Director of People and Talent

isofy•Charleston, SC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a hands-on and experienced Director of People & Talent to own the employee experience, from recruiting and onboarding through development, compensation, performance, and retention. This role will lead our recruiting efforts, manage day-to-day People operations, help employees and managers grow, and build practical systems that allow us to attract and retain exceptional talent as the company continues to scale. This is a highly hands-on role. The Director of People & Talent will personally manage recruiting, payroll and benefits administration, employee programs, and many of the day-to-day activities of the People function while also serving as a trusted advisor to company leadership. They will help create a culture where expectations are clear, feedback is productive, strong performance is recognized, employees have opportunities to grow, and people enjoy working together.

Requirements

5+ years of progressive experience across Human Resources, People Operations, Talent Acquisition, People Partnership, or related functions.
Experience working in a growing organization where the People function requires both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
Strong recruiting experience with the ability to source, evaluate, attract, and close high-quality candidates across a variety of roles.
Experience managing or supporting payroll, benefits administration, HR systems, employee records, and other core People operations.
Experience with performance management, employee development, compensation, career development, or related People programs.
Ability to coach employees and managers on communication, feedback, performance, professional development, and leadership.
Sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive employee matters and confidential information.
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build trust with employees at all levels of the company.
Practical, organized, and comfortable personally owning the details rather than relying on a large supporting HR team.
Ability to balance employee advocacy with the needs, expectations, and performance standards of the business.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a technology, SaaS, professional services, or similarly fast-moving organization is preferred.
Experience supporting distributed or international employees is a plus.
SHRM, PHR, or comparable professional certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding across the company.
Own day-to-day People operations, including payroll, benefits, employee records, policies, and employee lifecycle administration.
Build and improve career development, compensation, performance management, and employee development practices.
Serve as a trusted resource to employees and managers while helping strengthen engagement, retention, teamwork, and company culture.
Lead full-cycle recruiting across technical, operational, sales, and other roles, working directly with hiring managers to define needs, source candidates, conduct interviews, and make strong hiring decisions.
Develop and maintain a consistent recruiting and interview process, including job descriptions, interview plans, candidate evaluation, reference checks, offers, and candidate communication.
Represent the company at career fairs, university events, community events, and other opportunities to develop relationships with prospective employees.
Own the employee onboarding process and continuously improve how new employees are introduced to the company, their teams, expectations, and responsibilities.
Manage payroll, benefits administration, employee records, HR systems, and relationships with relevant People and benefits vendors.
Maintain employment policies, employee documentation, and People processes, coordinating with outside advisors and employment counsel when specialized guidance is required.
Partner with leadership on headcount planning and hiring priorities, helping determine what roles the company needs and when.
Develop and maintain practical career ladders, role levels, competencies, compensation bands, and promotion criteria that give employees greater clarity around expectations and advancement.
Advise leadership on employee compensation and executive compensation packages using market data, performance, and company needs.
Own the company's performance review and feedback processes and help managers establish clear expectations, provide constructive feedback, recognize strong performance, and address performance concerns.
Work directly with employees on professional development opportunities, including effective verbal and written communication, meeting leadership, giving and receiving feedback, organization, and other foundational workplace skills.
Coach managers on becoming stronger people leaders, including setting expectations, providing feedback, having difficult conversations, developing employees, and creating accountability within their teams.
Serve as an approachable, trusted, and discreet resource for employees who need guidance, want to raise concerns, or would benefit from support navigating workplace situations.
Help managers and leadership navigate employee relations matters, performance concerns, corrective action, conflict resolution, and other sensitive employee situations.
Develop practical initiatives to improve employee retention and identify emerging retention risks before they become departures.
Conduct exit interviews and use employee feedback and turnover patterns to identify opportunities to improve the employee experience.
Plan and coordinate company outings, team-building activities, recognition efforts, and other initiatives that create stronger relationships and a greater sense of connection across the company.
Help leadership identify employees ready for additional responsibility and work with managers and employees to create meaningful advancement and development opportunities.
Gather and monitor a focused set of People metrics, including hiring activity, retention, compensation, employee feedback, and other indicators useful to company leadership.
Continuously improve People practices as the company grows while avoiding unnecessary process, bureaucracy, or complexity.