Sr. Director, People & Culture Operations

About the Role

Avalara is transforming its People & Culture function with a new team, AI Transformation & Operational Excellence, to rebuild how HR and Talent Acquisition operate—integrating AI and automation from the ground up. This role sits at the center of that transformation, unifying historically separate HR and TA operations into a single, AI-driven function that is faster, smarter, and more cohesive.

Responsibilities

• Unify the Operating Model
  • Combine former HR operations and TA operations into a single operating model with shared processes, tooling, and service standards.
  • Identify and consolidate duplicate solutions where HR and TA have addressed the same problem differently.
  • Define and enforce a unified standard for "good" across the combined operation, including service levels, ticket handling, and program delivery expectations.
• Lead Operations & Turn Data into Action
  • Own service-level performance across combined queues, tracking volume, response/resolution time, escalations, throughput, and satisfaction.
  • Implement operational rigor through standardized processes, clear metrics, dashboards, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
  • Use ticket and case data to identify friction, diagnose root causes, and shift work to self-service as an ongoing discipline.
• Build AI Fluency into the Operation
  • Develop agentic solutions and automations within your team’s processes, independent of external roadmaps.
  • Continuously re-evaluate workflows to eliminate manual, repetitive tasks.
  • Partner with the AI Transformation & Operational Excellence leadership team to ensure operational needs shape P&C’s process and technology redesign.
• Lead the Program Management Team
  • Oversee program managers responsible for Talent Management, Compensation, Benefits, and Talent Acquisition.
  • Ensure program timelines (e.g., performance management, merit planning, open enrollment, recruiting) align with operational needs.
  • Establish consistent planning, tracking, and reporting standards for a unified leadership view.
• Partner on Transformation & Lead the People
  • Represent operations and program perspectives in designing new tools, automations, or workflows to ensure feasibility.
  • Directly lead the operations team and program managers, building a leadership bench as the function grows.
  • Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and foster a culture that prioritizes the whole operation over siloed HR/TA mentalities.

Requirements

• Proven leadership of HR and/or TA operations at scale, with deep understanding of where these functions genuinely differ—and where they’ve never been integrated.
• Fluency in operational metrics (SLAs, throughput, cycle time, tiered service delivery) from hands-on ownership, not just reporting.
• Track record of merging separate functions (tools, teams, or processes) rather than running them in parallel.
• Hands-on experience building agentic solutions or automations within live operational processes, with specific examples.
• Experience managing managers and overseeing program delivery across multiple HR disciplines (e.g., Talent Management, Compensation, Benefits).
• Proficiency in Workday and familiarity with ServiceNow (or comparable platforms) to understand how process changes impact systems.
• Commitment to an AI-first approach, with experience using AI technologies to drive efficiency and innovation.

Benefits

• Total Rewards: Competitive compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave. Many employees are eligible for bonuses.
• Health & Wellness: Benefits vary by location but typically include private medical, life, and disability insurance.
• Inclusive Culture: Strong focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, with 8 employee-run resource groups sponsored by senior leadership.

About Avalara

Avalara is redefining the relationship between tax and technology, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and 6.6 million tax returns annually. As a billion-dollar business, we’re growing rapidly toward our mission: to be part of every transaction in the world. Our culture is bright, innovative, and disruptive—embodied by our signature orange, symbolizing our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. We empower our people to win and thrive in an environment that values difference and enrichment over conformity.