Chief Human Resources Officer

At Lucida, we're more than just a full-service accounting firm; we're a community of over 90 professionals across four locations, dedicated to providing exceptional service. As a proud member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, we specialize in supporting closely held companies in diverse sectors including real estate, construction, manufacturing, professional services and more.

Our mission is to create tailored financial opportunities for our clients and team members, offering a collaborative environment that fosters innovative strategies and operational excellence.

The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is Lucida's senior people leader, reporting to the President and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. The CHRO develops and executes a human capital strategy that enables the firm's growth objectives, attracting, developing and retaining the talent Lucida needs to serve clients at a higher level, integrate acquired firms and build its next generation of leaders. The CHRO will also lead the research, design and launch of a client-facing HR outsourcing and advisory service that complements Lucida's existing advisory services and delivers a measurable return for the firm.

Lucida is in a period of deliberate growth, guided by one-, three- and ten-year strategic outlooks and fueled by organic expansion and acquisitions. That growth is supported by a firm-wide culture evolution toward team-based client service, accountability at every level and an unwavering focus on the client experience. The CHRO is accountable for making sure Lucida's people, structure and culture are ready for each stage of that plan.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Leads and directs the Human Resources team, including the Recruiter and Senior HR Generalist and, once launched, the HR outsourcing services team, providing strategic guidance and mentorship.
• Hires, trains and develops HR team members, creating a positive environment that supports personal and professional growth.
• Establishes team priorities and ensures consistent, high-quality delivery of HR programs and services firmwide.
• Conducts performance evaluations and manages performance for direct reports.
• Builds an HR function that can scale with Lucida's growth and acquisition activity, including identifying when and where additional HR capacity is needed.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Serve as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to the President and Executive Leadership Team on all organizational, workforce and employee matters, and bring a people perspective to firm-level decisions on growth, service offerings, new markets and acquisitions.
• Translate Lucida's one-, three- and ten-year strategic outlooks into a multi-year people strategy with clear priorities, owners and measures.
• Own the HR budget, including recruiting, compensation, benefits and HRIS/vendor spend.
• Build and lead a recruiting strategy that adds experienced, credentialed talent and grows the firm's capacity in its specialization and growth areas.
• Lead Lucida's campus recruiting strategy and internship program, building relationships with colleges and universities and developing a strong, sustainable pipeline of early-career talent.
• Provide strategic oversight of onboarding, internal mobility and the employee referral program so new team members become productive and connected quickly.
• Strengthen Lucida's employer brand and represent the firm in employer-recognition initiatives such as Top Workplaces.
• Design and lead Lucida's leadership development program, building management capability and preparing emerging leaders for greater responsibility.
• Establish a firm-wide coaching and accountability framework, and coach leaders on effective people-management, communication and accountability practices.
• Lead succession planning for leadership and other critical roles and maintain a visible leadership pipeline.
• Lead Lucida's performance management programs, including goal setting, performance reviews, employee development and career pathing.
• Partner with outside coaching and development resources engaged by the firm, so their work is consistent with Lucida's talent framework.
• Champion Lucida's culture evolution toward team-based client service, firm-wide ownership of client relationships, positivity, patience and accountability across the firm.
• Champion programs and practices that reinforce Lucida's culture and Four Pillars: Take Care of Each Other, Take Care of Clients, Take Care of Lucida and Have Fun.
• Lead engagement strategy, including engagement surveys and eNPS, and turn the results into action plans with clear owners.
• Lead communication and change management for firm-wide initiatives, including flexible work arrangements that balance the needs of clients, the firm and team members.
• Partner with leadership to shape Lucida's mission and values, and embed them in hiring, development and recognition.
• Partner with leadership on organizational structure, team design, roles and reporting lines that support scalable, team-based client service.
• Lead workforce and capacity planning aligned with growth targets, service-line priorities and technology adoption, and help the firm adapt roles, skills and training as automation and AI tools change how work is done.
• Serve as the people lead on acquisitions, from due diligence on talent, compensation, benefits and culture through post-close integration.
• Build and continuously improve a repeatable people-integration playbook covering communication, retention, benefits and compensation alignment, systems and onboarding.
• Protect the retention and engagement of acquired team members and integrate them into Lucida's culture and team structure.
• Lead the research and feasibility assessment for a client-facing HR outsourcing service, including demand within Lucida's client base, the competitive landscape, service scope, pricing and delivery model.
• Build the business case for the service in partnership with the Chief Financial Officer, including required investment, staffing, pricing, margin and projected return on investment, and present it to the Executive Leadership Team for approval.
• Design and launch the service, which could include HR compliance reviews, handbooks and policies, recruiting support, compensation and performance programs and ongoing HR advisory support for closely held businesses.
• Position the service to complement Lucida's client accounting, payroll, fractional CFO and advisory services, and partner with growth and practice leaders on go-to-market strategy and cross-selling.
• Work with legal counsel, insurance advisors and the firm's quality leadership to address regulatory, liability and professional independence requirements, including limits on services to attest clients.
• Own the performance of the service after launch, reporting on revenue, margin, client adoption, retention and return on investment.
• Lead compensation strategy, including salary structures, benchmarking, incentives and pay equity, keeping Lucida's compensation programs equitable and competitive for the talent it needs.
• Provide strategic oversight of Lucida's employee benefits and total rewards programs, including medical, dental, vision, retirement, life, disability, wellness and ancillary benefits.
• Lead annual benefit renewals and open enrollment in partnership with brokers, carriers, vendors and internal stakeholders, evaluating plan design, utilization, cost and market competitiveness.
• Maintain knowledge of federal, state and local employment laws and HR best practices, ensure compliance as the firm grows and oversee the development, implementation and consistent application of HR policies and procedures.
• Provide guidance to leaders on employee relations, performance concerns and conflict resolution, ensuring issues are addressed consistently and in accordance with firm policy and applicable employment law.
• Lead or oversee sensitive employee relations matters and workplace investigations, partnering with legal counsel as needed.
• Provide oversight of leave administration, workplace accommodations, workers' compensation and other employment-related compliance matters, partnering with external advisors, brokers and legal counsel as needed.
• Ensure required HR documentation, reporting, notices and employee records are maintained appropriately.
• Oversee HR processes across the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, status changes, leaves, performance management and separation, and manage relationships with HR vendors, brokers and service providers.
• Lead HR systems and technology strategy, including UKG, and streamline and automate HR processes while maintaining accuracy, confidentiality and compliance.
• Establish people metrics and regular reporting to the Executive Leadership Team on retention, engagement, recruiting, development and HR operations, and use workforce data to identify trends, evaluate program effectiveness and support leadership decisions.
• Perform other related duties as necessary or assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and influence at every level of the firm, from the Executive Leadership Team to new team members.
• Strong leadership abilities focused on coaching, mentorship and developing future leaders, and on driving continuous improvement across the HR function.
• Business-minded strategic thinking, with an understanding of how talent decisions drive client service, growth and margin.
• Excellent problem-solving, judgment and decision-making skills, and the ability to handle confidential and sensitive matters with professionalism and discretion.
• Broad expertise across talent acquisition, leadership development, employee relations, compensation, benefits, performance management, HR operations and employment law.
• Strong analytical skills, with experience using HR metrics to set priorities, measure results and support recommendations and decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change and culture initiatives, bringing people along through growth, acquisitions and new ways of working.
• Demonstrated ability to build business cases and launch new services or programs that deliver measurable financial results.
• Ability to balance enterprise-level strategy with hands-on execution in a growing, acquisitive organization while the HR function scales.
• Commitment to modeling and reinforcing Lucida's Four Pillars and team-first values.
• Proficiency with HRIS and related HR technology; UKG experience preferred.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10+ years of progressive human resources experience, including significant HR leadership experience partnering directly with executive leadership.
• Demonstrated success building and leading an HR team.
• Experience in a professional services firm, ideally public accounting, is preferred.
• Experience integrating people, compensation, benefits and culture through mergers and acquisitions preferred.
• Experience building, leading or advising on a client-facing HR consulting, HR outsourcing or PEO service preferred.
• Multi-state employment experience preferred.
• SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification preferred.