People & Culture Senior Director

People & Culture Senior Director 

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer  

Remote – US-Based 

Direct Reports - Yes 

About Us  

Textile Exchange is a global non-profit driving positive impact on climate change across the fashion and textile industry. It guides a growing community of brands, manufacturers, and farmers towards more purposeful production from the very start of the supply chain. 

By 2030, its goal is to guide the industry to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within fiber and raw material production. Its focus is holistic and interconnected, accelerating the adoption of practices that improve the state of our water, soil health, and biodiversity too. 

For real change to happen, everyone needs a clear path to positive impact. That’s why Textile Exchange believes that approachable, step-by-step instruction paired with collective action can change the system to make preferred materials and fibers an accessible default, mobilizing leaders through attainable strategies, proven solutions, and a driven community. 

At Textile Exchange, materials matter. To learn more, visit TextileExchange.org. 

Working at Textile Exchange  

We work remotely with a team located in 25+ countries. We are a diverse group committed to harnessing the strengths of the global textile industry to accelerate change toward climate and other key environmental goals. We work collaboratively on important environmental issues around the world by working and interacting with farming groups, processors, brands, retailers, and environmental experts in the textile and fashion industries around the world. We offer an opportunity to join a cutting-edge global environmental nonprofit and to help strengthen the impact of our organization.  

Position Summary

The Senior Director, People & Culture is Textile Exchange's senior-most People leader. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and partnering closely with the Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the Senior Director serves as a trusted advisor across the organization and is a member of the Leadership Team. 

Textile Exchange's purpose is to build a global fiber and materials production model that positively impacts our planet, and our strategy is anchored in helping the fashion, textile, and apparel industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fiber and raw materials production by 45% by 2030. The Senior Director leads a people strategy rooted in that purpose, translating strategic priorities into clear people priorities and measuring progress against them. The strategy spans culture and engagement, talent and workforce planning, performance management, organizational effectiveness, leadership development and succession, compensation, employee experience, and people operations, each designed to reinforce the others. 

Leading the global People & Culture team, the Senior Director will build a high-performing, inclusive, values-driven culture that supports wellbeing, collaboration, accountability, and connection, while strengthening leadership capability, succession planning, and organizational design so Textile Exchange has the people it needs for long-term success. The role balances strategic leadership with operational excellence: a trusted coach to leaders who also ensures strong people practices, effective systems, thoughtful risk management, and a positive employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle. 

Textile Exchange's culture is distinctive: we are a fully remote, globally distributed team united by a shared commitment to our mission. The successful candidate will recognize that a team like ours needs approaches designed for how we actually work, and will bring flexibility and creative solutions that cross geographies and cultures while keeping the employee experience consistent. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Advisory 

• Serve as the organization's senior People leader and strategic advisor to the CEO and SLT on talent, culture, leadership effectiveness, workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, and change initiatives. 

• Provide trusted, credible advice to the SLT and other senior leaders, bringing sound judgment, discretion, and pragmatism to complex or sensitive organizational issues. 

• Develop and execute a global People & Culture strategy aligned with organizational priorities and long-term objectives. 

• Provide executive and leadership coaching to strengthen management capability, leadership effectiveness, team performance, and organizational culture. 

• Prepare workforce, talent, engagement, succession, and culture analyses, metrics, and reporting to support executive leadership and, as appropriate, Board-level discussions. 

Organizational Effectiveness & Workforce Strategy 

• Lead strategic workforce planning to ensure organizational structure, staffing, and capabilities are aligned with current priorities and future needs. 

• Assess and improve organizational effectiveness through organizational design, operating models, decision-making processes, and leadership effectiveness. 

• Lead organization-wide people-related change management initiatives. 

• Partner with all organizational leaders to align staffing strategies with organizational priorities and future needs. 

• Monitor workforce trends and proactively identify organizational and talent-related risks. 

Talent Acquisition, Development & Succession 

• Develop and oversee global talent acquisition strategies. 

• Strengthen employer branding and employee value proposition efforts. 

• Ensure recruitment and talent practices support organizational diversity, inclusion, and belonging goals. 

• Lead and evolve the organization’s performance management approach and processes to support effective performance assessment, feedback, and employee development. 

• Develop leadership and management capability through coaching and development programs. 

• Establish succession planning processes. 

• Support career development and internal mobility for staff at all levels. 

Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience 

• Champion and demonstrate Textile Exchange culture, values, and principles. 

• Lead employee engagement, wellbeing, and inclusion initiatives. 

• Lead complex employee relations matters with sound judgment, discretion, consistency, and appropriate risk management. 

• Oversee engagement surveys and action planning. 

• Foster a culture of transparency, accountability, collaboration, and learning. 

• Support employee communications during change and growth. 

• Ensure a positive employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle. 

Total Rewards, People Operations & Technology 

• Lead compensation philosophy and total rewards strategy. 

• Partner with Finance on People & Culture budgeting and compensation forecasting. 

• Lead the evolution of People systems, HR technology, workforce analytics, and reporting capabilities. 

• Oversee People operations, policies, and practices. 

• Utilize workforce metrics and analytics to support decision-making. 

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management 

• Establish global People & Culture governance frameworks, policies, and procedures. 

• Ensure compliance with employment regulations. 

• Partner with legal, employment, and benefits advisors. 

• Monitor workforce and compliance risks and develop mitigation strategies. 

People & Culture Team Leadership 

• Lead and develop a high-performing People & Culture team. 

• Foster professional growth, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. 

• Establish departmental goals and performance expectations. 

• Manage departmental budgets and people-related investments. 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field, or equivalent professional experience. 

• 10+ years of progressive Human Resources or People & Culture leadership experience. 

• Experience serving as the most senior HR or People leader within an organization. 

• Experience partnering with executive leadership teams to drive organizational effectiveness and change. 

• Demonstrated success coaching leaders and developing management capability. 

• Experience leading organizational design, workforce planning, and succession management initiatives. 

• Experience supporting a highly distributed, remote-first workforce and building connection and culture across geographies. 

• Experience operating in an international organization and navigating different employment models, cultural contexts, and ways of working. 

• Experience implementing and optimizing HRIS, workforce analytics, and HR technology solutions. 

Preferred Qualifications

• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CIPD, or equivalent certification. 

• Experience leading People & Culture in a mission-driven, nonprofit, or similarly complex organization. 

• Experience with the global fashion, apparel, and textile industry. 

• Experience supporting an organization through periods of significant change, evolution, or organizational transformation. 

• Strong business and organizational acumen, with the ability to connect people strategy to organizational priorities, resources, and operating realities. 

Employment Package 

• Full-Time Position, 40 Hours a Week
• Required travel: 10-15%
• Annual Salary Range: $160,000 - $200,000 USD

Note: The job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. They may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.