Director of People Operations

Who we are:

Hi! We are Nobell Foods, a team of passionate scientists, explorers and storytellers on a mission to radically change the way we make food, so it’s better for you, the animals and the planet.

We loveeeeeeeeee cheese. So much so, that our ingenious founder figured out a way to grow, in plants, the same identical protein found in stretchy, gooey, oozy, delicious, succulent, indulgent, and every other word we could think of to describe the cheese that comes from animals. We are thrilled to say that the best cheese on earth can come from plants and damnit we are going to prove it to every cheese loving glutton out there. So…thanks for taking a look at this job description. Hopefully it gets you as excited as we are to change the way the world eats, because this is just the beginning.

The Director of People Operations is at the heart of what makes Nobell great – its people! We are looking for someone who is excited about our mission of bringing animal-free cheese to the world and who is not afraid to roll up their sleeves and build. As the Director of People, you will be in charge of building out a high performance culture while driving meaning in our mission and ensuring the well-being of our team.

To Be Successful In This Role, You Must Have The Following:

• You are a builder and doer and early on will act as an individual contributor- you will have to get your hands dirty and build processes and infrastructure to improve the way we operate, including recruiting, OKRs, performance management, onboarding and offboarding
• You take action- you will be driving the building process and require no hand holding.
• You take ownership of processes and adapt them as you get feedback  You have empathy- you understand that you will be handling delicate people situations and you know how to handle them with care and empathy
• You communicate effectively and frequently- things move rapidly, you are adaptable and you keep key stakeholders informed
• You are a trusted advisor to the leadership team- you are the first person our team goes to for advice and help on all people matters and you thrive on building trust and transparency

What You Will Do:

• You will audit then drive improvements to key processes such as onboarding, performance management, hiring and offboarding processes
• You will build upon our overall compensation philosophy and coordinate all compensation related matters, including compensation administration, salary surveys, etc.
• You will be in charge of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the recruiting process while ensuring the company interviewing and hiring standards are uniformly applied
• You will partner with managers to support their hiring needs; this includes building out a pipeline of candidates and ensuring the recruiting process is designed to hire the best people
• You will support a culture of high performance and high achievement ensuring Nobell is focused on achieving its goals
• You will set the benefits strategy and implement dynamic and competitive benefit offerings to support the company’s physical, behavioral, and financial wellness.
• You will champion diversity, equity & inclusion by developing and implementing programs and services that promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the company
• You will ensure that Nobell’s mission and values are at the core of the employee experience including employee programs, recruitment and candidate selection, onboarding, performance management, and engagement initiatives.
• You will partner closely with senior leaders to ensure that HR initiatives are focused on improving the employee experience, increasing engagement, productivity and retention while building a high performance culture

What You Will Bring:

• 10+ years of relevant experience crafting, building, and executing high-impact people programs and initiatives
• Experience building and effectively leading, growing, and developing a 3-5 person team
• Start up experience is a must. Bio-tech and/or food & beverage a plus
• A good understanding of California and Federal employment requirements
• Excellent people skills and high emotional intelligence
• Successful experience in operationalizing people programs through process optimization, systems integration, and end-user education and training
• Strong communication skills and the ability to effectively establish relationships at all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated ability to build and inspire high performance teams
• Bias towards action and ability to thrive in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Experience navigating employee relations through empathy and good judgment