HR Operations Lead, Contract Menlo Park, CA | Onsite 4-days per week Initial 6-Month Contract | Potential for Extension/Conversion Pay Rate: $75-$85/HR w2 Role Overview We are seeking an experienced, hands-on HR Operations Lead to support a lean, fast-moving organization and help build the HR processes and operating structure needed as the business evolves.
This role combines day-to-day HR Operations with ownership of cross-functional HR initiatives and process improvement. The ideal candidate is comfortable operating in ambiguity, identifying gaps, creating structure, coordinating across stakeholders, and driving HR work from initial need through implementation and follow-through.
This is a hands-on individual contributor role suited to someone with broad HR experience who is comfortable moving between operational execution, HR programs, systems, employee support, compliance, and process building.
Key Responsibilities
HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle Support employee lifecycle activities including onboarding, employee changes, documentation, HR records, employee support, and offboarding. Maintain accurate HRIS records, employee files, trackers, and reporting. Partner across HR, Finance, Legal, IT, Talent Acquisition, and external vendors to coordinate employee-related activities. Support employee relations, policy administration, compliance, and other HR matters as business needs evolve.
HR Programs & Cross-Functional Initiatives Own and coordinate cross-functional HR initiatives from planning through implementation. Establish timelines, stakeholders, deliverables, dependencies, and follow-up. Keep initiatives moving across multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. Maintain clear documentation, status tracking, and accountability. Identify operational gaps or blockers and drive them toward resolution.
Process Building & Continuous Improvement Evaluate existing HR processes and identify gaps, inefficiencies, and areas requiring greater structure. Build and document practical HR workflows, SOPs, checklists, trackers, and operating procedures. Improve onboarding, employee support, HRIS, reporting, compliance, and other HR workflows. Support HR system implementations, migrations, integrations, and enhancements as needed. Develop scalable processes that can evolve as the organization grows.
HRIS, Data & Operational Discipline Maintain strong data integrity across HR systems, employee records, and operational trackers. Develop and maintain reporting and documentation that provide visibility into HR activities and outstanding actions. Support HRIS and HR technology enhancements and process improvements. Maintain appropriate documentation and operational controls.
Immigration & Compliance Support employment-based immigration, work authorization, and related documentation in partnership with employees, internal stakeholders, and outside counsel. Support Form I-9, employment eligibility, recordkeeping, and routine HR compliance activities. Direct immigration experience is helpful, but candidates with broader HR Operations experience and the ability to learn this area will also be considered. Recruiting & Hiring Operations Partner with Talent Acquisition on recruiting-related processes and workflows as needed. Support requisition administration, interview processes, ATS administration, offers/approvals, agency coordination, reporting, and onboarding handoffs. Help improve hiring workflows and recruiting-process discipline as the organization evolves. Required Qualifications 8+ years of combined experience across HR Operations, People Operations, HR Generalist, HRBP, HR Programs, or related HR functions. Substantial hands-on HR Operations experience across employee lifecycle activities. Demonstrated experience owning or coordinating cross-functional HR programs, projects, or initiatives. Demonstrated experience building, improving, or implementing HR processes rather than solely administering established workflows. Strong HRIS/data-management experience, including employee-data accuracy, reporting, documentation, tracking, or audits. Experience partnering with multiple stakeholders and driving work through completion. Strong judgment, discretion, attention to detail, organization, and follow-through. Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment where priorities, processes, and responsibilities may evolve. Willingness to remain hands-on and flex across different areas of HR as business needs change. Preferred Qualifications Experience working in a large enterprise, public company, or similarly complex organization with established governance, controls, or cross-functional HR practices. Experience supporting a startup, growth-stage organization, transformation, or new business buildout. HRIS implementation, migration, or HR process-transformation experience. Employment-based immigration or work-authorization experience. Employee relations, policy, compliance, and HR audit exposure. Experience improving onboarding or other employee lifecycle processes. Familiarity with recruiting operations, ATS workflows, offers, approvals, and hiring processes. Experience partnering with Finance, Legal, IT, Talent Acquisition, outside counsel, and HR vendors. What Success Looks Like The successful candidate is a hands-on HR operator and process builder who recognizes where structure is missing and takes ownership of creating it. They can independently take an HR initiative or operational need, identify the appropriate stakeholders and dependencies, establish a practical process, and drive the work through completion without requiring a highly defined environment or large support structure. They bring enough breadth to operate across HR disciplines while partnering effectively with specialists in areas such as payroll, benefits, recruiting, immigration, and Legal.
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