Managing Director - People & Culture

Job Description

To Apply
This search is being led by Korn Ferry. Interested and qualified applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected]. Applying to the MacArthur career site may cause delays in review of your application.

The Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the nation's largest independent philanthropic foundations, dedicated to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. Established in 1978 through the legacy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, the Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks that are advancing solutions to some of the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges.

Through programmatic grantmaking, impact investing, strategic partnerships, convening power, and collaborations at scale, MacArthur strives toward transformative change on some of the world’s most pressing social issues, including the existential threats of climate change, criminal justice reform, revitalizing local news in the United States, expanding who creates, uses, and benefits from artificial intelligence, strengthening Native communities, and empowering young people in Nigeria.

In addition to their award programs, MacArthur Fellows, and 100&Change, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsible and responsive democracy and to the strength and vitality of their headquarters city, Chicago. The Foundation also works to strengthen ecosystems of people, organizations and networks working on deploying catalytic capital, strengthening the philanthropic sector and addressing the  social impacts of technology.

Across its portfolio, the Foundation approaches its work with urgency, intellectual rigor, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous learning, leveraging grants, impact investments, communications, convenings, contracts, and partnerships to achieve measurable and lasting impact.

Since its founding, MacArthur has awarded more than $9.19 billion through grants and impact investments to approximately 11,000 organizations and individuals and has supported work in 119 countries. Headquartered in Chicago, the Foundation maintains offices in India and Nigeria. As of December 31, 2025, MacArthur's assets totaled approximately $9.9 billion. In 2025 alone, the Foundation provided approximately $561.6 million in grants and program-related investments and committed an estimated $647 million in charitable spending, reflecting its continued commitment to investing boldly in solutions that create meaningful and enduring change.

The Opportunity
The MacArthur Foundation seeks an accomplished, strategic, and values-driven executive to serve as its next Managing Director, People & Culture. Reporting directly to the Foundation’s President and serving as a member of the Foundation's executive leadership team, the Managing Director will provide vision, strategy, and leadership for all aspects of the Foundation's people and culture agenda. This executive will play a critical role in ensuring that MacArthur continues to attract, develop, engage, support, and retain exceptional talent while cultivating a workplace culture that enables staff to thrive and advance the Foundation's mission.

As a trusted advisor to the President and senior leadership team, the Managing Director will serve as the Foundation's chief people strategist, leading efforts that strengthen organizational effectiveness, leadership capacity, employee engagement, and long-term talent sustainability. The successful candidate will combine strategic perspective with operational excellence, helping to shape the employee experience while ensuring that people practices, programs, and policies align with MacArthur's mission, values, and commitment to the Just Imperative.

MacArthur is navigating a period of change and heightened ambition. As the Foundation responds to an increasingly complex external environment, embraces new technologies, and seeks to deliver greater impact without proportionate growth in its workforce, the Managing Director will help shape how the organization works, leads, collaborates, and adapts. This leader will help MacArthur sustain the best of its highly collaborative, intellectually curious, and mission-driven culture while strengthening organizational agility, accountability, clarity, and effectiveness.

This is an exceptional opportunity to influence the future of one of the world's leading philanthropic institutions and help steward the people and culture that power its local and global impact.

Key Responsibilities
The Managing Director will lead the Foundation's comprehensive People & Culture function and oversee all major human capital initiatives, including, but not limited to:

Executive Leadership and Strategic Partnership

• Serve as a member of the leadership advisory team, contributing to organizational strategy, policy development, and enterprise decision-making.

• Advise the President and senior leaders on workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, culture, employee engagement, and organizational change.

• Position People & Culture as a proactive and influential strategic partner, ensuring people, organizational, and culture implications are considered early in enterprise decisions and helping leaders anticipate rather than simply respond to workforce needs.

Organizational Effectiveness and Change Management

• Help strengthen organizational agility, decision-making, prioritization, and accountability, enabling the Foundation to adapt effectively while preserving its deeply collaborative culture.

• Champion the thoughtful use of technology, including emerging AI-enabled tools, to modernize people practices, improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary administrative burden, and enable new and more effective ways of working.

• Utilize people analytics and workforce data to inform talent and organizational decisions.

• Lead organizational change and transformation efforts, including any organizational redesign and culture change, to support evolving organizational needs and strategic priorities.

Employee Engagement, Team Building, and Culture

• Lead initiatives that strengthen staff engagement, connection, collaboration, team building, and employee recognition across the Foundation.

• Strengthen and sustain an inclusive workplace culture aligned with the Foundation’s mission and values in partnership with the Equity Office and the Just Imperative, where all employees feel valued and supported to do their best work.

• Foster a culture that combines trust, care, and inclusion with clear expectations, candid feedback, accountability, continuous learning, innovation, and a shared commitment to high performance.

Employee Relations and Policy Administration

• Lead employee relations and serve as a trusted advisor on complex workplace matters, including conflict resolution, mediation, and sensitive organizational challenges.

• Oversee the development, implementation, and administration of HR policies and procedures.

• Working with the Office of the General Counsel to ensure compliance with applicable employment laws and best practices.

Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, and Workforce Planning

• Develop workforce planning strategies that align talent needs with organizational priorities.

• Oversee talent acquisition strategies and processes to attract exceptional and mission-aligned talent and ensure recruitment practices support the Foundation's commitment to excellence and broad perspectives.

• Oversee onboarding and orientation programs that successfully integrate new employees into the Foundation's culture and operations.

Performance Management and Succession Planning

• Oversee the Foundation's performance management systems and processes.

• Strengthen managers and equip leaders to set clear expectations, support employee growth, provide meaningful feedback, navigate difficult conversations, differentiate performance, and hold people accountable with fairness and consistency.

• Lead enterprise-wide succession planning efforts to ensure leadership continuity and long-term organizational resilience.

Learning, Development, and Leadership Growth

• Conduct and oversee organizational and individual needs assessments to identify development opportunities and strengthen organizational capabilities.

• Direct and develop approaches to adult learning and professional growth that support employee development and career advancement for emerging, mid-level, and senior leaders.

Total Rewards

• Lead the Foundation's total rewards strategy, including benefits and total compensation.

• Ensure compensation and benefits programs remain competitive, equitable, and aligned with organizational goals and talent needs.

• Monitor market trends and recommend enhancements that support attraction, retention, and employee well-being.

Internal Communications and Special Initiatives

• Oversee internal communications related to people and culture, and partner with leadership ensuring communication is clear, timely, and transparent and help employees understand what is changing, why, and what it means for them.

• Lead and execute cross-functional special initiatives that advance strategic workforce, culture, and organizational objectives.

Governance and Enterprise Leadership

• Serve as a member of the Foundation's Crisis Management Team.

• Partner with the President and senior leadership to support the Board on People & Culture matters, providing relevant insights, analysis, and recommendations on executive talent, succession, compensation, workforce risk, and other people-related priorities as appropriate.

The Candidate
Experience

• 15+ years of progressive human resources leadership experience, including significant experience in senior enterprise-level roles; prior experience in the non-profit or philanthropic sector is a plus.

• Broad-based expertise across the people agenda, including talent and leadership development, organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, performance management, total rewards, employee relations, talent acquisition, and HR operations and technology.

• Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing People & Culture teams, with the ability to empower subject matter experts, integrate work across functions, and strengthen the team’s collective impact.

• Demonstrated success leading organizational change and transformation, strengthening culture and organizational effectiveness, and translating people strategy into measurable organizational impact.

• A track record of advancing inclusion and belonging as an integral part of organizational culture, talent strategy, and decision-making, with a demonstrated commitment to creating environments where people with different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives can thrive.

Skills and Competencies

• Strategic and enterprise-minded, with the ability to connect people, culture, and organizational priorities to the Foundation’s broader mission and strategy.

• A credible advisor with the judgment, courage, and confidence to challenge constructively, make difficult decisions, set clear expectations, and hold others accountable.

• An approachable, authentic, low-ego, and highly collaborative and empathetic leader.

• Exceptional emotional intelligence with the ability to build trust, navigate complex organizational dynamics, and balance differing perspectives and competing priorities.

• An exceptional communicator and listener who brings clarity to complex issues, communicates with candor and transparency, and can engage, influence, and inspire audiences across all levels of the organization.

• Highly skilled in diplomacy, influence, facilitation, negotiation, and conflict resolution, with the ability to build alignment without relying on consensus.

• Deeply aligned with MacArthur’s mission, values, and Just Imperative.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and utilizing HRIS platforms.

Work Environment and Reasonable Accommodations

The position is hybrid and based in Chicago, Illinois. The work environment is an office setting. Requests for reasonable accommodations will be considered to enable a person with disabilities to perform the job. Reasonable accommodations are also available during the interview process.

Educational Background

• Bachelor’s degree required; an advanced degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related field is a plus.

• SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) or SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) or other relevant HR certification is a plus.

Compensation and Benefits

• Annual salary for this role will start at $405,000. The Foundation offers a generous total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and a comprehensive benefits package to support life, health, and well-being.

To Apply
This search is being led by Korn Ferry. Interested and qualified applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected]. Applying to the MacArthur career site may cause delays in review of your application.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.