Head of HR/People

📋 Description

• • Bankjoy Inc., a dynamic FinTech startup backed by Y Combinator and Bessemer Venture Partners, is revolutionizing the banking industry by empowering community banks and credit unions with cutting-edge digital solutions. We offer modern digital banking products, including mobile and online banking, seamless online account opening, efficient loan origination, and advanced conversational AI. Our core mission is to transform the technological infrastructure of financial institutions, driving digital transformation for organizations of all sizes.
• • As the Head of HR/People Operations, you will be instrumental in shaping and scaling Bankjoy's human resources function to support our rapid global growth. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this pivotal role demands a strategic yet hands-on approach to building robust HR frameworks, enhancing manager effectiveness, and ensuring our people processes are optimized for a distributed, international workforce.
• • Your primary focus will encompass developing and implementing comprehensive strategies for performance management, fostering positive employee relations, streamlining HR operations, providing critical support to leadership, and designing effective retention strategies. A key objective will be to cultivate a strong, accountable, and high-performing culture across the entire organization.
• • You will collaborate closely with department leaders to architect clear frameworks for retention and promotion. This involves ensuring that high-performing employees are consistently recognized, provided with ample opportunities for development, and appropriately promoted as the company expands. The ideal candidate will possess the dual capability to design sophisticated HR systems and meticulously execute them, demonstrating comfort and proficiency in supporting leaders within a fast-paced startup environment.
• • **HR Strategy & Organizational Development:** Partner with the COO and executive leadership team to formulate and execute HR strategies that directly align with and propel Bankjoy's ambitious growth objectives. You will be responsible for building scalable and effective frameworks for critical HR functions, including performance management systems that drive accountability and development, robust employee engagement and retention initiatives designed to foster a positive work environment, comprehensive promotion and career progression frameworks that provide clear pathways for advancement across all departments, and strategic organizational planning and workforce development to ensure we have the right talent in the right places.
• • **Retention & Talent Development:** Design and implement innovative programs specifically aimed at enhancing employee retention and boosting engagement across all teams. This involves a data-driven approach, where you will meticulously analyze retention data, gather and interpret employee feedback, and examine performance trends to pinpoint opportunities for strengthening talent development initiatives and proactively reducing employee turnover. You will work hand-in-hand with leadership to ensure that our highest-performing employees are not only recognized for their contributions but are also actively developed and retained through clearly defined growth opportunities and well-structured promotion pathways.
• • **Performance Management & Manager Enablement:** Develop, implement, and maintain a structured, organization-wide performance management framework that promotes fairness, clarity, and continuous improvement. A significant aspect of this role involves coaching and empowering managers. You will guide them in setting unambiguous expectations for their teams, providing timely and constructive feedback, conducting effective career development conversations, and adeptly managing underperformance, including the implementation of Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs). Your efforts will equip managers with the skills and confidence to become stronger, more effective leaders.
• • **HR Operations & Compliance:** Take ownership of core HR operations, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in all processes. This includes overseeing and refining the onboarding and offboarding experiences for employees, managing and optimizing compensation and benefits programs to remain competitive, developing and maintaining comprehensive HR policies and documentation that reflect best practices, and ensuring the integrity and security of HR systems and employee records. A critical responsibility is ensuring strict compliance with all relevant U.S. and Canadian employment laws and regulations, particularly given our distributed workforce.
• • **Employee Relations & Culture:** Act as a trusted advisor and confidential resource for both leadership and employees on all matters pertaining to employee relations. You will provide crucial support to leadership in resolving workplace issues with the utmost fairness, professionalism, and discretion. Your role will be pivotal in reinforcing and nurturing a company culture characterized by accountability, transparency, and a commitment to high performance.
• • **Partnership with Talent (Recruiting):** Foster a close and collaborative working relationship with the Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) team to ensure Bankjoy consistently attracts and hires top-tier talent. You will support hiring managers by providing them with effective hiring frameworks and standardized evaluation criteria, developing robust onboarding programs for new hires to ensure a smooth integration, and contributing to talent development and retention strategies that align with our overall business objectives. Ensuring that hiring plans are strategically aligned with long-term organizational goals will be paramount.