Head of Human Resources

About the Company

A global marketing agency headquartered in Chicago, with offices in the U.S. and Europe and a plan to keep growing. The agency builds award-winning campaigns and experiences for some of the world's best-known brands across sponsorship, media, creative, experiential, hospitality, PR, social and data.

This is a highly competitive business. Clients stay because the work wows them, and the team is built to win. The agency moves at agency speed and wants to keep its entrepreneurial culture while adding the structure a growing global business needs.

• The team is diverse and multigenerational, and so are the clients.
• The office sits near downtown train lines, an easy commute by CTA, Metra or car.
• Full details are shared under NDA after a first conversation.

About the Role

Head of Human Resources | Chicago, IL (Hybrid) | Periodic travel to Europe

The Head of Human Resources owns the people function for close to 300 employees, mostly in Chicago, across several countries and legal entities, including a recently acquired subsidiary. You report to the CEO, sit on the executive strategy team, and advise the CEO and CFO on structure, pay, benefits, culture and people risk.

The CEO wants a business leader first and an HR leader second. Someone who understands how the agency wins work, keeps clients and makes money, and builds the people strategy around that.

You lead a lean, experienced HR team covering HR business partnering, talent acquisition, payroll and benefits, and HR operations, with a new European HR leader joining the team. This is a hands-on executive seat. You set the strategy, and you also roll up your sleeves on the biggest projects.

Responsibilities

• Trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team on organization design, workforce planning, succession and leadership.
• Compensation strategy: salary structures, benchmarking, merit and promotion cycles, and a new profit-funded incentive plan.
• Benefits strategy across the U.S. and Europe: plan design, funding, renewals and broker relationships, plus retirement plan governance.
• Employee relations, compliance and people risk across multiple countries, including European employment law changes coming in 2027.
• International growth: employment contracts, visas and entity setup for new markets.
• Integration of an acquired subsidiary: employment terms, policies, benefits and HR systems.
• Talent: senior hiring, the performance framework, and leadership and manager development.
• Engagement and culture: employee listening, the annual survey and leadership action plans.
• HR budget, systems, data and the annual HR calendar, in partnership with Finance.
• Workplace strategy for the Chicago headquarters with Operations: office capacity, seating and attendance.
• Lead, mentor and grow the HR team.

What success looks like in year one:

• A new profit-funded incentive plan designed and live.
• The acquired subsidiary brought onto common employment terms, benefits and systems.
• European contracts and handbooks updated for the 2027 law changes.
• An employment framework in place for new international markets.
• An executive team that brings HR in early on structure, pay and people decisions.

Qualifications

• 15 or more years of progressive HR experience, including senior leadership of a broad HR function.
• Advised a CEO and executive team directly on organization, talent and business decisions.
• Led a multidisciplinary HR team covering both strategy and operations.
• Hands-on depth in compensation, benefits, talent, employee relations and HR operations.
• Benefits and retirement plan governance, working with brokers, auditors and outside counsel.
• Experience with international or multi-location workforces, including U.S. and European employment practices.
• Built scalable HR processes and led organizational change.
• Strong financial sense and executive communication.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Required Skills

• Business leader first. You know how an agency wins work, keeps clients and makes money, and you speak in margin and headcount cost.
• Competitive spirit. You like to win, and you build teams that do.
• Hands-on energy. You can work at the executive table in the morning and in the benefits renewal in the afternoon.
• Sound judgment on sensitive employee matters, balancing people, consistency and legal risk.
• Influence with a strong executive team. Change happens through trust and credibility.
• A builder who respects what already works and adds structure without slowing the business down.

Preferred Skills

• HR leadership at a top advertising, marketing or media company that knows what it takes to wow clients and keep them coming back.
• Fortune 500 HR experience supporting marketing, media, sales or creative teams.
• A competitive background is prized: prior sales experience, college athletics or another track record of winning counts as much as your degree.
• Privately held or founder-led company experience.
• Mergers, acquisitions or multi-entity integration.
• CIPD, SHRM-SCP or SPHR.

How to apply: the strongest resumes show three numbers up front. Who you reported to, the size of the HR team you led, and the number of employees you supported.

Pay range: Target Compensation is around $250k

Benefits include medical coverage, a retirement plan with company match, and paid time off.

Our client is an equal opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Crucial Hire is committed to presenting diverse, fully qualified slates on every search. The best leadership teams come from the widest view of the market, and we go looking accordingly.