Director of Contingent Workforce Programs

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Shield AI is seeking a Director of Contingent Workforce Programs to lead the strategy, governance, operations, and continuous improvement of our contingent workforce program, supporting agency workers, independent contractors, and statement-of-work (SOW) engagements. In this role, you will independently assess business needs, establish program priorities, recommend decisions, and drive execution across functions. You will build and improve the processes, controls, and partnerships that enable an effective, scalable program. You will partner closely with business leaders, People Experience (PX), EOR vendors, Legal, Finance, IT, and Security to strengthen program performance, manage risk, improve supplier accountability, and deliver a consistent stakeholder experience. This is a hands-on role for someone who can set direction and follow through on the operational details that make a program successful. The role may supervise one employee responsible for program coordination and administration.

What You'll Do:

Program Strategy & Governance

• Own the contingent workforce program strategy, operating model, and roadmap; independently assess gaps, recommend solutions, and drive improvements.

• Establish policies, processes, decision rights, approval requirements, and service expectations with cross-functional partners.

• Lead program changes from planning through implementation, communications, training, and adoption.

Program Operations

• Oversee the engagement lifecycle, from intake and review through onboarding, extensions, and offboarding.

• Monitor service performance, resolve bottlenecks, and lead resolution of complex or sensitive issues.

• Address recurring problems and develop practical guidance that improves execution and the manager experience.

• Partner with business leaders and Finance on workforce needs, engagement options, and budget considerations.

• Serve as the program's subject-matter expert and coordinate classification reviews with Legal, PX, and Procurement.

• Align stakeholders, drive accountability, and present program performance, risks, and recommendations to leadership.

Vendors, Data, & Systems Management

• Own supplier relationships and performance, including scorecards, reviews, and corrective actions.

• Partner with business leaders and other stakeholders on supplier strategy, selection, contracts, rates, and cost optimization.

• Maintain program controls with Legal, PX, Procurement, and Security, ensuring required reviews, approvals, documentation, and exceptions are managed.

• Define metrics and reporting to monitor workforce population, spend, supplier performance, service levels, and risk.

• Use data to guide improvements and partner with vendors to strengthen workflows, data quality, and supporting systems.

Required Qualifications:

• 12+ years of relevant experience in contingent workforce management, workforce programs, HR/PX operations, procurement, or supplier management, including direct ownership of a contingent workforce program.

• Demonstrated experience building, scaling, or transforming an enterprise contingent workforce program, with measurable improvements in operations, governance, supplier performance, or cost.

• Experience independently leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through implementation and ongoing improvement.

• Strong working knowledge of agency worker, independent contractor, and SOW engagement models.

• Experience establishing program governance, processes, controls, service standards, and performance measures.

• Experience managing suppliers and resolving complex operational or stakeholder issues.

• Ability to analyze workforce, supplier, or spend data and turn findings into actionable recommendations.

• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to advise leaders and drive accountability across teams.

• Ability to work independently with broad direction, navigate ambiguity, and balance strategic priorities with hands-on execution.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting contingent workforce programs across multiple countries or business units.

• Previous people-management or team-leadership experience.

• Experience with vendor management systems (VMS), managed service provider (MSP) models, and HR, procurement, or workforce analytics platforms.

• Experience with supplier negotiations, rate management, and workforce cost optimization.

• Experience in a high-growth, technical, engineering, aerospace, defense, or manufacturing environment.

Full-time regular employee offer package:

Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.