People Operations Specialist

About Us

We’re the original oatmilk company, founded in Sweden over 25 years ago and now growing rapidly in the U.S. Our mission is to help people live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources, driving change through oats and reducing cow’s milk consumption. Sustainability, health, and transparency guide everything we do. If this resonates with you, we’d love for you to join us.

About the Role

We are seeking a full-time People Operations Specialist to join our team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This hybrid role combines People Operations responsibilities with limited office administration support. You’ll play a key role in ensuring an exceptional employee experience while supporting critical People Operations functions, including payroll, benefits administration, leave management, HR compliance, reporting, and HR systems administration. Approximately 10% of the role will focus on supporting our Philadelphia office, such as coordinating mail, communicating with building management, and assisting visitors.

This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days onsite and 2 days remote. The qualified candidate will reside in or around the Philadelphia area.

Responsibilities

• Payroll
  • Lead payroll processing with ADP, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with local laws.
  • Process, review, and audit payroll and third-party providers to ensure compliance with in-house policies, tax laws, and statutory regulations.
  • Support financial closing activities (monthly, quarterly, and annually).
  • Monitor, evaluate, and manage changing legal, tax, and regulatory demands and their effects on processes.
  • Ensure tax, audit, SOX compliance, and accounting expectations are fulfilled accurately by required deadlines.
  • Lead and support broad-based payroll-related projects and initiatives.
  • Serve as the first point of contact for all payroll, ADP, and benefits-related questions from employees.
• Benefits
  • Support benefits enrollment with the People team.
  • Respond to employee questions about HR policies, including payroll, HR systems, and benefits; escalate as needed.
  • Partner with hiring managers to support the leave process for all employees.
  • Lead monthly benefit billing reconciliations, escalating issues to carriers and internal partners.
  • Support Open Enrollment, focusing on benefits communications and questions.
• Compliance & Systems
  • Perform regular audits of people data (e.g., EEOC, I-9) and respond to reporting requests from regulatory agencies.
  • Work with external auditors and internal colleagues to ensure SOX compliance.
  • Stay abreast of updates and new employment laws applicable to our employee population.
  • Ensure legal compliance by monitoring and implementing applicable human resources federal and state requirements.
  • Maintain accurate records and ensure state unemployment rates are up-to-date.
  • Support annual HR compliance reports and audits.
  • Build and maintain documentation and guides for current and future Operations processes and standard operating procedures.
  • Partner with internal teams (e.g., Finance, IT, People Team) to ensure data accuracy and drive a positive employee experience.
  • Process employee changes in our HRIS (e.g., salary, manager, job information, promotions, offboarding).
  • Provide backup support for reporting and managing the ADP learning platform, Global harassment, and Docebo trainings.
• Office Support
  • Process, sort, and route incoming and outgoing mail; submit invoices to finance when received by mail.
  • Maintain and manage inventory of office and cleaning supplies; restock essentials as needed.
  • Greet and assist visitors to ensure a welcoming and professional environment.
  • Coordinate site meetings, team lunches, and dinners, including logistics and vendor communication.
  • Partner with IT to troubleshoot office equipment (e.g., AV, video conferencing, printers).
  • Serve as the main point of contact for building management, landlord, cleaning services, and other vendors.
  • Assist in other special projects as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 5+ years of progressive HR experience, with a strong background in People Operations, HR Generalist, and/or HR Operations roles.
• Proven experience managing benefits vendors and external partners, including brokers, insurance carriers, retirement plan providers, and other benefits-related vendors.
• Deep understanding of benefits administration and vendor relationship management.
• Experience serving as a professional, employee-facing office representative with strong office management and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in HR systems, process improvement, and workflow mapping, with a track record of streamlining operations and enhancing the employee experience.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
• Minimum of 2 years of payroll processing experience using ADP or a similar platform.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience working within Workday and/or comparable HRIS platforms.
• Experience developing, documenting, and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs) and implementing automation solutions.
• Strong understanding of HR compliance, employee data management, payroll, benefits administration, reporting, and operational best practices.
• Self-starter with an ownership mindset who is comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving results with minimal supervision.
• Collaborative, responsive, and highly organized, with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to build trust and provide excellent service to employees, leaders, and external partners.
• Demonstrated professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment in handling confidential and sensitive employee information.
• Passion for creating a seamless employee experience while maintaining operational efficiency across People programs, systems, and processes.

What Makes a Good Oatly Team Member

• Connected to our mission of encouraging health, sustainability, and transparency.
• A self-starter who thrives in a culture of individual accountability and ownership.
• Ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand and build something lasting.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and energized by the process of building from the ground up.
• Enjoys sharing your quirkiness and talents with coworkers.

Benefits

We offer flexible vacation (take it when you need it), comprehensive benefits (including pet insurance), paid volunteer days off, free oatmilk, and genuinely great coworkers who support each other and the company’s success.

Pay

The salary for this role is based on factors such as geographic location, internal equity, experience, education, and training. Our good faith estimate for the base salary is $95,000. Compensation may also include bonus, commission, or equity as applicable.