Head of People Programs

We are looking for a strategic, high-impact, and execution-focused Head of People Programs to join our fast-growing Series B tech startup. This role is responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling company-wide people programs that drive engagement, performance, and workforce effectiveness. The ideal candidate is an expert in building high-performance cultures, developing scalable leadership frameworks, and driving enterprise-wide people strategy all while ensuring that our people programs directly contribute to business success.

This is not an HR Business Partner (HRBP) role. While HRBPs handle team-level coaching, career pathways, onboarding, and performance improvement, this role owns company-wide people programs and workforce planning strategy. You will partner closely with HRBPs, Finance, and senior leadership to build data-driven, scalable people programs that shape our company s culture, leadership, and performance model.

If you are a people strategy expert who thrives in high-growth, complex environments, loves building systems that scale, and knows how to align people programs with business priorities, this is the role for you!

 

The impact you will have:

 

1. Help Define & Execute Company-Wide People Strategy
Develop and implement an enterprise-wide people strategy that supports our scaling workforce, talent retention, and leadership development.
Drive high-impact, business-aligned people programs that improve employee experience, leadership effectiveness, and performance.
Partner with executives to translate business objectives into strategic people initiatives that drive measurable business outcomes.

2. Architect High-Impact Engagement & Culture Programs
Develop and own a company-wide engagement strategy, moving beyond surveys to create proactive, data-driven engagement interventions.
Build scalable culture programs that enhance belonging, inclusion, and leadership accountability for engagement outcomes.
Partner with executives to ensure engagement directly links to business priorities and company growth.

3. Transform Performance Management for Scale
Redesign performance management systems to create a high-accountability, high-impact culture.
Shift from traditional annual reviews to a real-time, continuous feedback model that drives leadership effectiveness.
Ensure performance expectations are clear, scalable, and tied to business success.

4. Evolve Our World-Class Onboarding & Talent Integration Program
Design an enterprise-wide onboarding framework that ensures seamless new hire integration, fast ramp-up, and long-term success.
Implement onboarding analytics to track new hire performance, engagement, and retention metrics.
Partner with HRBPs to ensure a consistent onboarding experience across teams and functions.

5. Develop a Leadership Acceleration Framework
Build a leadership development strategy that ensures the company cultivates and retains top talent instead of relying on external hiring.
Implement a structured leadership path that accelerates the growth of high-potential employees.
Partner with executives to create leadership accountability frameworks that reinforce company priorities.

Preferred: MBA or equivalent advanced degree.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

Scenario: You are 5 weeks into the role when you learn that the executive team decides that the current performance review process is too slow and ineffective, and they want a more agile, continuous feedback model.

How This Role Moves at Breakneck Speed:

Within 48 hours, you meet with senior leaders, diagnose the biggest failure points, and get buy-in on a proposed redesign.

Within one week, you prototype a new real-time performance system, incorporating automated check-ins, AI-driven insights, and leadership accountability tracking.

By week two, you launch the pilot program across key teams, collect feedback in real-time, and make rapid iterations.

By week four, the new high-velocity performance system is fully implemented across the entire company, with measurable improvements in feedback speed, leadership engagement, and performance accountability.

 

What Makes This Fast?

No slow committee decision-making you drive alignment in days, not weeks.

You test & iterate in real-time instead of spending months overengineering a "perfect" system.

Automation-first mindset ensures rapid scaling with minimal manual effort.