Director, People Operations and Culture

Kiva Confections•Alameda, CA

71d•$167,000 - $185,000

About The Position

The Director of People Operations and Culture serves as the head of HR for all Kiva companies, setting the strategic direction and operational foundation for attracting, developing, supporting, and retaining employees. The role leads Talent Acquisition, HR Operations, Employee Relations, Performance Management, Total Rewards, Payroll and Benefits, Workers’ Compensation, Compliance, and Culture. It establishes scalable systems, clear expectations, managerial accountability, and a consistent employee experience across a multi-entity, multi-state organization in a highly regulated industry. The Director partners with executive leadership and internal functional teams to align people strategy with business priorities and maintain a people-forward, compliant, high-trust workplace. The position combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution, including building and developing a lean People Operations team and systems that can scale with business growth. Responsibilities include people strategy and integrations; talent acquisition, onboarding, and workforce planning; performance, engagement, and employee development; employee relations and investigations; compensation, payroll, benefits, leave, accommodations, and workers’ compensation; employment compliance and risk; HR systems and analytics; and culture and change management. The role requires residence near the Bay Area and periodic travel to Kiva locations and states where Kiva employs staff. The work involves regular collaboration with executives, leaders, and employees across multiple locations, as well as access to highly confidential information requiring strict discretion. The stated salary range is $167,000–$185,000 per year.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
At least 8 years of progressive Human Resources or People Operations experience, including team leadership.
Experience leading People Operations in a multi-entity organization with a distributed, multi-state workforce, including entering new states and managing registrations and jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Strong background in employee relations, compliance, total rewards, and HR operations.
Experience owning a talent acquisition function and building compensation structures.
Experience partnering closely with executive leadership.
Exceptional communication and influencing skills at all levels of the organization.
Must reside near the Bay Area.
Periodic travel to Kiva locations and states where Kiva employs staff is required.

Nice To Haves

SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification is strongly preferred.
Experience with mergers, acquisitions, or integrations, including workforce transitions, is strongly preferred.
Cannabis, food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, or other regulated manufacturing experience is preferred.
Bilingual English/Spanish is preferred.

Responsibilities

Set and execute enterprise-wide People Operations strategy aligned with Kiva’s business goals and growth plans.
Build scalable people processes for a multi-entity, multi-state organization in a highly regulated industry.
Lead the people workstream for acquisitions, integrations, and organizational restructuring, including diligence, transition planning, and harmonization of pay, benefits, and policies.
Serve as the senior People Operations leader across all Kiva companies and ensure alignment and consistency.
Lead, develop, and mentor the People Operations team, establishing clear expectations, priorities, and standards.
Foster collaboration among People Operations, Finance, Legal, Operations, and business leaders.
Establish operating rhythms, metrics, and reporting that provide visibility into people performance and risks.
Own full-cycle talent acquisition, including sourcing strategy, hiring processes, candidate experience, time-to-fill, and quality of hire.
Lead workforce planning with Finance and business leaders, including headcount forecasting and requisition governance.
Own the end-to-end onboarding experience, including I-9 compliance, new-hire documentation, and first-year integration.
Design and continuously improve performance management, including goal setting, review cycles, and calibration.
Own employee engagement listening, including survey design, analysis, and manager-level action planning.
Lead talent reviews and succession planning for critical roles, and develop development and internal mobility pathways.
Strengthen manager capability through guidance, tools, and training.
Provide strategic oversight of employee relations, investigations, and conflict resolution.
Oversee workplace investigations involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and workplace violence, escalating to Legal as appropriate.
Identify recurring employee-relations themes and systemic issues and drive proactive solutions.
Oversee separations and reduction-in-force execution in partnership with Legal.
Own compensation strategy and job architecture, including leveling, salary structures, and market benchmarking.
Maintain pay-equity reviews and comply with pay-transparency requirements in every state where Kiva posts or hires.
Ensure accurate, timely, compliant payroll processing across all entities and states.
Oversee benefits strategy and administration, including open enrollment, plan design, and vendor management.
Manage workers’ compensation carrier and broker relationships, policy placement, and program costs across entities and states.
Own the interactive process and reasonable-accommodation determinations under the ADA and FEHA.
Oversee leave-program administration, including FMLA, CFRA, PDL, SDI, PFL, and paid sick leave in applicable states.
Partner with Environmental Health & Safety on claims strategy, return-to-work placements, and prevention.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws wherever Kiva operates.
Own annual regulatory filings and reporting, including California pay data reporting and EEO-1.
Maintain state employment registrations and compliant employment infrastructure as Kiva enters new jurisdictions.
Maintain audit-ready documentation and proactively address people-related risks.
Ensure HRIS data integrity, audit readiness, and system optimization across all entities.
Improve operational efficiency and automate and continuously improve People Operations workflows.
Own People reporting and analytics, including turnover, retention, headcount, and workforce cost, and translate findings into recommendations for executive leadership.
Steward Kiva’s culture by reinforcing clear expectations, consistent communication, and shared standards.
Guide change management and communication during growth, transitions, and organizational change.