People Operations Director
About The Position
The People Operations Director will be responsible for building the people infrastructure as Shiftsmart scales headcount. This includes developing recruiting capabilities, onboarding processes, and performance/retention systems to hire and retain a workforce that matches the company's ambition without compromising talent standards or culture. The role is based in New York City (HQ) and typically requires 4+ days per week in the office. The mission of the People team is to make Shiftsmart the premier destination for top talent, ensuring they can do their best work. This involves attracting and hiring high-caliber individuals, facilitating their rapid integration and productivity, and establishing systems for performance management, career growth, and feedback to foster continuous learning and retention.
Requirements
- First-Principles Thinker: Ability to reason through complex problems from scratch and build solutions, potentially without a traditional HR background (e.g., from finance, consulting, ops, general management).
- Builder of Solutions, Not Just Processes: Capacity to design scalable systems that address root causes, rather than implementing one-off fixes.
- Self Starter: Comfort with taking initiative, delivering results in fast-paced and ambiguous environments, and proactively identifying and addressing problems.
- Technical & Data-Driven: Proficiency in using data (Excel/Sheets, HRIS/ATS tooling) to diagnose people problems and prioritize initiatives; comfortable leveraging AI tools.
- Player-Coach: Ability to lead a team while also performing hands-on work when it's the highest-leverage action.
- Direct Communicator: Skill in giving and receiving feedback candidly and kindly, and communicating uncomfortable truths to stakeholders.
- Experience in building people infrastructure, including recruiting capability, onboarding, and performance/retention systems.
- Experience in managing a recruiting team.
- Experience in designing and running interviewer training.
- Experience in developing onboarding programs.
- Experience in running performance management cycles.
- Experience in driving retention initiatives.
- Experience using people analytics to diagnose problems and prioritize initiatives.
Nice To Haves
- Background in finance, consulting, ops, or general management.
Responsibilities
- Own talent acquisition end to end, including leading and developing the recruiting team and managing hiring funnel metrics (time-to-fill, quality of hire, offer-accept rate).
- Raise the talent bar by designing and implementing interviewer training programs focused on structured interviews, calibrated scorecards, and debrief practices.
- Build and continuously improve onboarding materials and programs to ensure new hires become productive quickly and are fluent in Shiftsmart's Operating Principles, tools, and ways of working, measured by early-tenure performance and retention.
- Oversee the ongoing improvement and execution of performance review cycles, including goal-setting, calibration, ratings, and feedback, to reward performance and drive development clearly and simply.
- Drive retention as a systematic effort by identifying reasons for attrition and building programs (career pathing, manager effectiveness, engagement feedback) to address root causes proactively.
- Utilize people analytics (funnel conversion, ramp time, performance distribution, attrition/retention by segment) to diagnose issues, prioritize initiatives, and demonstrate impact.
- Manage and develop the recruiting team, understanding the pipeline, process, and data to solve problems collaboratively, upskill direct reports, and delegate ownership over time.
- Act as a player-coach, leading the team while also being hands-on in critical tasks like running interview loops or diagnosing retention issues when necessary.
Benefits
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage (100% employee premiums for medical, dental, vision; 60-75% for dependents)
- 401(k) match program (100% on first 3%, 50% on next 2%)
- Generous, fully paid parental and family leave policies
- Pre-tax commuter benefits
- Collaborative office with fully stocked kitchen @ 1 World Trade in Manhattan
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
