About The Family Institute at Northwestern University
Through clinical services, education, and research, The Family Institute at Northwestern University is one of the nation’s leading relationship-based behavioral health organizations committed to strengthening and healing children and adolescents, couples, families, and individuals.
The Family Institute (“TFI”) has a team of over 230 collaborators comprised of clinicians, educators, researchers, therapists-in-training, partners, and administrators across four service sites. Clients receive personal and prompt attention, clinical excellence, professional discretion and confidentiality. Services include diagnostic assessment, psychological testing and consultation, as well as individual, group, couple and family therapy.
The Family Institute serves clients who pay directly (private pay), clients insured by BlueCross BlueShield and United Healthcare, and clients who are seen in the Bette D. Harris Family and Child Clinic, who pay no fee. The Clinic is staffed by outstanding graduate-level therapists-in-training, who are educated and supervised by The Family Institute’s renowned therapists.
The Family Institute is at the forefront of growth and evolution within healthcare, and specifically within behavioral healthcare. The Family Institute continues to take a leadership role in the movement of evidence-based care enabling analyses that will lead to meaningful findings important to improving care through the field of behavioral health. The Family Institute embraces change, establishing itself as an outcome-driven organization understanding new technologies and approaches resulting in higher expectations for client and student outcomes and impact.
In cooperation with Northwestern University’s Graduate School and Office of Research, The Family Institute houses the Center for Applied Psychological & Family Studies. Their long-standing partnership with Northwestern University ranks The Family Institute among the top relationship-based behavioral health graduate education and research programs in the country. Students enrolled in these programs are taught by nationally known clinicians who practice at The Family Institute. Clinicians are dedicated to ensuring students receive the high-quality, hands-on experiential training possible, both at The Family Institute and in the community.
Through its research, The Family Institute scientifically investigates their interventions to better understand the therapeutic process and to develop improved treatments. As the leading center for relationship-based therapy, with a large and diverse client population, The Family Institute is uniquely positioned to pursue path-breaking research on individuals, couples and families. The Institute has led the way in developing and assessing the impact of using feedback data in therapy to improve outcomes.
For more information on The Family Institute, please visit the website.
The Opportunity
The Vice President, Human Resources (“VP, HR”) provides strategic and operational leadership across all areas of Human Resources, serving as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and a partner in advancing organizational goals. This role oversees the full spectrum of HR functions, including talent acquisition, employee relations, culture, operations, compensation, and compliance and is responsible for aligning people-strategies with business priorities.
The VP, HR ensures that HR practices foster a fair, inclusive, and high-performing workplace culture, while maintaining operational excellence, compliance, and a strong employee experience as we seek to grow and increase impact. The VP, HR will also play a key role in guiding the thoughtful adoption of AI-enabled tools and technology across the HR function, ensuring that innovation improves efficiency, strengthens decision-making, and enhances the employee experience while preserving confidentiality, fairness, and human-centered judgment.
This role reports to the Chief Financial Officer and leads the HR team of four, providing direction, mentorship, and accountability to ensure cohesive delivery across all HR disciplines.
ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership & Planning
- Serve as a strategic partner to the Executive Team and CEO in developing and implementing HR strategies that support organizational growth, workforce planning, and business priorities.
- Lead organizational design and workforce planning initiatives to ensure talent alignment with strategic goals.
- Drive change management strategies that enable adaptability, accountability, and culture alignment during transitions.
- Develop and oversee HR metrics, dashboards, and reporting to measure workforce health, engagement, and organizational effectiveness.
- Partner with Finance to manage HR budgeting, headcount forecasting, and compensation planning.
Culture, Engagement & Leadership Development
- Champion organizational culture, values, and leadership behaviors that foster engagement, collaboration, and performance.
- Partner with the HR Operations & Employee Relations Lead to oversee engagement strategies, performance feedback frameworks, and leadership development efforts.
- Build leadership capability through coaching, succession planning, and performance feedback systems.
- Promote transparent communication and employee recognition strategies that connect staff to TFI’s mission and values.
Talent Management & Workforce Development
- Oversee the Talent Acquisition & Onboarding Partner to ensure hiring strategies attract, assess, and retain top talent.
- Drive workforce planning and forecasting to anticipate skill needs and align hiring with organizational goals.
- Oversee onboarding and orientation to ensure consistent, culture-aligned employee integration.
- Collaborate with senior leaders to identify critical roles and succession strategies.
HR Operations, Compliance & Data
- Oversee HR Operations to ensure compliance with all applicable employment laws and regulations.
- Lead compensation, benefits, and pay management strategies in collaboration with Finance and external partners.
- Partner with the HR Operations Generalist to ensure HRIS optimization, reporting accuracy, and process automation.
- Ensure HR policies, SOPs, and documentation remain current, compliant, and aligned with best practices.
- Leverage data, analytics, and AI tools to identify workforce trends and guide decision-making.
Employee Relations & Risk Management
- Serve as an escalation point for complex employee relations issues, ensuring fairness, compliance, and risk mitigation.
- Partner with the HR Operations & Employee Relations Lead on investigations, performance interventions, and policy application.
- Ensure consistency and integrity across employee relations decisions and processes.
- Foster a culture of trust, accountability, and open communication between employees and leadership.
Team Leadership
- Lead and develop a high-performing HR team, providing coaching, mentoring, and professional growth opportunities.
- Ensure alignment and collaboration across the HR subfunctions - Operations, Talent Acquisition, and Employee Relations/Culture.
- Promote shared accountability for service excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS: Knowledge and Skills
- Strategic and operational agility - ability to translate vision into actionable plans and measurable results.
- Exceptional leadership and relationship-building skills with senior executives and staff at all levels.
- Sound judgment and discretion in handling sensitive and confidential matters.
- Strong project management, time management, and prioritization across competing initiatives.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills; able to convey complex topics clearly and persuasively.
- Adaptability and resilience in dynamic organizational environments.
- Analytical and data-informed mindset, with comfort using HR technology, HRIS platforms, people analytics, and AI-enabled tools.
- Curiosity, proactivity, and continuous improvement orientation.
Candidate Profile
While it is understood that no candidate will offer every desired skill, quality, and characteristic, the following competencies offer a detailed, aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile:
An Expert in HR/People & Culture
This leader will bring:
- Comprehensive expertise across all aspects of the HR/People & Culture functions, including compliance, compensation, benefits, recruitment, employee relations, risk management and organizational design.
- Experience leading technology-enabled HR transformation, including selecting or optimizing systems, improving data quality, automating manual processes, and helping teams adopt new tools in ways that strengthen service delivery and trust.
- A strategic mindset paired with hands-on agility, able to both set vision and execute simultaneously in a fast-paced environment with a diverse set of stakeholders.
- Proven experience leading HR in complex organizations with diverse workforces including [hourly and salaried employees], staff, clinicians and/or faculty.
- A consultative and collaborative approach, fostering open dialogue and aligning stakeholders around shared goals and values.
- Strong change management and organizational development skills, with the ability to navigate evolving needs while maintaining engagement and trust.
- A demonstrated ability to advance talent development and succession planning, ensuring a strong leadership pipeline and opportunities for growth at all levels.
- An innate curiosity and resourcefulness, particularly as it relates to problem-solving and proactively seeking out solutions.
A Skilled Leader of People & Effective Communicator
This leader will bring:
- Proven experience leading the evolution of an HR function where the eventual outcome of that work was increased trust, clarity and access across departments and levels.
- A human-centered approach, balancing empathy with accountability to achieve results through people.
- A track record of developing and empowering teams, fostering clarity, confidence, and collaboration.
- The ability to communicate with transparency and authenticity, listening deeply and responding thoughtfully to diverse perspectives.
- Comfort having courageous conversations and addressing challenges constructively to strengthen relationships and outcomes.
- A collaborative, influential leadership style, working across departments to advance organizational priorities and build alignment.
A Proven Culture Builder
This leader will bring:
- Demonstrated success cultivating a positive, inclusive, and mission-driven culture that reflects organizational values and strengthens engagement.
- A mindset of meeting people where they are, building trust and belonging across a diverse workforce.
- Approachability and authenticity, with a natural ability to connect and build bridges across teams and levels.
- A commitment to employee well-being, growth, and recognition, ensuring the culture supports both individual and collective success.
Commitment to the Mission & Values of The Family Institute
This leader will bring:
- A connection to TFI's mission and a passion for strengthening and healing children and adolescents, couples, families, and individuals.
- A leader who brings sincerity, humility, and transparency to every interaction.
- An innovative and open mindset, valuing diverse experiences and perspectives as essential to organizational strength.
- The ability to inspire and unite others around shared purpose, especially during times of change or challenge.
Location
The successful candidate must be based in or willing to relocate to Chicago, IL.
The Family Institute has a hybrid work environment, and the VP HR is expected to work in-person at the Downtown Chicago offices three days per week.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with the selected candidate’s experience. The salary for this role is expected to range from $180,000-200,000, along with a comprehensive benefits package.
Contact
DSG | Koya, the executive search firm dedicated to mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Anne McCarthy and Malissa Brennan are leading this search.
To express interest in this role, please fill out our Talent Profile or reach out directly at [email protected].
Koya l DSG is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
About DSG | Koya
DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's website.