Director, People Experience

Upstart

1d•$191,000 - $265,300•Remote

About The Position

Upstart is seeking a Director of People Experience to bring strategy, coherence, and exceptional execution to key enterprise People programs. This role will own and evolve performance and compensation cycles, the employee listening program, GenAI acceleration efforts, the enterprise employee engagement rhythm, and the employee resource group operating model. The goal is to understand what these experiences reveal about the organization, recommend actions, and build systems to create a scalable and distinctly Upstart experience. This is an individual contributor role for someone who can operate at both strategic and tactical levels, developing clear points of view with senior leaders and personally building the necessary plans, processes, communications, or tools. The Director will join Upstart's Communications, Culture & Development team, contributing leadership that sees the whole employee experience, identifies opportunities within data, and transforms ideas into functional programs.

Requirements

10+ years of experience across employee experience, internal communications, enterprise program management, People/HR programs, organizational change, or a related field.
A track record of owning complex, enterprise-wide programs that affect a broad employee population and require alignment across senior, cross-functional stakeholders.
Exceptional strategic and systems thinking. You can take an ambiguous problem, identify the root need, develop a clear recommendation, and translate it into a practical plan.
Excellent written and verbal communication. You make complexity clear, adapt to the audience, and can present a well-supported point of view to senior leaders.
Strong influence and relationship-building skills, including the confidence to challenge a partner, negotiate tradeoffs, or say 'not now' when the employee experience requires it.
Comfort using quantitative and qualitative data to identify patterns, test assumptions, and recommend action.
High standards for execution and an eagerness to roll up your sleeves. You do not believe seniority puts distance between you and the work.
Sound judgment about when to act independently, when to seek additional context, and when a decision requires escalation.
Curiosity, humility, and the willingness to change your mind when new information points to a better answer.

Nice To Haves

Leading performance management, compensation, employee listening, or other enterprise People programs.
Driving employee adoption or behavior change related to AI, technology, or new ways of working.
Designing an operating model or enablement system for ERGs, employee communities, or volunteer-led programs.
Working in a fast-moving, founder-led, technology, fintech, or highly regulated environment.
Experience spanning more than one of the following disciplines: internal communications, HR/People programs, enterprise program management, change management, learning, or people analytics.

Responsibilities

Own the strategy, design, and end-to-end delivery of Upstart's mid-year and year-end performance cycles, creating a clear and effective experience for employees and managers.
Lead Upstart's employee listening strategy and Pulse program, partnering with People Analytics and HRBPs to move from survey data to organizational insight, leader action, and meaningful follow-through with employees.
Drive the employee program for GenAI acceleration, helping Upstarters adopt new tools and ways of working through thoughtful change strategy, communications, learning, experimentation, and measurement.
Build and govern a dynamic enterprise employee engagement calendar that gives the People Team and senior leaders a clear view of significant employee asks, upcoming communications, timing conflicts, and cumulative burden.
Partner with functional owners across Upstart to improve the timing, sequencing, messaging, and delivery of major company-wide employee asks while they retain ownership of the underlying program.
Strengthen our employee resource groups by defining a clear purpose, sustainable operating model, shared standards, annual rhythm, and self-service tools for volunteer leaders and executive sponsors.
Identify employee-facing needs that do not yet have a clear strategy or owner, develop a point of view, align stakeholders, and build practical approaches that can scale.
Translate program insights into concise recommendations for People and business leaders, bringing strong judgment about employee needs, organizational tradeoffs, and effective implementation.
Establish clear measures of success, use data and feedback to improve the portfolio, and build the documentation, governance, and operating practices that support future scale.

Benefits

Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
Retirement benefits to help you plan for the future, including a 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually (USD in the US, CAD in Canada)
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees (US only)
Comprehensive health coverage designed to support you and your family, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US and supplemental health coverage for Canada.
Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
Income protection benefits, including life insurance and disability coverage for added financial security
Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays, in line with local requirements
Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments (duration varies by country)
Family-centered benefits to support fertility, parenthood, and caregiving needs
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering mental health support and life-centered resources
Financial wellness resources, including access to financial planning tools and a financial concierge service (US Only)
Annual wellness allowance to support your physical and emotional well-being and personal development, based on what matters most to you
Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources you need to do your best work, no matter where you work from
Connection and community through team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!)