Senior Director of People Operations at SmartBug Media

Title: Senior Director of People Operations

Location: Remote, United States

Type: Full Time

Workplace: remote

Category: People Operations

Job Description:

SmartBug Media is the full service digital agency of choice for organizations looking to create resilient growth across the entire customer lifecycle. From marketing to sales, revenue operations to customer success, and e-commerce to integration, SmartBug combines sound strategies and technology with top talent to de-risk the future and set the course for continued success. As a fully remote team of over 300 professionals, we believe in delivering exceptional work without compromising work/life balance, no matter where you are. Recognized globally, we’ve made the Inc. 5000 list seven times, the Adweek 100 four years running, and won numerous Comparably awards for our culture and leadership. We’re not just HubSpot’s highest-rated partner worldwide but also a two-time HubSpot NA Partner of the Year and proud Elite Partner. Add to that our Master Elite partnership with Klaviyo and our proud partnerships with Shopify and Google.

We are seeking an exceptional leader to join our team as the Senior Director of People Operations. As a key member of our team, you will be responsible for driving our people strategy and executing on initiatives to ensure that our organization continues to thrive in a rapidly changing environment. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in HR leadership, change management, and organizational effectiveness in an international organization with responsibility for a global HR team.

Job Summary:

SmartBug’s Senior Director of People Operations is a dynamic and passionate leader who will lead the people team at SmartBug and is responsible for aligning SmartBugs goals and objectives with the day-to-day HR operations in a fast-paced and frequently changing environment. This role will serve as the public face of SmartBug’s commitment to culture, people, and a challenging career path for both our US and Canada teams.

The Senior Director of People Operations is a leader, passionate employee advocate, manager of change, and inspirational coach and mentor to a rapidly changing team of agency professionals. Reporting to the General Counsel and VP of Administration, the role is a key member of SmartBug’s management team and will be an integral contributor to SmartBug’s long term strategic growth plan.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Strategic Leadership: Lead and oversee the entire People Operations function, including HR strategy, organizational development, employee relations, employee engagement, onboarding/offboarding strategies, training, payroll, benefits strategy, leave administration and compliance for the global team.
• Executive Partnership: Collaborate closely with our executive clients, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to align HR initiatives with our strategic objectives.
• Recruitment Excellence: Maintain a strong recruiting presence and cultivate a robust talent pipeline to ensure that our organization continues to attract top talent in both the US and Canada.
• Change Management: Develop and implement transformative strategies and policies for organizational effectiveness and change management, particularly as we continue to grow and manage remote teams.
• Inspire and Lead: Use your unique ability to inspire and motivate our diverse workforce, fostering a culture of growth, development, and excellence.
• Total Rewards: Administer benefits and compensation programs to ensure they remain competitive, equitable, and aligned with our values.
• Integration: Drive the smooth integration of employees during post-acquisition phases, as applicable.
• Compliance Expertise: Stay ahead of the ever-evolving legal and regulatory landscape, ensuring compliance across all HR-related areas.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develops departmental goals and objectives to align with SmartBug company goals
• Identifies systems, tools, platforms to effectively scale organization and establish programs that support employees and teams through transitions
• Conducts research and analysis of organizational trends including review of reports and metrics from the organization’s HRIS and applicant tracking systems
• Maintains knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment law; applies this knowledge to communicate changes in policy, practice, and resources
• Builds, manages and mentors the People Ops team, which includes oversight of our team members in the US and close collaboration with our HR team in Canada.

Talent Acquisition

• Collaborates with senior leadership to understand the organization’s goals and strategy related to recruiting and staffing, in partnership with our department leads and recruitment team.
• Ensures success in identifying recruiting and staffing needs; develops and executes best practices for hiring and talent management
• Directs the organization’s recruitment, interview, selection, and hiring processes
• Directs the development and execution of employee onboarding processes

Employee Experience

• Establish forward-looking KPIs with stakeholders that inform proactive programs to enhance the employee experience and bolstering retention rates
• Administers or oversees the administration of human resource programs including, but not limited to, compensation, benefits, and leave; disciplinary matters; disputes and investigations; performance and talent management; and training and development
• Demonstrate proven experience in change management, adept at supporting leaders and employees through changes in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Collaborates with department leaders to support training and growth for all SmartBugs, leveraging internal and external training resources as appropriate
• Effectively manages employee communication and feedback mechanisms that may include employee satisfaction surveys, employee focus groups, one-on-one meetings, and more
• Play a pivotal leadership role in nurturing and promoting the SmartBug values-based people culture, ensuring alignment with our core principles and fostering an inclusive work environment.

Compliance

• Monitors and ensures the organization’s compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommended best practices; reviews and modifies policies and practices to maintain compliance
• Protects the interests of employees and the company, anticipates and resolves risks in collaboration with the organizations compliance and legal teams
• Oversees and maintains employee files and records
• Directs SmartBug’s internal mentorship program, ensuring mentees and mentors are matched appropriately; spearheads SmartBug’s mentorship committee to provide relevant resources to participants

Compensation and Benefits

• Spearheads the development and administration of the company’s comprehensive compensation structure, pay policies, and oversees variable pay systems
• Oversight of the company’s US semi-monthly payroll processes
• Takes the lead in conducting competitive market research to establish pay bands that effectively attract and retain high-performing talent
• Assumes a leadership role in the design and oversight of administration of company benefits programs

Requirements:

• 10+ years of progressive human resource management experience B.A. or B.S. degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field
• Experience working with and managing remote teams
• Experience in the administration of benefits and compensation programs
• Broad knowledge and experience in talent acquisition, multi-state employment law, compensation, change management, organizational planning, organization development, employee relations, and training and development
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop talent management across the organization
• Demonstrates strategic thinking and independent management skills
• Solid business acumen, management, and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication skills and experience partnering with executive-level clients, stakeholders and/or team members
• Empathetic and inspirational people leader with innate and unique ability to motivate and grow people to achieve their very best
• Proficiency in Paylocity, Google Suite and Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professional HR certification (SPHR, SHRM-SCP) highly preferred
• Familiarity with employment requirements in Quebec, Canada highly preferred
• Experience or knowledge of Applicant Tracking Systems (we use Lever)
• Experience working with a multinational organization, overseeing team members in various states and countries, including the U.S. and Canada
• Proven experience with post-acquisition integration of employees
• Strong knowledge of timekeeping/billing and agency operations, especially in a full-service digital agency context. 2+ years Digital marketing experience.
• Experience developing and executing cultural initiatives and DEI programs in a fully remote work environment

Benefits and Perks

• Annual salary between $120,000 – $135,000 – commensurate w/ experience
• Health insurance with company contribution
• Paid maternity and paternity leave
• Paid time off 4-week paid sabbatical every 5 years of employment
• Monthly remote work allowance
• 401(k) with employer matching
• Flexible spending plan
• Company-funded short-term disability and life insurance
• Long-term disability
• Annual leadership conference, SmartBugaPalooza
• Training budget
• The flexibility of working remotely
• MacBook Air issued to you at time of hire

Commensurate with experience