People Operations Manager

About the role

Grüns is scaling fast, and our People team needs a hands-on partner who can coach managers and run the operational engine at the same time. You'll be the first line of support for managers and employees on policy, performance, and growth, while owning payroll, leaves, benefits, and the employee lifecycle end to end. You'll step in during a major Q1 2027 systems transition, protecting talent density, keeping pay and compliance airtight, and freeing our People leadership to focus on strategy.

This role is part of our remote HQ! We have a fully remote, high-trust work environment - and also come together on a biannual basis for amazing off-sites where we can connect IRL.

In this role, you will:

Be the first point of contact for managers and employees on policy, performance, corrective feedback, and growth

Coach managers on feedback, documentation, and follow-ups, with hands-on support through performance and termination situations that keep talent density high and legal risk low

Run People Team 1:1s and exit interviews for Levels 1 and 2, and surface culture themes, flight risks, and training gaps for our quarterly People Pulse report

Administer leaves (FMLA, ADA, state, STD, parental) and accommodation requests from start to finish, and oversee workers' comp claims

Own payroll accuracy across HQ, field, and international teams by resolving complications directly with our partners and tracking every issue to closure

Own benefits administration end to end: enrollments, qualifying life events, COBRA, carrier coordination, renewals, and clear employee communication

Own onboarding and offboarding, so every new hire starts with complete paperwork and correct pay, and every exit closes out cleanly on final pay, benefits notices, and access

Keep employee data clean (levels, titles, departments, managers, compensation) so comp, survey, and headcount decisions are always backed by accurate data

Support employees through our Q1 2027 payroll, benefits, and retirement platform changes

Turn repeat work into AI-supported workflows, and know when AI shouldn't be involved

We're looking for someone who:

Has 5+ years scaling HR support, ideally on a coordinator to HRBP to HR Generalist track in a fast-growing consumer or DTC company

Has hands-on payroll administration experience

Has run leaves (FMLA, ADA, state leaves, STD, parental) and workers' comp end to end

Has administered benefits: enrollments, qualifying life events, COBRA, and open enrollment

Has a track record in employee relations and manager coaching, including performance documentation and terminations

Has handled sensitive employee situations and exits with discretion and good judgment

Has working knowledge of FMLA, ADA, COBRA, E-Verify, and multi-state leave and final pay laws

Bonus: payroll or HRIS migration or acquisition integration experience, and Paylocity experience

Approach to the role:

You bring a customer service mindset: you acknowledge fast, focus on solutions, and can't rest until every loop is closed

You're detail-obsessed about anything that touches someone's pay

You treat every interaction as if it could land on the front page of the NY Times

You build real relationships and stay culture-aligned while making decisions in the best interest of Grüns

You have extreme ownership and self-motivation, so micromanagement isn't needed because you're always 10 steps ahead

You use AI to protect your focus for thoughtful people partnership

Compensation & Benefits:

At Grüns, we're committed to providing a competitive total compensation package — grounded in market data that considers our size, stage, industry, and location. For this role, the base salary range is $100,000 - $130,000 plus bonus depending on experience, paired with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the well-being and growth of our team.