Vice President of Human Resources

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Founded in 1946, Tarlton Corporation is a privately held construction management and general contracting firm serving the St. Louis region and beyond. The company delivers complex projects across heavy civil and industrial markets, including power, energy, and water/wastewater infrastructure, as well as healthcare, higher education, life sciences, commercial, and historic renovation projects. Tarlton is positioned for continued regional growth. Learn more at www.tarltoncorp.com.

Serving as a key member of Tarlton’s Executive Leadership Team, the Vice President of Human Resources is a newly created role responsible for building and leading a modern HR function that strengthens organizational capability, accountability, and performance. This leader will align business priorities with the organization’s talent, leadership, and workforce strategies while actively designing and implementing systems, processes, and structures needed to support continued growth. Tarlton is intentionally deepening leadership capacity and workforce readiness across both office and field operations. This leader will partner closely with leaders throughout the organization to preserve Tarlton’s strong, people-centered culture while enhancing clarity, accountability, and consistency at all levels. This individual will play a critical role in building scalable infrastructure that enables both our people and the business to perform at their highest level.

Guided by core values, such as creating safe and caring environments, standing behind their work, cultivating clients for life, and loving what they do, Tarlton’s team of 300+ field and office professionals prioritize open communication, problem-solving, and continuous improvement to ensure projects are executed with precision, efficiency, and uncompromising quality. Tarlton is passionate about community building and is actively engaged in volunteer opportunities and charitable giving across the Saint Louis region.

YOUR MISSION AS VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

• PROVIDE VISIONARY HR LEADERSHIP- TRANSLATE BUSINESS STRATEGY INTO A SCALABLE PEOPLE STRATEGY - Serve as a strategic HR advisor and key member on the Executive Leadership Team, translating growth objectives into and executing an integrated HR strategy that strengthens organizational capability, workforce readiness, and leadership effectiveness. In partnership with leaders across all areas, evaluate, design, and implement organizational structures, workforce plans, and talent strategies to support continued growth.

• BUILD SCALABLE HR INFRASTRUCTURE & STRONG BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP - Lead and develop a team of HR business partners who understand the construction environment and support leaders by delivering proactive, practical, and actionable solutions. In partnership with leaders across the organization, actively evaluate, design, and implement organizational structure and workforce plans to ensure teams are positioned to work effectively across functions and projects as the business grows. Build and strengthen HR systems, processes, and workforce analytics that drive consistency, reinforce accountability, and enable data-informed decision making across the organization. Partner with leaders to establish clear roles, expectations, and standards that support operational excellence.

• DESIGN AND DELIVER INNOVATIVE TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS - Lead efforts to collaborate and execute on a vision for next-gen talent development programs. This includes overseeing and contributing to the design and development of a unified onboarding and training framework that ensures employees are prepared from day one and supported throughout their career lifecycle. In collaboration with the leadership team, build and implement a multi-year Leadership Development Roadmap that clarifies leadership expectations and builds capability at emerging, mid-level, and senior leader levels. In addition, ensure performance management systems reinforce accountability and development.

• LEAD RECRUITMENT STRATEGY AND TALENT ATTRACTION - Support workforce planning and talent acquisition strategies that anticipate growth needs across existing and new markets. In partnership with leaders across the organization, define and operationalize Tarlton’s employment value proposition, ensuring it is clearly reflected throughout the candidate experience and recruiting process. Build and lead a high-performing recruiting function that improves the speed, consistency, and quality of hiring across office and field roles. Establish scalable recruiting processes and performance metrics that enable Tarlton to attract and retain top talent in a competitive market.

IS THIS A MATCH FOR YOU?

• You are a results-driven, people-first leader with a passion for translating business priorities into a strong and scalable people strategy.
• You enjoy building dynamic and agile people teams, systems, and programs while flexing between strategic and tactical priorities to make it happen.
• You offer no less than 10-15+ years of progressive experience in human resource management, including organizational design, change management, leadership- and learning development and talent acquisition.
• You bring 5+ years of experience leading a team of direct reports responsible for the processes, programs, and HR systems.
• Ideal candidates have demonstrated success scaling an HR function in a growth-oriented organization. Experience with multi-state operations, project sites and/or locations preferred.
• Familiarity with the construction industry and/or dedicated union workforce is a plus yet not required. Prior experience working in engineering, construction, manufacturing, and/or other industries with a large percentage of field-based team members may translate well.
• You have excellent verbal and written communications skills. You have the ability to confidently interact with a wide range of stakeholders, have a proactive service orientation, and the ability to influence through strong rationale and demonstrated results.
• You have exceptional organizational and operational discipline, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, maintain attention to detail, and ensure timely execution in a fast-paced environment.
• You bring a deep working knowledge of employment law and HR compliance (FMLA, FLSA, ADA, etc.); along with a strong understanding of employee benefits programs, enabling you to provide effective oversight, partner with internal and external experts, and ensure programs remain competitive and well managed.
• Four-year degree is required. Advanced degree and/or SHRM certifications preferred.
• You have strong technology skills, including proficiency with MS Office Applications, cloud-based software, related HRIS platforms, AI, and data analytics tools.

WHY JOIN TARLTON?

• OUR FOUNDATION IS STRONG – Spanning eight decades and three generations, Tarlton is committed to supporting team members, customers, and the communities in which it builds. A shared culture of safety and core family values bridge office and field, creating trust, alignment, and a unified commitment to delivering quality work together.

• OUR FRAMEWORK + INFRASTRUCTURE IS READY FOR GROWTH – With a seat at the leadership table, you will make a lasting impact in an organization that has intentionally committed to furthering its people strategy and building best-in-class talent development. If blending visionary leadership with collaboration, tactical strength, humility, and humor is for you, you’re in the right place.

COMPENSATION PACKAGE

This position offers a competitive base salary commensurate with experience along with an annual executive bonus tied to company performance and growth. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life and STD and LTD insurances; maternity/paternity leave; 401k with company match; professional development; and vacation/sick pay programs.

LOCATION & TRAVEL

This position will be based at Tarlton’s headquarter office at 5500 W. Park Ave., Saint Louis, Missouri 63110. It is an onsite leadership role that affords professional flexibility and requires frequent collaboration with Tarlton’s executive and operational leadership teams as well as its advisory board. Occasional travel may be required for business priorities, conferences, community events, and/or to project sites and is approximately 10%. Relocation stipend available.

READY TO APPLY?

Share your resume and learn more with our search consultants at Occhio Search & Recruitment. Apply via LinkedIn or at www.occhiosearch.com. All resumes, referrals and general inquiries will be held strictly confidential. No direct inquiries with Tarlton Corporation, please. We ask that you direct all questions, referrals, and applications to our retained search consultants at Occhio Search. Reach out to angie@occhiosearch.com or sarah@occhiosearch.com with questions or to make a confidential referral.

Tarlton Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome differences in forms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, geography, socioeconomic status, age, politics, religion, philosophy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and veteran status. All applicants who share this goal are encouraged to apply-we look forward to hearing from you!