Head of People
About The Position
The Head of People reports to the CEO and owns all aspects of the employee lifecycle, including hiring, talent development, compensation, performance management, and overall workplace culture. This role is a strategic position where HR functions are key levers, not the sole focus. The company is at a critical growth stage where every hire significantly impacts the team and culture. The ideal candidate is obsessed with the "math" of hiring, viewing recruiting as a competitive advantage and culture as a continuously delivered product. This role involves acting as the CEO's thought partner on organizational design, compensation, and critical people decisions, as well as being an operator who can proactively source and secure top talent. Success in this role is defined by building a robust hiring engine that consistently attracts top talent (time to fill under 60 days, offer acceptance rate over 70%), minimizing regrettable attrition (under 8%), fostering a positive employer brand, implementing effective performance management systems with clear goals and feedback, and embedding company values into all people processes. The Head of People will be the CEO's trusted advisor for complex people-related issues, demonstrating strong judgment and operational excellence.
Requirements
- 7+ years in people leadership roles.
- At least 3 years owning the people function (Head of People, VP People, CPO, or equivalent) at a growth-stage company between 50 and 300 employees.
- Direct recruiting experience: personally sourced, screened, and closed senior candidates.
- Experience building a performance management system from the ground up or significantly rebuilding one.
- Experience with compensation and leveling, including building frameworks, defending them to a board, and explaining them to employees.
- Strong operational and compliance skills: HRIS administration, multi-state employment law, benefits renewals, HIPAA awareness.
- Active experimentation with AI in people operations.
- Ability to give and receive hard feedback.
- A builder mentality, preferring to design and implement new processes.
- Operational rigor, believing in the strength of spreadsheets and frameworks.
- Calmness and steadiness in handling difficult conversations and situations.
- Low ego and high standards.
Nice To Haves
- SaaS, healthcare software, or vertical SaaS exposure.
- PE-backed or search fund-backed company experience.
Responsibilities
- Own everything people: hiring, talent development, compensation, performance management, and workplace culture.
- Act as the CEO's thought partner on organizational design, compensation, and strategic people decisions.
- Operate as an individual contributor to source, screen, and close candidates, building pipelines from scratch when necessary.
- Build a hiring engine that finds A players on a predictable cadence.
- Implement and manage a performance management system with clear goals, regular feedback, and transparent performance assessments.
- Define and live company culture, ensuring values are reflected in all people processes.
- Provide judgment and strategic advice on complex people decisions, including org structure, compensation philosophy, executive conflict, and underperforming hires.
- Manage HRIS administration, multi-state employment law, benefits renewals, and HIPAA awareness.
- Experiment with and leverage AI for sourcing, offer letters, interview summaries, and policy development.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation based on experience
- Health, dental and vision benefits
- Hybrid work flexibility with in-office collaboration in Austin
- 401(k) with matching company contribution
- Flexible PTO policy
- Ground-floor opportunity in a well-funded, fast-growing healthcare technology company
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
