People & Culture Partner

Koala•City of Syracuse, NY

2d•Remote

About The Position

Koala is a global furniture brand focused on innovation and making the world a more comfortable place. As a B Corp-certified, customer-obsessed, and data-led company, Koala is committed to revolutionizing furniture through design, innovation, and sustainability. The US team is small and growing, and this role will serve as the dedicated, on-the-ground People Operations presence. This is a hands-on, fast-paced generalist role that involves recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, compliance, and systems administration. The role will also act as the local partner for global People & Culture initiatives, adapting global programs and policies for the US team. While the role has full ownership of US People Operations, there will be support from the global People & Culture team in Australia, including recruitment and people operations specialists, and access to their expertise, tools, and 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.
Strategize 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, and first-week experience.
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.
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

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.
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 learning and growth.
B Corp Certified
WWF Partnership
Volunteer days
Member of SoftLanding
1% for the Planet