ABOUT PRIMO CENTER
Primo Center is Chicago’s largest provider of services to unhoused families, helping them regain safety, stability and independence.
For more than 45 years, Primo Center has empowered families experiencing homelessness to become productive, responsible, and independent members of their community.
Holding true to its mission, the organization has considerable capacity and experience as a provider of services to families affected by extreme poverty and homelessness, assisting more than 1,100 people each year with the aid of volunteers, over 90 staff members, and an annual operating budget of nearly $10 million.
Today, Primo Center employs a holistic and innovative approach to its work, investing in four key areas to support each family:
- Housing: Primo Center provides 330 beds of interim housing. Primo Center is the highest performing service provider for families in Chicago, consistently placing more than 97% in permanent housing with only a 3% rate of return to homelessness. This compares to an industry standard of 55-65% return rate in other programs.
- 100% of Primo Center assisted families transition from the program with income and benefits, including employment.
- Trauma Informed Care: Primo Center’s success is distinguished by its 360-degree approach to care called High Fidelity Wraparound, which is recognized nationally for helping break the cycle of homelessness for children and families. It aids the most at-risk children. To address the needs of highly vulnerable families and end the cycle of homelessness for families, Primo Center focuses on trauma-informed care through its Family Leadership Institute.
- The Family Leadership Institute addresses each family member’s traumatic exposure, empowers parents to support their children and addresses children’s developmental needs.
- Early Childhood Development: Primo Center enriches the lives of children from 0–5 years by bringing trauma-informed care to build their resilience, and by focusing on education, including operating an innovative early childhood center and an innovative home visiting program.
- Integrated Healthcare: Primo Center makes it a priority to provide integrated physical, dental, and mental health services for children and families. This is achieved through linkages to primary, dental and mental health care "homes" in partnership with Heartland Alliance Health, Howard Brown Health, and Lawndale Christian Health Center.
Primo Center has not only survived but thrived through many challenges including the pandemic and its aftereffects. At the heart of the organization’s work is not only a highly talented staff plus quality programming, but also its committed partners and their families.
The impact of Primo Center reaches high-need communities across Chicago, operating facilities in Austin on Chicago’s west side, Englewood on the south side, and Hermosa.
For more information on Primo Center, please visit primocenter.org
The Opportunity
The Chief People Officer (“CPO”) will lead the people and culture function, building strategies, systems, and processes that drive organizational growth and that center Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. This transformational leader will provide strategic leadership and human resources expertise. The CPO will ensure Primo Center has the right people, systems, and processes to meet its goals and drive impact. This leader will also create and execute enterprise-wide strategies for the full suite of people and culture programs such as recruitment, retention, performance management, professional development, compensation and benefits, and employee engagement.
Additionally, Primo Center is seeking a leader with a visionary HR mindset, excellent communication skills, and the highest ethical standards and values. They will naturally embody Primo Center’s values and bring service-oriented excellence in their approach to working with staff and families.
As a member of the senior leadership team, they will report to the CEO and work closely with five leadership team members. The CPO will also serve as a strategic advisor and functional expert regarding talent acquisition and professional training and development. The CPO will provide direction and support to talent strategy, facilitating the achievement of people-driven goals, while meeting management and regulatory human resources expectations, including policies and practices. In addition, the CPO will lead the effort to develop metrics and ongoing benchmarks to guide sound people management and organizational decisions.
Primo Center is seeking a leader who is bold in their efforts to innovate and leverage the organization’s culture and rich history to foster the evolution of a team of professionals with different lived experiences and capabilities.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:
Passion for the Mission
The Chief People Officer (CPO) at Primo Center will embody a deep commitment to the organization’s mission of supporting families and individuals in Chicago who are experiencing homelessness. This CPO should be someone who is not only a strategic leader but also a passionate advocate for social justice, inclusivity, and community impact. Their approach to people and culture must be grounded in the organization's core values of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), with a strong focus on improving the lives of those who trust Primo Center’s services.
This CPO will create an environment where the staff feel supported, valued and recognize that their work is critical in achieving Primo Center's mission. They will lead efforts to develop a workplace that is an employer of choice, creating a culture of mutual respect and accountability.
Expertise in People Operations, Values and Culture
The CPO will be a highly strategic advisor and functional expert to the CEO and Leadership Team regarding talent management, employee relations and culture. This person will develop and execute comprehensive HR, employee relations, employee effectiveness and talent management strategies in alignment with the organization’s priorities. They will bring experience overseeing organization-wide staffing strategy with clear hiring goals and varied recruitment approaches. The CPO will be able to develop and implement robust plans for building diverse slates and equitable selection processes for all roles at Primo Center, all while ensuring compliance with all employment laws and continually research and implement best practices for recruitment and retention. The CPO will enhance Primo Center’s reputation through the development and implementation of a wide range of innovative employee support systems and development initiatives.
Talent Developer and Coach
The CPO will cultivate a positive, inclusive culture and relationships by celebrating team achievements, fostering mutual accountability, and reinforcing the organization’s sense of pride and collective success. The CPO will serve as the trusted people-centric leader with the ability to articulate and respond to the needs of the Primo Center team, providing guidance on talent development, onboarding, offboarding, culture-related matters, and executive-level team updates. They will foster a culture of ongoing learning by creating opportunities for training, mentoring, coaching, and professional development that drive team and individual performance.
The CPO will also have an eye for emerging leaders across the organization and provide them with the tools, resources, and mentorship they need to thrive and prepare for higher-level leadership roles.
Organizational Development Leader and Change Management Facilitator
The CPO will bring energy to inspire the whole team and the community that Primo Center serves to achieve new heights. They will also bring deep experience in change management, implementing appropriate people centered solutions and effectively communicating the rationale for these changes. CPO will be consultative, promoting open dialogue across Primo Center, synthesizing divergent views, and coalescing the organization around shared values. This individual will be a proactive, collaborative change agent with the skills to challenge the status quo while remaining sensitive to Primo Center’s existing culture and place in the community. They will have an exceptional ability to listen intently, manage conflict respectfully and empathically, and establish progressive systems and structures designed to support the development and engagement of staff.
The Chief People Officer role demands a combination of creative and practical skills. The ability to inspire, innovate, and foster collaboration will help a CPO build a workforce that thrives, aligns with company values, and achieves strategic goals.
While experience in the nonprofit sector is preferred, interest is welcomed from all sectors, both for profit and nonprofit.
Primo Center is an equal opportunity employer committed to a policy to recruit without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected category.
Compensation, Benefits & Location
The salary range for this position is $150,000 to $160,000.
Primo Center offers a competitive benefits package, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Domestic Partner Benefits, Spouse and children Benefits, 401k, Flexible Spending Account, Paid Time Off, Wellness Days, Paid Holidays, employer-paid Life/AD&D Insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), mileage reimbursement, and voluntary AFLAC plans.
Contact
Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Tiara D. Muse and Rebeca Hernandez of Koya Partners are leading this search. To express interest in this role please submit your materials via the link at the top of this page. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.