People Operations Lead

About the role

The role is a fractional People Operations Lead at BrewBird, a technology platform for scaling the specialty coffee market. The role includes benefits, payroll, onboarding/offboarding, compliance, and employee relations.

Responsibilities

• Administer benefits programs (medical, dental, vision, 401k, FSA, commuter)
• Manage annual open enrollment and communicate plan changes
• Coordinate payroll operations including commission runs, expense reimbursements, and final paychecks
• Maintain compensation records and support CEO on comp decisions
• Own the full onboarding process including offer letter generation, background checks, IT and equipment provisioning, system access setup, and first-day logistics
• Manage international employee administration through the company’s Employer of Record provider
• Execute offboarding procedures including system access revocation, equipment recovery, COBRA notifications, final paycheck coordination, and exit logistics
• Maintain the employee handbook and company policies
• Ensure compliance with California employment regulations, including leave administration, wage and hour requirements, and posting obligations
• Manage contractor and consultant compliance including NDA facilitation, consulting agreement administration, and contractor classification review
• Maintain personnel files, I-9 documentation, and required state/federal filings
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee HR questions and concerns
• Support managers on performance issues including PIP documentation, coaching guidance, and escalation to outside counsel when needed
• Manage terminations and separations end-to-end including separation agreement coordination and exit conversations
• Handle accommodation requests, leave of absence administration, and workplace investigation support
• Own the HRIS/PEO platform including employee records, workflow configuration, reporting, and troubleshooting
• Administer the performance review cycle including configuring reviews, tracking completion, and distributing review packets
• Support recruiting operations as needed including job postings, candidate coordination, and offer process administration

Requirements

6–10 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 2 years as a generalist or HR manager operating independently

Startup or high-growth company experience, ideally in the 20–100 employee range where you were the primary or sole HR person

Strong California employment law knowledge — you’ve handled terminations, accommodation requests, and leave administration without needing to be told what to do

Experience with a PEO platform (Rippling, Justworks, TriNet, or similar) and comfort administering benefits, payroll, and compliance through it

Comfort with ambiguity and independent judgment — this role has no HR manager above it; you need to know when to act and when to escalate

Strong written communication for policy drafting, employee communications, and separation documentation

Based in or near the San Francisco Bay Area, with the ability to be on-site one day per week

Experience coordinating with outside employment counsel is a strong plus

International HR exposure (EOR administration) is a plus but not required