Vice President Railroad Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Job Purpose
The Vice President of Human Resources is a strategic leader responsible for developing and executing HR strategies that support Progress Rail's mission, growth, and culture. Working with the SVP Corporate Services, the VP of HR will be responsible for executing the people strategy for Progress Rail globally by collaborating to align innovative talent solutions with business objectives to fuel the company's profitable growth. As a key advisor to senior leadership, the VP of HR for Progress Rail will be a champion of a high-performance, inclusive work culture.
The ideal candidate for this role is a fast-paced, dynamic and strategic leader who understands the critical importance of developing strategies to attract and retain key talent. Candidates should have a proven track record in driving organizational transformation with the ability to skillfully identify and relentlessly pursue process improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Candidates must possess a strong executive presence, enabling them to influence and inspire at all levels of the organization, and be skilled in navigating complex challenges with a commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
Company Description
Progress Rail stands at the intersection of legacy and innovation-driving the future of rail with a pioneering spirit. Since its founding in 1983, the company has grown to become one of the world's largest and most trusted providers of railroad products, services, and technologies. Today, Progress Rail delivers a comprehensive portfolio of cost-effective solutions to railway customers around the globe. From the rails themselves to the EMD® locomotives that ride them, the company's products are in operation across more than 100 countries-powering progress and connecting communities. In 2006, Progress Rail joined Caterpillar Inc., further strengthening its ability to lead the rail industry with cutting-edge technology, unmatched expertise, and a commitment to excellence. At Progress Rail, the team is not just building the future of rail-they are making history every day.
Key Job Elements
Strategic Leadership
As a strategic advisor to the executive team, the VP of Human Resources will translate business priorities into a focused set of people initiatives that strengthen organizational capability and readiness for the future. This leader will bring a data-informed point of view-using workforce insights and HR metrics to identify trends, surface risks and opportunities, and guide decisions on performance expectations, rewards, and talent investments. The role also shapes how the organization executes major, talent-centered change across highly matrixed business units, ensuring alignment, clarity, and sustained adoption through disciplined planning and change leadership.
Enterprise Behaviors
In supporting the setting and execution of the overall HR strategy, the VP of Human Resources will exhibit and drive the following key enterprise behaviors:
• Customer-Back Mindset: Intense focus on the internal customer
• Open and Direct Communication: Build trust and clarity
• Act with Urgency: Respond promptly and prioritize action
• Think Differently: Empower innovation and release the constraints of old ways of working
• Accelerate Early Wins: Progress over perfection
Role Scope
In this role, the VP of Human Resources serves as the senior people leader for Progress Rail's global, operations-intensive environment-aligning workforce strategy to business performance across manufacturing sites and corporate functions. Partnering with executive leadership, the VP translates enterprise priorities into an integrated people agenda that strengthens leadership capability and succession, builds the skills and capacity needed for operational execution, and sustains a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement. The role also provides disciplined stewardship of employee relations, total rewards, and HR governance-ensuring consistent, compliant practices and scalable systems, informed by people analytics and a strong understanding of risk in complex, regulated, and safety-critical settings.
Candidate Success Profile
Success requires significant, progressive HR leadership experience in multi-site and multi-region manufacturing or industrial organizations, with the executive presence to influence at the highest levels and the practical orientation to support leaders close to where work happens.
Qualifications and Experience
• 10-15 years of progressive HR leadership experience, including at least 5 years at a senior executive level.
• Proven track record of developing and leading strategic HR programs in a complex, fast-paced environment.
• A broad knowledge of employment, benefits, compensation, organizational planning, employee and labor relations, training and development is necessary.
Skills & Competencies
• Executive Communication. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills are required. You should be adept at preparing reports, presenting to C-suite leaders, and simplifying complex ideas for diverse audiences.
• Strategic Thinking. Candidates will understand importance of "big picture" thinking and planning and have the ability to apply organizational acumen and competitiveness to identify and maintain focus on key success factors for the organization.
• Change Leadership. Candidates must be skilled in guiding organizations through transformation, with the ability to gain alignment and build commitment in ambiguous or high-stakes situations.
• Business Acumen. Candidates must demonstrate knowledge of business concepts, tools, and processes that are needed for making sound decisions in the context of the company's business, with the ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
• Global Perspective. As a trusted advisor to a global business, candidates must have knowledge of issues, opportunities, and challenges for conducting business in the international marketplace with the ability to apply global perspectives appropriately in a wide range of situations.
• Knowledge of Organization. A successful candidate will be expected to learn the organization's vision, structure, culture, philosophy, operating principles, values, and code of ethics to understand the value of aligning capabilities with business goals to support optimal performance.
Benefits
Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance, and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Progress Rail.**

• Competitive Salary
• 401(k) plan with up to 6% company match (no waiting period with immediate vesting)
• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life/Disability Insurance
• Supplemental Accident, Critical Care, and Hospital Insurance available along with an HDHP and HSA with seed money
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Paid Vacation
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Time-Off (PTO)
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Education Assistance Program
• Employee Recognition Programs
• Site specific Production and Incentive Plans
• Site specific Step and Skill Level Wage Adjustment Plans
• Site Specific Relocation and Sign-on Bonus Programs

*Benefits eligibility varies by job position, full-time/part-time and regular/temporary status. The provisions of the plan documents control such benefits.
**Subject to position, eligibility, and plan guidelines.