COMPANY BACKGROUND
Founded in 1959, Minnesota Coaches (“MN Coaches” or “the Company”) is a leading independent provider of student transportation and motor coach services, serving over 36 public school districts and charter schools in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.
Minnesota Coaches is highly dedicated to upholding the pristine reputation it has built over the last 65+ years as a best-in-class operator. The Company does so through its commitment to safety, dependability and community service. MN Coaches has long-standing, entrenched customer relationships throughout Minnesota, with the Company's top ten student transportation customers having an average tenure of over 50 years.
Key Business Highlights
Largest independent student transportation provider in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin
- Fleet of over 1,000 vehicles and 20 controlled terminals across high-growth metro, suburban metro and rural communities
- Scale and purchasing power of a national provider, with the local touch of a “mom-and-pop” operator
- Full-service fueling, fleet maintenance and local leadership across terminals and service areas, supported by corporate leadership
Deep commitment to quality, safety and the communities served
- Strong in-house resources to recruit and train drivers – strong retention relative to the broader industry
- 100% non-unionized labor force of ~1,360 employees
- Industry-leading safety record driven by strong corporate culture and investment in bus safety technology
Ownership
Tiger Infrastructure Partners (“Tiger Infrastructure”) announced a growth capital investment in Minnesota Coaches in December 2024. Tiger Infrastructure Partners is an innovative private equity firm focused on providing transformational growth capital to middle market infrastructure companies. Tiger Infrastructure's value-add approach targets growth investments across the Digital Infrastructure, Energy Transition and Transportation sectors in North America and Europe, where Tiger Infrastructure believes strong tailwinds are driving demand for new infrastructure. Tiger Infrastructure maintains offices in New York and London.
Vice President of Human Resources Responsibilities
Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President of Human Resources is a critical member of Minnesota Coaches' leadership team, acting as leader for HR at the company, strategic advisor, and driver of talent and culture initiatives to deliver measurable results. This key role will develop and build an HR strategy to provide a cohesive process and uniformity to all people processes across the company, in all company sites. In this fast paced, Private Equity (PE) backed company, the successful candidate will drive key sustainability initiatives that elevate companywide HR processes, compliance, and uniformity. This includes the employee experience in the areas of talent management, strategic workforce planning, M&A transitions, performance management, succession planning, learning and development, total rewards, and talent acquisition. These initiatives will use a data driven focus aligned to Minnesota Coaches' People Strategy and overall business model.
This role calls for a collaborative thought leader, who leads with a business and people-centric mindset. As Minnesota Coaches' people, processes, and technologies evolve, the ideal candidate will be self-motivated, work with urgency in a PE backed environment and driven to uphold and nurture Minnesota Coaches in a connected, engaged, and productive workforce.
This position is responsible for managing Human Resources at the corporate level, as well as being the top HR resource for all holdings by Minnesota Coaches.
Key Responsibilities
- Overseeing HR responsibility across multiple offices, sites and terminals, the role will serve as a strategic partner and act as the interface between HR and business leaders through the design and implementation of a cohesive HR strategy, which is aligned with the company's growth strategy.
- Develop and combine company HR policies and procedures across current holdings/ acquisitions and future company additions with a focus on compliance and safety.
- Act as player/coach to the business leaders across Minnesota Coaches focusing on driving the attraction, retention, and engagement of talent across all levels at Minnesota Coaches.
- Lead the strategy, implementation, and management of learning and development, performance management; and the compensation philosophy that align with the Minnesota Coaches culture.
- Manage the talent acquisition process to ensure the right people are hired at the right time.
- Serve as the primary resource for HR, payroll and benefits compliance across multi-state requirements helping to mitigate and minimize risk to the company.
- Build on the existing Minnesota Coaches culture and prepare the Company for continued scaling.
- Drive best practices, change management initiatives, and continuously strive to improve processes to ensure alignment with business objectives, strategies, and internal/external trends.
- Support and facilitate acquisition and integration of target acquisitions
- Manage and ensure Company compliance with the Department of Transportation and government contracts including, but not limited to, pre and post-employment drug testing requirements and background checks.
Professional Experience & QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum of 10 years of senior executive level leadership experience, with strong execution and enthusiasm for growth.
- Standalone experience in a senior HR leadership role preferred.
- Proven People/Talent/HR-related experience within a service-based company in the transportation, logistics or similar industry space.
- Experience with M&A growth and assimilation by integrating HR systems and blending cultures.
- Regional HR leadership experience and expertise.
- Experience with PE backed companies and board structures.
- Experience with family-owned companies.
- Strong change management experience and skills.
- Ability to provide influence and points of view in the HR space.
- First-class written and verbal communication skills as well as an advanced ability to influence company culture creatively, proactively, and persuasively.
- Must be someone who leads by example and sets the bar high, someone who is hands-on, leads by example, can do the work as well as coach and manage others.
- Strategic thinker who utilizes creativity, strong interpersonal skills and attention to detail to develop and execute effective internal and external communications programs.
- Demonstrated strong business acumen. Ability to understand and operationalize complex business needs and objectives.
EDUCATION
A bachelor's degree is required. A Master of Business Administration or other advanced degree is viewed as a plus.
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