Senior Director of Human Resources

As the Senior Director of Human Resources at NextRNA Therapeutics, you will join an interdisciplinary team of highly creative and talented individuals whose mission is to translate the pioneering science of long-non-coding RNAs into transformative medicines for patients.

You are a seasoned HR professional who will be responsible for managing the strategy and processes related to building and retaining an exceptional team.  You will have an opportunity to work with a diverse team of highly collaborative professionals in an exciting, fast-paced, rapidly growing biotech.

This role is to optimize people-centered activities such as hiring, training, professional development, and performance management (and other key projects) to ensure these efforts support NextRNA’s growth.

Working with the NextRNA leadership team to continue to develop a well-defined culture is another critical role of the Senior Director of Human Resources and to help bring this culture to fruition through strategic “storytelling.” This means ensuring that NextRNA’s values are reinforced with initiatives and communication.

While a stellar employee experience is paramount, providing an exciting, candidate-centric recruiting experience is also vital. We are looking for a strong Human Resources professional who will serve as NextRNA’s culture advocate and brand builder and help attract the best and brightest talent to the organization.

About You:

• You have demonstrated experience in developing, leading, and managing the human resources function for a small- to medium-sized biotech or pharma company.
• You are a real team player whose collaboration is one of your best strengths.
• You are conscientious, organized, and detailed-oriented.
• You have the courage to make tough decisions and deliver difficult messages when needed.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment and enjoy pushing the edge of what is possible.
• You enjoy wearing several hats and volunteer to take on additional responsibilities for the good of the company and the team.

What You’ll Do:

• Be a strategic partner in the development of NextRNA’s plans and programs, particularly from the perspective of the impact on people.
• Develop appropriate policies and programs to comply with federal, state, and local legal requirements by studying existing and new legislation, anticipating legislation, and enforcing adherence to requirements for effective management of the people and resources of NextRNA.
• Develop human resource planning models to identify competency, knowledge, and talent gaps and develop specific programs to fill the identified gaps. Areas of activity will include talent management through proper succession planning programs for key contributors and management positions and training and development programs to prepare employees for more significant responsibilities.
• Assure and oversee the performance planning and review processes.
• Facilitate and guide management teams on all HR matters.
• Continually assesses the competitiveness of all programs and practices against the relevant comparable companies.
• Develop progressive and innovative compensation programs to provide motivation, incentives, and rewards for effective performance. Create and update compensation strategy through market analysis and pay surveys (Radford and other compensation surveys).
• Partner with insurance brokers to administer benefits, including coordination of annual open enrollment, changes in coverage, and issue resolution with benefit providers. Develop and manage benefits administration by ensuring employees are properly enrolled and terminated accurately and be a liaison for employees to address concerns and questions.
• Develop and drive organizational effectiveness and support the CEO on all major initiatives.
• Lead on all system projects within the HR department.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition consultants to manage the full lifecycle recruiting process.
• Lead and coordinate the orientation and onboarding process of newly hired talent and offboarding when needed.

The responsibilities outlined are fundamental but not comprehensive in representing the initial tasks linked with the role. Adjustments to individual duties may arise in response to business requirements as the position progresses.

Key Qualifications:

• Minimum of 12+ plus years of progressive HR experience in biotech or pharma, high level of experience in a HR/People and HR Operations environment with proven experience.
• Knowledge of compensation strategy, performance management, employee relations, safety practices, and the ability to apply this information in a manner that is compliant with relevant employment law.
• Experience with creating a culture of engagement, collaboration, and teamwork; ability to collaborate with management teams to follow NextRNA’s vision and culture.
• Deep knowledge of HR functions (Employee relations, policy & procedure implementation, data compilation & analysis, strategic planning, etc.).
• Excellent written and verbal communication and public speaking skills.
• Well-organized with excellent leadership qualities.
• Demonstrated ability to function as a business partner to both management and executive teams.
• Proven leadership ability, strategic thinker, effective people manager, and problem solver.
• An understanding of the need for strict confidentiality and discretion with highly sensitive information.
• PHR, SPHR SHRM certification highly desirable.

This position will be on-site 5 days per week at our Boston, MA location.

Come to NextRNA as your true self. We value every aspect that makes you unique and want everyone to feel comfortable being who they are while working with us. This is why NextRNA does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical abilities, neurodiversity, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We welcome any qualified individual to bring their unique selves to become part of our team.

Please contact NextRNA Head Talent Acquisition for further information
mgreene@nextrna.com