About the Company
We are a luxury jewelry brand based in Los Angeles, known for clean architectural designs, and a commitment to responsible craftsmanship. Our collections are handcrafted in downtown L.A., with a focus on creating a positive long-term impact, on our industry, our community, and our customers.
The Role
The VP of People will be a strategic and hands-on leader who defines and drives our people strategy across recruitment, onboarding, culture, performance, compliance, and team development. This role is responsible for ensuring our employees are empowered, supported, and aligned with our mission and values. The Head of People will own their domain fully—proactively identifying opportunities, building scalable systems, and advocating for both leadership and employees.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Organizational Planning
- Advise senior leadership on talent strategy and evolve the org chart to support rapid headcount growth and business complexity.
- Lead organizational planning and change management initiatives specifically designed for high-growth phases, minimizing friction as the company expands.
- Research and onboard automation tools to improve efficiency.
- Identify and fill gaps in team roles, processes, and leadership development.
- Translate company vision into action through proactive system building.
Culture & Employee Engagement
- Build and maintain a culture presentation for recruiting and onboarding.
- Develop recognition programs and organize company outings.
- Create open channels for feedback and two-way dialogue.
- Lead initiatives like “10% time,” conflict resolution frameworks, and community events.
- Consistently remind employees of opportunities for training, education, and benefits.
Performance & Development
- Establish and automate scheduling for consistent performance reviews.
- Train managers to lead positive, structured, and KPI-driven reviews, equipping them to manage larger teams effectively.
- Support employees in understanding their goals, KPIs, and growth paths.
- Develop leadership and management training programs, improving them regularly.
- Create pathways for continuing education, career development, and networking.
Onboarding & Administration
- Research, design, and manage a unified onboarding and training program.
- Build onboarding templates, welcome packets, and pre-employment communications.
- Set up employees with all systems (Gusto, Google Drive, email, software, etc.).
- Manage employee paperwork and compliance documentation.
- Ensure all employees understand benefits, resources, and quarterly leadership meetings.
Recruitment & Hiring
- Develop and deploy recruitment and hiring strategies to attract top talent.
- Research and document strategies in SOPs, delegating where appropriate.
- Monitor recruitment KPIs and implement programs to optimize outcomes.
- Streamline and automate the interview and hiring processes.
- Design and update interview strategies and questions quarterly.
- Ensure timely communication with applicants, including declines.
- Create solutions for unsolicited resumes.
- Produce quarterly reports on recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, culture, and benefits.
Benefits & Compensation
- Research and propose innovative benefits programs.
- Promote and communicate benefits consistently to employees.
- Manage payroll, raises, and compensation programs.
- Ensure compliance with labor laws and training requirements.
HRIS & Digital Transformation
- Select, implement, and optimize a scalable HRIS to serve as the "source of truth" for all people data.
- Architect "no-touch" workflows for onboarding, payroll, and benefits to eliminate administrative friction as the team grows.
- Build data dashboards to track headcount velocity, retention, and diversity, providing leadership with proactive, data-driven insights.
Reporting & Metrics
- Analyze and present employee feedback, turnover, retention, diversity, and hiring timelines.
- Report on training programs, KPIs, employee satisfaction, and team support outcomes.
- Provide leadership with proposed solutions to pain points and recommendations for continuous improvement.
Qualifications
- Proven experience in a senior People/HR leadership role within a high-growth organization.
- Demonstrated success scaling a company (e.g., taking a team from 50 to 150+, or managing 2x+ YoY headcount growth).
- Proven experience in a senior People/HR leadership role.
- Strong background in recruitment, organizational planning, and culture building.
- Deep knowledge of labor law compliance and HR best practices.
- Experience designing and implementing scalable people systems.
- Exceptional communication and leadership skills.
- Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
What Success Looks Like? Within the first 6–12 months, this leader will have:
- Successfully managed a period of significant headcount growth while maintaining high employee engagement.
- Employees feel supported, empowered, and engaged.
- Recruitment processes are efficient, automated, and deliver top-tier talent.
- Managers are confident, consistent, and aligned in reviews and team leadership.
- Benefits and culture programs are well-understood and highly utilized.
- The organization scales smoothly with proactive planning and systems in place.
- Leadership has clear data and insights to drive talent strategy decisions.
