Foundations of Talent, Pillars of Learning

Client Overview

Our client is an educational accreditation organization focused on certifying institutions that uphold the highest standards of academic excellence, intellectual rigor, and freedom of inquiry. NAAE’s accreditation process emphasizes innovation, integrity, and the holistic development of students beyond baseline compliance. With an evidence-based and technology-enabled framework, the agency seeks to partner with institutions committed to delivering exceptional outcomes for students, faculty, and communities alike. Their goal is to align accreditation with excellence—not just accountability—making it an attractive choice for forward-thinking colleges and universities.

The Challenge/Mandate

The client was undergoing a major operational upgrade and recognized that a modern, strategic HR function was critical to support its next phase of growth. At the time, the organization lacked formal HR infrastructure and processes. There was no established system for hiring, onboarding, or performance evaluations, and the leadership team needed expert support to ensure the right people and systems were in place to sustain organizational effectiveness.

The mandate was to bring in a seasoned HR leader on a fractional basis to stand up the core pillars of a Human Resources function. This included defining the organizational structure, setting up recruiting and talent evaluation processes, ensuring compliance with employment policies, and designing a scalable performance management framework. The ideal candidate would need not only deep HR expertise but also the ability to work within the culture and pace of a nonprofit or early-stage institution.

Search Strategy

The search prioritized fractional HR executives with demonstrated success in building HR foundations from the ground up. Specific priorities included:

• Proven leadership in senior HR roles with a strategic orientation
• Experience supporting small businesses, nonprofits, or startups
• Ability to independently design and implement core HR systems
• Track record of building recruitment pipelines and leading talent evaluation
• Strong interpersonal skills, discretion, and ability to collaborate with executive stakeholders
  

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Our sourcing targeted professionals with experience in organizational development, talent strategy, and change management—especially those who had worked with mission-driven or education-related organizations.

The Placement

We placed a highly capable Fractional HR leader with 13 years of experience across a range of sectors. As the founder of an HR advisory firm supporting small businesses, she had developed a reputation for delivering practical, people-first HR solutions tailored to the realities of lean, growing teams. Her consulting career included leadership roles with a human capital partner specializing in operational transformation and a digital services firm where she served as Fractional HR Director.

She brought a strategic mindset to the role—helping translate the organization’s mission and culture into HR practices that would support long-term sustainability. Her approach was grounded in simplicity, structure, and a commitment to embedding systems that work in real life—not just in theory.

The Outcome

The consultant successfully laid the groundwork for a fully functional HR department. She partnered with the Executive Director to design and implement a hiring system for both full-time employees and stipend-based volunteers, including the development of screening, selection, and onboarding protocols. Her work also led to the launch of a recurring performance evaluation process aligned with the agency’s mission and academic goals.

By institutionalizing the HR function, she helped the organization transition from ad hoc practices to structured systems that promote accountability, equity, and growth. Her impact was felt not only in operations, but in culture—bringing greater clarity to roles, more confidence to hiring decisions, and a sustainable path forward for talent development in a mission-driven higher education setting.