Director of People Operations

Pearl Meyer

$180K — $200K *
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of progressive HR experience, with 3-5 years in a leadership role
  • Expertise in benefits administration, payroll processing, and leave management
  • Experience in PE-backed, high-growth, or M&A-active environments preferred
  • Strong knowledge of federal and multi-state employment law
  • Experience managing HRIS platforms
  • Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams
  • Exceptional analytical skills to translate data into actionable insights
  • Strong communication skills for influencing at all levels
  • High attention to detail and ability to manage competing priorities

Responsibilities

  • Audit, redesign, and scale People Operations processes for rapid growth
  • Own HRIS roadmap, evaluating and optimizing platforms for a distributed workforce
  • Develop HR reporting and dashboards for leadership insights
  • Lead and develop the People Operations team promoting a culture of improvement
  • Ensure HR compliance with employment laws and maintain policies
  • Design and operationalize a structured onboarding program
  • Administer all leave programs, ensuring consistent policy application
  • Partner to develop and execute a competitive total rewards strategy
  • Oversee all employee benefit programs and manage broker relationships
  • Manage end-to-end payroll operations for accuracy and compliance

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and welfare benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage
  • Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account
  • Generous leave benefits including paid holidays and Paid Time Off
  • Short-Term and Long-Term Disability coverage
  • 401(k) retirement savings plan
Full Job Description
This is not a maintenance role. You will be building and upgrading systems and processes. You will own the full HR operations infrastructure - benefits, payroll, leaves of absence, and total rewards - and serve as a key partner to the CPO and PE sponsor as we grow headcount, integrate acquisitions, and execute against a value creation plan.

Key Responsibilities

People Operations Infrastructure
  • Audit, redesign, and scale People Operations processes to support rapid headcount growth across multiple geographies and service lines
  • Own the HRIS roadmap - evaluate, implement, and optimize platforms to support a growing, distributed workforce
  • Develop HR reporting and dashboards that give leadership real-time visibility into headcount, compensation, and workforce trends
  • Lead, coach, and develop the People Operations team, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and employee-centric service delivery

Compliance and Risk Management
  • Serve as the primary HR compliance authority, ensuring all people practices comply with federal, state, and local employment laws
  • Own and maintain the employee handbook, HR policies, and standard operating procedures

Onboarding/Offboarding & People Enablement
  • Design and operationalize a structured onboarding program with manager check-in cadences that accelerate time-to-productivity
  • Track new hire satisfaction, ramp completion, and regrettable attrition; use data to continuously improve the employee lifecycle experience
  • Own a structured offboarding process that protects IP and client relationships, with exit interview synthesis delivered as quarterly attrition trend reporting to the CPO

Leaves of Absence
  • Administer all leave programs including FMLA, state-mandated leave, ADA accommodations, parental leave, and short- and long-term disability
  • Ensure consistent application of leave policies and maintain up-to-date knowledge of evolving federal and state leave regulations
  • Serve as the primary point of escalation for complex leave cases

Total Rewards & Benefits
  • Partner with HR leadership to develop and execute a competitive total rewards strategy encompassing compensation, benefits, and recognition programs
  • Oversee the design, administration, and communication of all employee benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, FSA/HSA, and retirement plans (401(k))
  • Manage relationships with benefits brokers, carriers, and third-party administrators
  • Evaluate benefit offerings annually against market benchmarks and recommend enhancements to attract and retain talent
  • Lead compensation planning cycles including merit increases, bonus administration, and equity programs
  • Conduct regular market analyses and salary benchmarking to ensure pay equity and competitiveness
  • Develop and communicate total rewards statements and resources to help employees understand the full value of their compensation package

Payroll
  • Oversee end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance across all jurisdictions
  • Manage payroll vendors and internal controls, including audits and reconciliations

Qualifications
  • 8+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership role overseeing HR operations functions
  • Deep expertise in benefits administration, payroll processing, leave management, and total rewards
  • Experience in a PE-backed, high-growth, or M&A-active environment strongly preferred; professional services or consulting industry background a plus
  • Strong knowledge of federal and multi-state employment law, including ERISA, FMLA, ADA, ACA, FLSA, and applicable state regulations
  • Demonstrated experience managing HRIS platforms
  • Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams
  • Exceptional analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
  • Strong communication and stakeholder management skills; able to influence at all levels of the organization
  • High attention to detail with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment

Education
  • Bachelor's degree

Compensation

The base salary compensation range being offered for this role is $180,000-$200,000 USD per year. This role is also eligible for an annual short-term incentive bonus.

Company Benefits

We provide a competitive benefit package which includes the following (eligibility requirements apply):

Health and Welfare Benefits: Medical (including prescription coverage), Dental, Vision, Health Savings Account, Commuter Account, Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Group Accident, Group Critical Illness, Life Insurance, AD&D, Group Legal, Identify Theft Protection, Wellbeing Program and Work/Life Resources (including Employee Assistance Program)

Leave Benefits: Paid Holidays, Annual Paid Time Off (includes paid state/local paid leave where required), Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, Other Leaves (e.g., Bereavement, ADA, Jury Duty, Military Leave, and Parental and Adoption Leave), Paid Time Off (Washington State only)

Retirement Benefits: Savings Plan (401k).

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