People (HR) Lead

Off the Grid•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

The People Lead owns the full employee experience at Off the Grid, from recruiting and onboarding through employee relations, development, benefits, and offboarding. The role supports both a lean headquarters team and event professionals working across markets and catering. The People Lead builds and operates consistent people practices, policies, systems, and standards, while partnering with managers to strengthen their leadership and help teams work effectively. The position also advises the CEO and department heads, supports compliance and risk management, and turns employee feedback into practical action. Work is primarily office-based, with regular time at OTG events.

Requirements

At least 5 years of HR experience, including time as the accountable HR lead for an hourly, event-driven, or multi-site workforce.
Fluency in California employment law, especially wage-and-hour rules for hourly teams.
Hands-on HRIS ownership.
Experience building a People program from scratch that continued after the candidate's tenure.
Employee relations experience, including handling separations fairly.
Ability to build trust across departments, read between the lines, and balance coaching with directness.
Strong writing skills for policies, documentation, and recommendations.
Bachelor's degree preferred but not required.

Nice To Haves

Experience in hospitality, events, or retail is strongly preferred.
Rippling experience is strongly preferred.
SHRM-CP or PHR certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

Own the employee lifecycle in Rippling, including onboarding, employee records, leaves, and offboarding.
Build and refine the People/HR knowledge base and maintain the employee handbook.
Maintain compliance and manage risk, with particular attention to California wage-and-hour requirements for hourly event production staff.
Lead full-cycle recruiting for headquarters and field roles, beginning seasonal hiring in January.
Design onboarding that helps new employees become confident and productive quickly.
Build visible criteria for field-role growth paths and advancement pay.
Partner with the CEO and department heads, identifying patterns and bringing recommendations.
Lead employee relations, including conflict resolution, progressive discipline, and separations, with fairness and clear documentation.
Coach managers on feedback and difficult conversations.
Develop ongoing employee and manager development plans, identify shared skill gaps, source external training, and help managers apply consistent leadership approaches.
Help establish core management practices, including preparing presentations and running all-hands meetings.
Manage the employee side of benefits and open enrollment with the broker, and partner with Finance on renewal strategy and payroll inputs.
Establish a clear and consistent compensation philosophy so rates can be explained.
Conduct regular employee check-ins and turn feedback into action.