Organizational Summary
Upstream USA is a growing, national nonprofit committed to ensuring that equitable, patient-centered contraceptive care is made available to any patient and is fully integrated into the health system as part of basic health care. We envision a future where all patients are screened for their contraceptive needs and offered patient-centered contraceptive counseling that’s free from bias, noncoercive, trauma-informed, and delivered by knowledgeable providers and support staff following best medical practices and evidence-based guidelines. We believe all patients should be able to access the contraceptive service of their choice – when they want it and where it is convenient for them to get it.
We do this by partnering with healthcare organizations to provide them with free training, education and technical assistance – from urban to rural, from large hospitals to small clinics. We know patients and providers want options that meet their individual needs, and our team of practice change experts work hand-in-hand with healthcare organizations to uplift contraceptive care services and drive exceptional patient outcomes, all at no cost to them.
Across the nation, there are challenges to accessing the high-quality, patient-centered contraceptive care patients deserve. To meet this growing need, Upstream is in the midst of a national expansion to transform contraceptive care. We began by partnering with a single healthcare organization in 2014, when Upstream was founded; today, we have partnered with more than 150 across the nation, and we’re on a path to serving 5 million patients by 2030.
Upstream is funded primarily through philanthropic individuals and foundations, and does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies. Upstream’s budget has grown from $1.7 million just six years ago to approximately $60 million in 2024. Upstream’s work has also garnered attention from many leading publications, including Harvard Public Health, Bloomberg, MedPage Today, and Politico.
Position Summary
Upstream USA is seeking a Sr. Director People Relations (HRBP) to join our dynamic People team. Reporting to our Vice President, People & Culture, the Sr. Director of People Relations (SDPR) will closely collaborate with our people managers and staff by developing strong, value-added partnerships on human resources related needs to support the achievement of organizational goals, priorities and objectives. The SDPR will work in collaboration with our Vice President of People &Culture and other members of our People Team to create and drive strong employee relations solutions, and provide Human Resources (HR) policy interpretation and guidance. The SDPR acts as an employee champion and change agent who assesses and anticipates human resources related needs and proactively seeks to develop fair and integrated solutions.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The Sr. Director of People Relations ensures alignment between organizational operations, policies, practices and the successful deployment of People/HR Programs. The SDPR /HRBP will be a strategic thinker and thought partner that is able to provide solutions that will marry the organization’s needs to a holistic people strategy.
HR Business Partner (HRBP)
- Provides consulting, counseling and coaching to departmental leaders and people managers in order to support the organization’s vision, mission, and overall objectives and performance guidelines.
- Proactively maintains effective relationships and communication with people managers and employees to help facilitate employee engagement, minimize problems and address situations professionally and in a timely manner.
- Provides HR policy interpretation and guidance, and reinforces the communication and rollout of new/updated programs, policies, and compliance activities to department groups.
- Advises people managers and department leaders on promotion, job expansions, and pay adjustment proposals with an equitable approach.
- Liaise with the People team and other department leaders to identify, develop and execute integrated solutions to build and sustain a productive workforce and environment.
- Maintains an effective level of literacy regarding organizational goals, culture and staff to help departments meet their business needs.
People (Employee) Relations
- Partners closely with our VP, People & Culture, Director of People Operations and other HR Programs teams to help create and drive strong employee relations solutions to minimize or mitigate risk.
- Manages and resolves complex employee relations issues. Proactively, partners with managers and employees to mitigate challenges. Conducts effective, thorough and objective investigations of workplace grievances and complaints in a timely manner and when necessary. Ensures objective, fair and impartial conclusions to bring an amicable outcome for all parties involved.
- Develops, recommends, implements and monitors employee relations practices and policies that establish a positive employer-employee relationship and promote a high level of engagement.
- Serves as an advisor to employees to support the navigation of career growth, colleague and people manager working relationships, performance related and other employee engagement matters.
- Trains and advises people managers in employee relations best practices. In collaboration with senior HR leadership and our Learning & Development team, will help to identify resources to help people managers become the front line responder in navigating employee issues.
- Advises managers in developing, presenting, and implementing disciplinary actions, performance improvement plans, and dismissals to ensure consistent application of organizational policies.
- Conducts effective, thorough and objective investigations on issues and complaints and recommends resolutions and disciplinary actions.
- Maintains in-depth knowledge of legal requirements related to day-to-day oversight of employees, reducing legal risks and ensuring regulatory compliance with all federal, state and local employment laws; and partners with external legal counsel as needed/required.
- Recommends and revises HR policies and procedures related to compliance, performance, accountability and employee relations, as necessary.
Additional HR Duties
- Partners across the People , Marketing & Communications and other relevant teams to help enable our mission through effective organizational communication, employee engagement, culture capabilities, talent management strategies and workforce evolution.
- Assists in advancing our organization’s commitment to our values and organizational Equity, Diversity and Inclusion goals and serves as an extension of the EDI team for operationalizing programs and initiatives.
- Will work closely with organizational leadership and staff to improve working relationships, build morale and strengthen culture, and increase productivity and retention.
- Help to drive initiatives to improve the employee experience.
- Communicates across organizational functions to make recommendations regarding talent management and development.
- Oversees compliance with all appropriate and relevant employment-related rules and regulations across all organizational geographies
- Provides recommendations on recruitment needs and employee talent assessments.
- Owns the creation of organizational people policies and the management of our employee case management software tool.
- Evaluates metrics associated with human resources and attrition
- Additional duties as assigned
Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability
Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives and backgrounds to apply.
- 10+ years of experience working in human resources, with at least 8+ years of experience in employee relations mediation, and investigation to director-level employees ideally in a strategic HR Business Partner role.
- Strong consultative approach coupled with solid coaching skills, including employee advocacy and engaging clients in solution implementation and change processes.
- Demonstrable solutions-oriented approach
- Possesses deep experience and strong sense of care for a wide range of employee relationship matters and overall business partner support.
- Experience building trusted relationships across the organization as a business partner and with employees at all levels.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills including ability to be diplomatic and direct while maintaining effectiveness across differing work and communication styles.
- Comfort working in a fast paced organization in a highly visible role.
- Solid customer service orientation and relationship management skills, ability to work in partnership with others to assess and deliver services.
- Possesses strong business acumen within a corporate, professional association or non-profit organization.
- Knowledge of federal and state employment laws and regulations.
- Strong interpersonal skills, particularly in working with diverse, dispersed, and remote staff populations.
- Skilled in conflict management and effective in high stress and emotionally charged situations.
- Demonstrable ethical practice including management of sensitive, confidential issues.
- Proficient with the Google Suite of products or related software.
- Ability to learn the organization’s HRIS system (ADP Workforce Now) .
Valued and Non-Essential Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability
- Bachelor's degree a plus, preferably in human resource management or related field or equivalent level of experience, training, and education.
- Certified Professional (PHR/SHRM-CP) or Senior Certified Professional (SPHR/SHRM-SCP) credential.
- Master's degree in HR related field of study
- Nonprofit or mission driven employment experience
Other Upstream Staff Expectations
- Upstream USA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Policy requires employees to have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees must provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or, if applicable, request a medical or religious exemption.
- All Upstreamers must also be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed.
- In our hybrid work environments, there is a basic expectation that our Upstreamers will ensure that their work from home setups will have reliable access to phone and Internet to ensure connectivity to their teams.
- At Upstream we gather for moments that matter for training, teaming and connection. Our teams come together for occasional in person meetings and organizational retreats. As part of our hybrid work practices, this travel expectation will be applicable for all Upstreamers, even those based remotely.
- Engage in EDI learning & development, community engagement, and culture building activities up to 5% FTE (i.e., 2 work hours per 40 hour work week). Examples include attending trainings, conferences and summits, volunteering time, participating in local community events, mentoring and learning, participating in Communities of Belonging or Culture Council, developing language acquisition, learning universal design principles, and using professional development benefits for EDI topics, among other activities.
Attributes
The ideal candidate will embody and embrace our core values which serve as our operating principles:
- We keep our mission at the center; Upstream's mission is to ensure that equitable, patient-centered contraceptive care is basic healthcare
- We trust each other; we are reliable, empathetic, compassionately direct, and confident in each others’ ability to do the same
- We work every day to build an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture; we respect the backgrounds contexts and experiences of individuals, teams and partners in our interactions
- We bring joy to our work; we create opportunities to celebrate, connect and strengthen relationships with one another.
Additional Attributes.
- Thrives in an environment of continuous feedback and is skilled at both giving and receiving feedback in a timely manner
- Solid work ethic and a team oriented attitude
- Demonstrates a high degree of adaptability, comfortable in establishing new direction, and navigating rapid change
- Natural leader who organizes and inspires others to achieve goals
- Sense of humor
Travel Requirements
This role will require up to 20% business travel. All Upstreamers can expect a minimum of 8 days of business travel per year to attend 1-2 annual organizational retreats and two annual team/department meetings.
Upstream Benefits
Upstream USA offers a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long and short term disability, 401K with a match, generous vacation, personal, sick and holiday time off, parental leave, professional development, a fitness and cell phone allowance for all full time employees and part time employees who work a minimum of 24 hours per week.
Hiring Range
The hiring range for this role is $146,400 to $180,000. Final offers for this position will be based upon several factors including the scope of the role, market compensation analysis, position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities, internal pay equity considerations and will be made within the parameters of Upstream USA's compensation framework and philosophy.
Hiring Process
Candidates who advance in our preliminary review process will have an opportunity to discuss the position, their employment background and lived experience with a member of our talent acquisition team by telephone. Those who advance to subsequent steps in our interview process may participate in up to three rounds of meetings by Zoom or in person and in a thought exercise/case study assignment. Each round could consist of multiple meetings with various Upstreamers.
EDI Vision Statement
Internally, we envision promoting equity by reducing disparities in the Upstream talent lifecycle and engagement, cultivating a diverse workforce and inclusive culture, and fostering power sharing when we make decisions.
EDI Guiding Principles
Through Equity, both in the workplace and in contraceptive care, we address root causes that enable disparities to occur, acknowledge that different resources and opportunities may be needed to reach fairer outcomes, and implement systems-level changes that are sustainable over time.
Through Diversity, we acknowledge, respect, and celebrate the collective mixture of differences and similarities of Upstreamers and our community partners. At Upstream, we value the diversity of identities at all intersections, while at the same time centering racial diversity.
Through Inclusion, we succeed at creating a culture of belonging that embraces differences in identities and experiences by building trust, joy, and psychological safety. We cherish and elevate these differences through power-sharing in how things get done internally and in service of our mission.
Communities of Belonging
Serving as employee resource groups for Upstreamers, Communities of Belonging assist in advancing our equity, diversity, and inclusion journey. They assist in instilling organizational values in our work and support our EDI vision. Open to all employees, Communities of Belonging create opportunities for leadership development, community engagement, support, and resource mobilization.
Upstream Careers
At Upstream, we embrace diversity. We nurture it and we thrive on it because it benefits our organization, our partners, and our community. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain exceptional people, and to create a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. Upstream is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, genetic information, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Learn more about working at Upstream, our values, and our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Upstream USA participates in E-Verify.
Upstream Headquarters
2 Oliver Street, Suite 402, Boston, MA 02109
No phone calls please.
Be advised that we do not ever conduct hiring interviews via text or email. Please protect yourself by learning more about our hiring practices and common red flags to look out for.
