People LeadSan Francisco Bay Area | $80,000-$100,000/yr | Full-Time, Exempt
Reports to: CEO | Department: G&A
THE ROLEThe People Lead is the person who makes working at OTG an amazing experience in the same way we create amazing experiences for our guests. You'll own the full employee experience - from a candidate's first conversation to the last day of the season - for a lean headquarters team and the event professionals who bring our markets and catering to life.
We're looking for a builder. OTG has grown on the strength of its people and the goodwill of its managers. Much of what this role needs involves turning practice into standards. The right person for this role will know how to facilitate hiring that's ready before the busy season begins, design onboarding that accelerates new hires' ability to contribute, and craft policies people can actually want to understand and actively use as a resource.
This is not a role that watches from the sidelines. While managers own leading their teams; you make them better at it. You know how to balance coaching and encouragement, connect thoughts and ideas across different perspectives, and if a conversation gets hard, you're the steady presence in the room that helps all parties move forward productively.
The ideal candidate is a seasoned HR generalist who has run People for an hourly, event-driven, or a multi-site workforce, who loves building the operating system as much as running it, and who brings warmth and backbone in equal measure.
HOW THIS ROLE CONNECTS TO OTG'S SUCCESSEverything OTG does is delivered by people - those who book the events, those who plan them, and those who show up at sunrise to turn an empty lot into a community gathering place. When people's operations are well designed and empowering, our work runs smoothly and the best people stay engaged. This is where OTG's purpose meets its people: every great hire means a better event for a client, a better day for a local food creator, and a better place to work for the team around them.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIESBuild the People Operating System
- Own the employee lifecycle end to end in Rippling - onboarding, records, leaves, and offboarding - so every step is consistent and every record is clean
- Build and refine OTG's People/HR knowledge base and own the employee handbook, so answers are easy to find and policies are easy to follow
- Keep OTG compliant and ahead of risk, with real depth in California wage-and-hour rules for hourly event production staff
Hire and Onboard Great People
- Own full-cycle recruiting for headquarters and field roles, and get seasonal hiring underway in January, not May
- Design an onboarding experience that gets new hires confident and productive fast
- Build clear growth paths for field roles, so advancement and pay have criteria people can see
Partner with Leaders
- Be the trusted partner to the CEO and department heads - the person who spots the pattern early and arrives with a recommendation, not just a problem
- Lead employee relations, from conflict resolution to progressive discipline to separations, with fairness and clear documentation
- Coach managers through feedback and the conversations they'd rather avoid, so they grow into the leaders our teams need
- Build an ongoing development plan beyond onboarding: identify shared skill gaps, source relevant external training, and help managers apply consistent approaches to leading their teams
- Help establish the core practices behind how OTG works - from preparing presentations to running all-hands meetings - so the management team operates with greater consistency
Rewards and Employee Experience
- Own the employee side of benefits and open enrollment with our broker, and partner with Finance on renewal strategy and clean payroll inputs
- Bring a clear, consistent philosophy to compensation, so every rate can be explained
- Take the pulse of the team through regular check-ins, and turn what you hear into action
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR- 5+ years in HR, including time as the accountable HR lead for an hourly, event-driven, or multi-site workforce - hospitality, events, or retail strongly preferred
- Fluency in California employment law, especially wage-and-hour for hourly teams
- Hands-on HRIS ownership; Rippling strongly preferred
- A People program you built from scratch that outlasted you
- Employee relations experience, including separations, handled in a way people on both sides would call fair
- A partner's instinct: you read between the lines, earn trust across departments, and know when to coach and when to be direct
- Strong writing discipline; policies, documentation, and recommendations carry their full context
- SHRM-CP or PHR a plus; Bachelor's degree preferred, not required
PHYSICAL DEMANDSThis role is primarily office-based, with regular time at OTG events - standing, walking, and outdoor work in variable Bay Area weather. Occasional lifting up to 25 lbs. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities.
