Principal HR Business Partner, Sales

Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract.

As a company, we constantly challenge what's possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations.

We are looking for a Principal, HR Business Partner to provide strategic partnership to our rapidly scaling Sales organization. This role will partner with our Sales leadership to assess the needs of the current organization and build a comprehensive HR strategy to support both field and corporate sales teams, optimizing talent strategy and fostering high-performing teams.

• Strategic Organizational Design: Partner with Sales leadership to design and implement agile organizational structures that support rapid growth, particularly for our expanding field sales organization, ensuring optimal allocation of skills and capabilities to achieve strategic objectives.
• Proactive Talent Insights & Foresight: Develop a deep understanding of the sales business and its talent landscape to proactively deliver insights, anticipate future talent needs, and guide leaders in navigating evolving market and organizational dynamics.
• Accelerated Talent Development & Effectiveness: Drive talent assessments and action planning initiatives specifically designed to accelerate employee development and enhance team effectiveness within both corporate and field sales.
• Leadership Coaching & Development: Provide impactful leadership coaching and feedback to Sales leaders, empowering them to build and manage high-performing teams across diverse sales environments.
• Inclusive Sales Culture: Foster a strong culture of belonging across the entire sales organization, at both individual and collective levels, promoting engagement and retention within a dynamic sales environment.
• Data-Driven Sales Talent Decisions: Utilize advanced data analytics to provide critical talent insights specific to the sales function, enabling data-driven decision-making for talent management and organizational effectiveness.
• Effective Sales Talent Programs: Effectively lead and manage key talent programs for the sales organization, including annual compensation reviews and promotion cycles, ensuring alignment with sales performance and business goals.
• Strategic Sales Hiring Support: Provide strategic organizational hiring support, collaborating with recruiting to attract, assess, and onboard top sales talent, especially for our rapidly scaling field operations.
• Employee Relations & Performance Management: Offer expert consultation, coaching, and performance management guidance for all sales employees and managers, ensuring fair and consistent practices while addressing complex employee relations matters.
• HR Program Enhancement & Innovation: Lead ad hoc projects and process improvement initiatives within the People team, continuously enhancing our HR programs and service delivery model to better support the unique needs of a rapidly scaling sales organization.

• Extensive HR Leadership Experience: 10+ years of progressive HR Business Partner or HR leadership experience, including at least 4 years providing strategic HR support to VP+ leaders. Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources or a related field and/or HR certification (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP) or an advanced degree preferred.
• Collaborative & Results-Oriented: Possess a "Team First" mindset, consistently prioritizing collective achievement over individual recognition, and demonstrating a strong drive to get things done effectively.
• Courageous & Candid Advisor: Proven ability to constructively challenge leadership, provide objective feedback on blind spots, and present alternate or opposing viewpoints with conviction and professionalism.
• Trusted Advisor & Relationship Builder: Exceptional ability to build and maintain trust with leaders, cross-functional partners, and employees from diverse backgrounds and across all levels, particularly within a geographically dispersed sales environment.
• Strategic & Balanced Judgment: Demonstrate impeccable judgment and the ability to effectively balance the needs of the company, managers, and a diverse employee population (exempt and non-exempt) across various locations.
• Change Management Expertise: Highly experienced in successfully facilitating complex change management initiatives within rapidly evolving and dynamic work environments, adapting to the unique challenges of a scaling sales force.
• Agile & Adaptable: Capable of frequent context shifting and managing multiple priorities without losing sight of critical strategic objectives, a necessity in a rapidly expanding and geographically spread organization.
• Positive & Proactive Problem Solver: Consistently bring an optimistic, energetic, and solution-oriented approach to challenges, effectively navigating the complexities of supporting a diverse sales workforce.
• Influential Communicator: Possess exceptional written and verbal communication skills, characterized by clarity, conciseness, and courage, enabling effective influence across all levels and locations.
• Hands-On & Resourceful: Accustomed to taking a hands-on approach and proactively "rolling up your sleeves" to execute tasks and ensure successful outcomes, regardless of scope or complexity, to support the needs of a growing sales organization.

Rivian is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Rivian is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at candidateaccommodations@rivian.com.

Rivian may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes ("Candidate Personal Data"). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Rivian may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian affiliates; and (iii) Rivian's service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Rivian may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.

Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.