Chemung Canal Trust Company

Senior Vice President - Director of Human Resources

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THE OPPORTUNITY

Chemung Canal Trust Company (“Chemung”) is seeking a Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources (SVP HR) to serve as the organization’s senior-most HR leader and a key strategic partner to executive leadership. This role reflects Chemung’s continued growth and the increasing importance of aligning people, culture, and leadership strategies with the organization’s long-term business priorities and evolving external environment. In addition to Chemung Canal Trust Company, this role provides strategic HR oversight across its affiliated banking entities, including Canal Bank and Capital Bank, reinforcing the enterprise-wide scope and impact of the position.

Reporting directly to the CEO as a member of the Executive Management Team (EMT), the SVP HR will serve as a strategic partner and advisor on enterprise-wide talent strategies. The successful leader will contribute insight and perspective to business discussions and will shape strategies related to talent acquisition and development, succession planning, organizational effectiveness, and culture. The role requires strong business acumen and the proven ability to connect people strategy to organizational performance and long-term growth.

As the organization continues to navigate changes in the financial services industry, workforce expectations, and regulatory landscape, this role is viewed as a driver of thoughtful assessment, evolution and elevation of the HR function to ensure it is well-positioned to support the business today and into the future.

For more information on the organization visit: https://www.chemungcanal.com/

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Elmira, New York, Chemung Canal Trust Company is a full-service community bank and New York State’s oldest locally owned and managed community bank, with more than 190 years of continuous service to its clients and communities.

The organization delivers comprehensive commercial and retail banking services, complemented by a full-service wealth management operation serving individuals, families, and businesses. Its reputation is built on trust, enduring relationships, and a commitment to responsive, personalized financial guidance.

Chemung operates under three banking brands — Chemung Canal Trust Company, Canal Bank, and Capital Bank — serving distinct markets across New York State and Northern Pennsylvania:

• Chemung Canal Trust Company primarily serves the Southern Tier of New York and Northern Pennsylvania, with offices located in Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties in New York, and Bradford County in Pennsylvania.
• Canal Bank serves Western New York, including Erie County and the greater Buffalo region.
• Capital Bank serves New York’s Capital Region, including Albany, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties.

Together, these brands reflect a growing regional footprint that balances long-standing community roots with expansion into emerging markets across the state.

Chemung Canal Trust Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chemung Financial Corporation, a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CHMG. Learn more at chemungcanal.com/locations.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serves as the organization’s senior-most HR leader. The role currently oversees a small, experienced HR team and has three direct reports:

• Assistant Vice President – Sr. HR Generalist
• Benefits Specialist
• Recruitment Specialist

The SVP will provide strategic leadership and direction for the HR function while supporting and developing the existing team. This position offers the opportunity to thoughtfully assess current structures, practices, and capabilities to ensure the HR function remains aligned with Chemung’s evolving business priorities, workforce needs, and market dynamics. Success in this role will require a combination of strategic perspective, operational insight, and the ability to build trust across the enterprise.

COMPETENCIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic HR Leadership and Executive Partnership

• Serves as an advisor to the CEO and Executive Management Team translating business objectives into a comprehensive and actionable talent strategy.
• Ensures human capital implications are integrated into strategic planning, growth initiatives, and risk discussions.
• Provides guidance on workforce planning, succession, leadership capability, and organizational design.
• Builds credibility across the organization as a trusted and objective business partner.
• Introduces enhancements to HR practices in a manner that demonstrates value and supports talent development & retention across the organization.

Talent Management, Succession & Performance

• Leads the design and execution of effective and aligned leadership development, succession planning, and talent pipeline strategies to ensure the development of the workforce needed to execute the business strategy.
• Strengthens career development frameworks that encourage opportunity, professional growth, and meaningful advancement for employees throughout the organization.
• Guides leadership in building high-performing and engaged teams.
• Partners with Operations and IT leadership to evaluate emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, and assesses their impact on workforce strategy, productivity, risk management, and employee experience.
• Develops and implements workforce practices that effectively support a geographically dispersed organization, ensuring alignment, consistency, and shared goals and accountability across locations.
• Guides leaders in managing distributed teams effectively, establishing expectations and systems that support engagement, performance, and alignment across regions.

Cultural Stewardship

• Partners with leadership to guide thoughtful organizational change, as needed; clarifies expectations of a modern HR function, helping leaders understand and leverage HR as a strategic advisor.
• Serves as a steward of Chemung’s culture, values, and employee experience.
• Provides leadership and oversight of initiatives that strengthen workplace culture and broadens opportunity, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Ensures efforts to foster a respectful and welcoming workplace are integrated into people practices and organizational culture.

Total Rewards Strategy & Governance

• Provides enterprise-wide leadership for total rewards strategy in a highly regulated banking environment, ensuring compensation and benefits programs support business strategy, prudent risk management, talent objectives, and long-term organizational performance.
• Establishes and stewards a comprehensive compensation philosophy that promotes pay equity, transparency, competitive market positioning, and full compliance with banking regulations and supervisory expectations.
• Provides executive oversight of job architecture, job evaluation, classification frameworks, and salary band structures to ensure internal equity, consistency, and scalability across the organization.
• Leads benefits strategy and vendor partnerships, balancing cost effectiveness, competitiveness, and employee well-being while supporting attraction, retention, and workforce sustainability.
• Ensures strong governance and compliance with wage and hour laws, retirement and savings plans, incentive compensation regulations, and applicable federal, state, and local banking requirements.
• Partners with Legal, Finance, Risk, and Compliance to align compensation programs with enterprise risk management principles and regulatory guidance, including oversight of incentive compensation practices.
• Regularly evaluates total rewards programs using market benchmarking, internal analytics, and regulatory feedback to ensure continued alignment with organizational strategy, risk appetite, and evolving market conditions.

HR Operations, Compliance & Risk Oversight

• Provides executive leadership and oversight of all HR operations, including talent acquisition, executive and employee compensation & total rewards, employee relations, compliance & risk management.
• Assess the current HR function and guides its continued evolution toward a more proactive, strategic business partnership model while maintaining operational excellence.
• Advises leadership on regulatory risk, employee relations matters, and emerging workforce trends.
• Oversees preparation and submission of required regulatory reporting.
• Provides strategic oversight of HR technology and digital initiatives, identifying opportunities to leverage automation and workforce analytics to enhance talent acquisition, workforce planning, learning, and performance management.

Functional Leadership & Team Development

• Leads, develops, and coaches the HR team to ensure operational excellence and strategic impact.
• Leads and develops the HR team to expand its strategic capabilities, strengthening business acumen, consultative skills, and enterprise thinking.
• Establishes clear priorities, accountability, and professional development pathways for HR staff
• Ensure the HR function is appropriately structured and resourced to meet organizational needs

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
• 10–15+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including senior or enterprise-level responsibility
• Demonstrated success leading or evolving HR strategy, assessing and evolving an HR function to align with organizational growth, complexity, and strategic priorities within a regulated or complex environment. Public company experience preferred.
• Strong experience in total rewards design and governance, talent strategy design and execution and organizational development
• Demonstrated ability to lead HR strategy across a broad geographic footprint and/or multiple brands or affiliated entities.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, or strategic growth initiatives, including HR due diligence, integration planning, organizational design, and cultural alignment
• Experience assessing workforce risk and talent implications during periods of expansion, integration, or organizational restructuring.
• Ability to balance enterprise consistency with brand or regional nuances across a multi-entity structure.
• Proven ability to evaluate organizational health and implement initiatives that enhance employee engagement, communication, and leadership effectiveness.
• Comfort operating in environments that balance strategic leadership with thoughtful oversight of day-to-day function and team development.
• Deep knowledge of employment law, compensation structures, and regulatory compliance
• Strong communication, facilitation, and change leadership skills

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The expected base salary range for this position is $175,000–$205,000, commensurate with experience, qualifications, and other relevant factors, including tenure and scope of responsibility. In addition to base compensation, Chemung offers a competitive and comprehensive incentive program. The organization also provides a robust benefits package designed to support the health, financial well-being, and professional growth of its employees.

LOCATION & WORK ARRANGEMENT

Chemung Canal Trust Company is headquartered in Elmira, New York, and a regular presence in Elmira is essential. Given the strategic nature of this role and the importance of visibility, relationship-building, and partnership across the organization, in-person engagement with executive leadership and key business functions is required.

Chemung recognizes the evolving expectations of executive leadership roles and is open to discussing a thoughtful hybrid arrangement for the right candidate. Any relevant hybrid structure would ensure consistent and meaningful presence in Elmira and other key markets, enabling the SVP of Human Resources to effectively support leadership, build trust across the organization, and remain closely connected to the business.

Catapult has been retained to conduct this search on behalf of Chemung Canal Trust Company

Posted On: Friday, February 13, 2026