed workforce of exempt and non-exempt employees.
• Experience working in or leading HR business partnership, recruiting, training and development, diversity, succession planning, organizational design, and/or performance management.
• Consultative approach to influencing senior business and HR leaders on strategic initiatives.
• Ability to translate conceptual frameworks to tactical deployment.
• Experience leading multiple projects and priorities of large scale.
• Self-starter with ability to lead and influence cross-business and global teams.
• Demonstrated awareness and understanding of multiple dimensions of identity, including race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, generational sexual orientation, ability, linguistic, professional, and other differences.
• Builds capacity of individuals and teams through effective employee development, involvement, communication, and supervision efforts.
• Establishes trust and inspires others.
• Positive relationship management and teamwork skills.
• Uses business knowledge, innovative thinking, and sound judgment in solving problems or pursuing business opportunities.
• Fosters change in company direction and effectively plans and executes changes.

At REI, we believe the outdoors is for all. We are committed to becoming a fully inclusive, anti-racist, multicultural organization. We know that there's strength in our diversity – that each employee brings unique skills, experiences, and perspectives. Every day you are driving change, fostering a culture of respect, and knowing you're backed by benefits that support your whole life. To work towards this commitment and fulfill our brand promise of inspiring and enabling a life outside for everyone, we seek employees who demonstrate different ways of working, create a sense of belonging, and actively listen and learn.  

Pay Transparency 

We are committed to practices that promote pay equity and transparency. As required by applicable Pay Transparency laws, REI provides a range of compensation for roles that may be hired in locations under these requirements. Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary may include a wide array of factors, including: your specific skills and experience, geographic location or other relevant factors.   

REI offers all regular employees a generous employee discount, access to health benefits, a retirement savings plan and accrued time off.  Click here for a detailed overview of benefits plans by employee profile.