Serious people problems need someone who's seen them before. Dave has, for 45 years.
Senior HR advice for nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and growing employers in the Upper Valley. You work with Dave directly: no call center, no junior associate, no 1-800 number.
Independent HR advisor · SHRM-SCP, CCP, CBP · White River Junction, Vermont
How Dave helps
Hands-on HR support, not a binder of recommendations. Real work, done alongside your team.
Employee and labor relations
Workplace conflicts, investigations, grievances, union negotiations and collective bargaining. The high-stakes moments where experience makes the difference.
Pay and benefits
Total rewards
Pay studies, salary ranges, and benefits strategy that help you compete for good people and stay within budget. Built by a Certified Compensation and Benefits Professional.
Managers and leaders
Workforce development
Coaching for new and struggling managers, leadership training, and compliance education, so your supervisors handle people issues well before they reach you.
Hiring and onboarding
Talent acquisition
Recruiting strategy, job design, and onboarding that bring the right people in and set them up to succeed from day one.
Most at home in nonprofits and healthcare.
Dave spent his career inside mission-driven organizations, so he knows how they run: tight budgets, dedicated staff, regulators and boards to answer to, and no room for an HR mistake.
Nonprofits · Healthcare · Social services · Education · Municipal government · Growing small and mid-size employers
Sound familiar?
These are the calls Dave gets most often. If you're dealing with one of them, you're not alone, and you don't have to figure it out yourself.
“An employee just threatened legal action”
Dave has handled hundreds of these. He'll assess the situation, protect your organization, and help you respond correctly before it escalates.
“Your best people keep leaving and you don't know why”
It's usually pay, culture, or management. Often all three. Dave will find the real cause and build a retention plan that works.
“You're heading into union negotiations for the first time”
The wrong move at the table costs real money. Dave has sat in these rooms for decades and knows how to reach a fair agreement without giving away the house.
“You're growing fast and HR is held together with duct tape”
No handbook, no formal policies, compliance gaps everywhere. Dave will build the foundation: handbook, onboarding, pay structure. Everything you need to grow without the risk.
“You need senior HR leadership but can't justify a full-time hire”
That's why Upper Valley HRPro exists. Dave has spent 45 years in HR, most recently as Vice President of Human Resources for Catholic Charities NH. You get that experience for the hours you actually need.
Three ways to work together
Senior HR leadership, sized to what you actually need. Every engagement is scoped and quoted in writing before work begins.
On-call advisor
Often called HR on retainer
A set number of hours each month. You call or email when something comes up, and because Dave already knows your organization, answers come fast.
Best for: Organizations with no HR staff, or an HR generalist who needs a senior sounding board.
Defined project
Fixed scope, clear finish line
One problem with a beginning and an end: a pay study, a handbook rewrite, a contract negotiation, a workplace investigation.
Best for: A specific need you want solved properly, once.
Interim HR director
Also known as fractional HR
Dave steps in part-time as your senior HR leader for a set period, while you hire, restructure, or get through a major change.
Best for: A leadership gap, a departure, or a season of growth.
How getting started works
-
A free conversation
Call or send a note. You'll talk with Dave directly, and everything you share stays confidential.
-
A written plan
If there's a fit, Dave sends a short proposal: what he'll do, how long it should take, and what it will cost.
-
The work
Dave works alongside your team, on site or remotely, until the problem is solved.
45 years in the rooms where it matters
Dave Twitchell has spent four and a half decades in HR, most of it inside nonprofit and healthcare organizations. He retired in 2022 as Vice President of Human Resources for Catholic Charities NH, where he oversaw HR across healthcare facilities and social service programs.
Since 2023 he has run Upper Valley HRPro as an independent advisor, bringing that senior-level experience to organizations that need it without a full-time hire. Union negotiations, pay redesigns, employee relations crises, compliance buildouts: he has handled them all, from the inside.
He has also taught compensation and HR certification prep as an adjunct instructor, and he now applies that same expertise directly for clients throughout the Upper Valley and New England.
Credentials
SHRM-SCP
Senior Certified Professional, Society for Human Resource Management
CCP
Certified Compensation Professional, WorldatWork
CBP
Certified Benefits Professional, WorldatWork
Background
VP, Human Resources
Catholic Charities NH, retired 2022
Adjunct Faculty and Instructor
Compensation and HR certification prep
Education
Graduate, Southern New Hampshire University
Undergraduate, University of New Hampshire
Common questions
Something else on your mind? Call Dave and ask.
Do we need an HR consultant or a full-time HR hire?
If you have fewer than about 100 employees, or your HR needs come in waves, a senior advisor for part of the month usually costs far less than a full-time HR director and brings more experience. When you're ready to hire, Dave can help you write the role and find the right person.
Is this the same as fractional HR?
Yes. Fractional HR means getting senior HR leadership for a fraction of the time and cost of a full-time hire. The on-call and interim engagements are exactly that.
What does it cost?
It depends on the scope. The first conversation is free, and every engagement is quoted in writing before any work begins, so there are no surprises.
Is our first conversation confidential?
Completely. What you share with Dave stays with Dave, whether or not you end up working together.
Do you work on site?
Yes. Dave works on site across the Upper Valley, including Lebanon, Hanover, White River Junction, Woodstock, Claremont, and Randolph, and remotely with organizations elsewhere in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New England.
Do you work with unionized organizations?
Yes, both union and non-union. Dave has negotiated contracts and handled grievances from the employer's side of the table for decades.
What don't you do?
Dave isn't a payroll service, a PEO, or a law firm. When a situation needs an employment attorney, he'll say so and help you work with one.
Talk to Dave.
The first conversation is free and confidential. No pitch, no pressure. Just a candid look at your situation and whether Dave can help.
(802) 291-4999
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Eastern
White River Junction, VT
On site across the Upper Valley, remote across New England
Message sent.
Thanks for reaching out. Dave will reply within one business day. If it can't wait, call (802) 291-4999.