People & Culture Partner

Koala

1d • Remote

About The Position

Koala's US team is small and growing, around 15 people today, with plans to grow toward 25. This role is the dedicated, on-the-ground People Operations presence for that team: the person who makes sure people get hired, paid, supported, and set up to do their best work, day to day. This is a hands-on, fast moving, generalist role. You'll move between recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, compliance, and systems administration in the same week, sometimes the same day. You'll also be Koala's local partner for global People & Culture initiatives, taking programs and policies built at the global level and making them work in practice for the US team. You'll have full ownership of People Operations for the US but you won't be doing it alone. Koala's global People & Culture team, based in Australia, includes dedicated recruitment and people operations specialists, and you'll have direct access to their expertise, tools, and established playbooks.

Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in a US HR/People Operations generalist role, preferably coming from a recruitment background, and ideally at a small start-up or scaling company.
• Comfort working across the full breadth of the role - recruiting one hour, payroll questions the next, policy work after that.
• Ongoing flexibility to partner with the global team based in Sydney on AEST timezones, and hence a preference for those based on the US West Coast.
• Working knowledge of US employment law across multiple states (no specific certification required).
• Experience with common HRIS/payroll platforms (e.g., Gusto, BambooHR, Tax Studio or similar).
• Strong judgment and comfort operating as the primary on-the-ground People presence in the US, drawing on global support where useful rather than needing it day-to-day.
• Appetite to adopt and deploy AI and automations to US people processes.
• Clear, warm communication style - you'll be a trusted point of contact for employees at every level.
• Vibe and energy - you’ll lead the cultural charge for our fully remote team through authentic and fun engagement initiatives both on and offline.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting for US roles: sourcing, screening, interview coordination, reference checks, and offers.
• Partner with hiring managers to build job descriptions, interview plans, and scorecards.
• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience across all stages of the hiring journey.
• Build and maintain external networks to strengthen employer brand visibility and future talent pipelines.
• Strategizing with Global P&C on employer branding, benefits, policies and programs to attract and retain best in class talent
• Run onboarding end to end including paperwork, equipment/IT coordination, first-week experience: so new hires land well.
• Administer the US employee lifecycle: new hires, changes, leave, and offboarding within our HRIS.
• Handle day-to-day payroll administration and employee payroll queries, working with our third-party payroll provider, which manages core processing.
• Own US employment law compliance across all states we employ in wage and hour, leave, classification, and required notices.
• Maintain and administer HR policies and the employee handbook, keeping them current with federal, state, and local law.
• Administer benefits enrollment and respond to employee benefits questions.
• Be the first point of contact for US employees and managers on people questions, employee relations issues, and day-to-day HR needs.
• Coach managers on performance conversations, team issues, and basic people management practice.
• Run US-specific engagement and culture initiatives that keep a remote, distributed team connected.
• Own our core US HR systems and vendor relationships (HRIS, payroll platform, benefits administration).
• Keep employee records, data, and reporting accurate and audit-ready.
• Partner with the Global People & Culture team to roll out global programs, policies, and initiatives, adapting and implementing them for the US market.

Benefits

• Work From SofaBed (WFB)
• Generous time off - Koala life leave, volunteer, parental, and more to help keep your work-life balance, balanced.
• Free Koala products with ‘mates rates’ for your friends and fam
• Monthly WFH stipend
• Employee Assistance Program, which includes unlimited sessions for financial, work, relationship, family or wellbeing support.
• Competitive 401k matching
• Comprehensive Anthem private health insurance plans.
• Learning Management platform
• Individual and team growth budgets
• Dedicated days for growth
• BCorp Certified
• WWF Partnership
• Volunteer days
• Member of SoftLanding
• 1% for the planet

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed