Senior Manager, People Operations Strategy and Programs

Rubrik Job Board•Palo Alto, CA

10h•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a high-impact Senior Manager, People Operations Strategy & Programs, a true 'strategic operator' and Subject Matter Expert (SME) who will serve as the engine behind the People Operations function within our People organization. Reporting to the Global Head of People Operations, you will manage one direct report and serve as the lead Portfolio Manager and primary Transformation Lead, driving strategic resolution across our most complex cross-functional initiatives. This is an opportunity to dive deep into the technical core of HR processes to solve immediate bottlenecks today, while architecting a modern, automated, and AI-enhanced roadmap for tomorrow.

Requirements

8-10+ years of Agile Portfolio & Program Leadership: Proven track record managing complex, multi-quarter portfolios with an agile and nimble approach. Expert-level skills in formal P3M methodologies (Program, Project, and Portfolio Management) used to drive high-accountability and accelerated execution in a high-growth, global technology company.
People Operations Domain Expertise: Significant background in People Operations (HR Shared Services, HRIS, Talent Acquisition, or Contingent Workforce) with a deep understanding of the employee lifecycle, global HR processes, and operational governance (e.g., SLAs).
AI Fluency: Expertise in the Google Workspace ecosystem and Claude Cowork, with a strong aptitude for applying Google Gemini, Canvas, and NotebookLM to drive functional efficiency and data synthesis.
Global Acumen & Compliance Fluency: Proven track record of managing projects across multiple geographies, including familiarity with international EORs, global payroll cycles, and deep knowledge of how to operationalize global compliance programs.
The "Player-Coach" Edge: You are equally comfortable building a strategic roadmap for the Global Head of People Ops as you are rolling up your sleeves to audit a spreadsheet or troubleshoot a system logic error.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with key HR systems like Workday, Greenhouse, or Jira is highly preferred. Fluency in Project Management tools (e.g., Asana) is a plus, along with familiarity with Managed Service Providers (MSP), Vendor Management Systems (VMS), and TA tech stacks

Responsibilities

Global Roadmap Ownership: Define, manage, and evolve the People Ops strategic roadmap. You will sequence initiatives and ensure the team is focused on high-ROI work.
Functional Advisor: Serve as a day-to-day resource and SME for the People Ops team, troubleshooting complex issues, providing project guidance, and ensuring cross-functional alignment.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with People COEs, IT, Finance, Legal and others to represent People Ops priorities in project steering committees, ensuring our operational needs are integrated into broader company initiatives.
Operational Governance: Lead the Quarterly Business Review (QBR) process to track team velocity, project health, SLAs (Service Level Agreements), and ticket volume reduction, ensuring data-driven decisions.
"The Fixer" Mentality: Conduct deep dives into friction-heavy processes. You will re-engineer these for scalability, moving the team away from "manual debt."
AI & Automation Integration: Lead the practical application of AI and automation to eliminate repetitive tasks. This includes leading the architecture and implementation of our Jira-based, 24x5, tiered service delivery model, automating document generation, enhancing self-service via AI-powered knowledge bases, and simplifying data synthesis.
TA Operations Excellence: Partner with Talent Acquisition to audit the "Recruiter to Onboarding" handoff. You will optimize TA workflows, ensuring seamless data flow between Greenhouse and Workday to eliminate manual data entry and improve candidate experience.
Contingent Worker Program Evolution: Lead the modernization of our Contingent Worker program. You will refine the end-to-end lifecycle, from vendor management and onboarding to offboarding ensuring global compliance, better cost visibility, and automated provisioning.
High-Stakes Project Lead: Serve as the hands-on lead for "must-win" initiatives (e.g., People Ops lead in TA infrastructure modernization, AI readiness, Workday improvements, simplification of our processes or global policy overhauls).
Methodology & Standards: Establish the "gold standard" for project management, including Project Charters, rigorous UAT (User Acceptance Testing) protocols, and centralized SOP libraries.
Modern Change Management: Develop communication and training loops that ensure new programs and tools are adopted seamlessly by employees and managers globally.