People Operations Lead

Haven Energy•Austin, TX

About The Position

The People Operations Lead will build and own Haven’s people function from the ground up. As our first dedicated hire on the People team, you will shape our talent strategy, strengthen company culture, and design a world-class employee experience. You’ll be responsible for end-to-end recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation structure development, team development, and people operations. This role partners closely with leadership across the company to ensure Haven is an exceptional place to work as we scale quickly. This is a high-impact role for a builder who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments and wants to create the people foundation for a mission-driven company.

Requirements

5–10 years of experience in People Operations, Talent, HRBP, or a similar role at an early-stage startup.
Experience building people programs, processes, and systems from scratch.
Strong foundation in recruiting, performance management, compensation structures, and employee development.
Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and coaching skills.
Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to execute while thinking strategically.
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and creating clarity for others.

Nice To Haves

Experience with HRIS, ATS, and people analytics tools preferred.

Responsibilities

Build and own Haven’s recruiting process across all functions.
Partner with hiring managers to define role requirements, sourcing strategies, and interview processes.
Manage candidate pipelines, ensuring an exceptional and consistent candidate experience.
Develop recruiting analytics and insights to support hiring forecasts and decisions.
Design and continuously improve Haven’s onboarding process to set new hires up for success from day one.
Implement systems and rituals that strengthen engagement, connection, and culture.
Design and run company-wide planning offsites.
Develop resources and processes to enable managers to effectively support their teams.
Take ownership of evangelizing company values across the organization through onboarding, internal communications, performance processes, and company rituals.
Ensure values are meaningfully embedded into hiring, performance management, recognition, and decision-making.
Build and manage Haven’s performance review structure and operating cadence.
Partner with leadership to develop clear goal-setting processes, competency frameworks, and feedback mechanisms.
Guide managers through performance conversations, coaching, and development planning.
Work with leadership to design and update compensation strategies across teams.
Maintain structures for leveling, titling, benchmarking, and merit cycles.
Oversee core people operations, including compliance, documentation, HRIS management, and policy development.
Build scalable training programs focused on manager enablement, leadership development, and role-based skill growth.
Partner with leaders to create career pathways and growth frameworks.
Identify and implement tools that enhance employee learning, productivity, and alignment