Director of People Operations, Academia
$190-240k
+ Stock options
More information about location
A platform for academics to share research papers
Be an early applicant
A platform for academics to share research papers
101-200 employees
Be an early applicant
$190-240k
+ Stock options
More information about location
101-200 employees
Company mission
Academia.edu is on a mission to accelerate the world's research. Their goal is to speed up research in every domain - finding a solution to climate change; finding cures for diseases; evolving artificial intelligence.
Role
Who you are
- This role requires a hands-on approach; we are looking for a candidate who has been where we are at, can meet the needs of the business in real time and see what's coming before we do
- Minimum of 8 years of experience in human resources management and leadership supporting US and International employees
- 10 + years at scaling /growth-stage startup (50 - 300 EEs)
- Professional certification (e.g., PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP)
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field
- In-depth knowledge of HR best practices, employment laws, and compliance requirements
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Consultative and data-driven
- Proven ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion
- Excellent organizational and multitasking abilities
- Proficiency in HR software and Microsoft Office Suite
- Strategic thinker with a proactive approach to problem-solving
What the job involves
- We are looking for a Director of People Operations to lead the Human Resources, Employee Engagement and Office Management function at Academia
- We are a growing organization; having hired 50 new roles in the past 12 months, and continuing headcount growth for the foreseeable future
- The People Operations infrastructure has a solid foundation to build off of, and there are many opportunities and exciting challenges ahead of us that will require the incoming leader to build and deploy ideas from scratch
- We are a collaborative, data-driven organization just as interested in supporting product growth as we are interested in the success of our people
- This role reports to the Chief People Officer and has two direct reports; Workplace Experience Manager and People Operations Coordinator
- Align the departmental strategies with the broader business objectives
- Navigate and communicate departmental initiatives and success metrics with executive leadership and other key stakeholders
- Own, direct, and interpret people operations metrics to suggest new and unique initiatives
- Co-own and project manage resourcing and headcount planning initiatives, including compensation and benefits analysis and modeling
- Collaborate with departmental peers (Talent Acquisition) and cross-functional leaders to ensure alignment and success of company wide initiatives
- Ensure compliance with international, federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations; and develop, implement, and update HR policies and procedures to align with legal requirements and best practices
- Conduct regular audits to ensure HR practices are in compliance with company policies and legal standards
- Manage and support annual open enrollment, from plan design/selection, communications, and employee education to ongoing maintenance and suggested changes to achieve business goals and ensure employee satisfaction
- Provide training to employees and managers on HR policies and compliance matters
- Manage, enhance, and implement employee engagement programs to ensure job satisfaction and retention. These include engagement surveys, manager training, performance management, employee resource groups, and all company events
- Develop and manage performance management systems to ensure consistent and fair evaluations
- Train managers on performance management techniques and provide support for performance improvement plans
- Monitor and analyze performance data to identify trends and address any issues
- Recognize and reward high-performing employees
- Serve as a point of contact for employee and manager concerns and issues, providing guidance and resolution
- Conduct exit interviews and analyze feedback to improve employee experience
- Run Payroll (hourly and salaried) work with finance to QA and document all payroll changes and approvals
- People Ops vendor management and optimization. (Deel, Pave, Stable, etc.)HRIS owner and manager (Rippling)
- Process improvements ongoing
- Ensure service level and response time efficiency by providing employees with trusted resources (documentation, chat functions, and live support) for all benefits, payroll, and policy questions
Our take
Academia.edu is pitched as a social media platform to help researchers and academics share papers for free - with over 185 million registered users and over 30 million visitors per month, it has remained an active and popular platform since its founding in 2008.
The company has had a chequered relationship with the academics it proposes to serve (and the institutions it intends to disrupt). Some claim the new paywalled suite of features runs counter to the free and open-access model; others balk at their use of the .edu domain usually reserved for academic institutions (they registered before its use became restricted).
Perhaps to overcome these obstacles, and to give them an edge over the increasing preference for competitors like ResearchGate and Google Scholar, Academia.edu have taken some interesting steps. One was to develop a mobile app for the platform. Another was the early 2020 acquisition of entrepreneurial training and toolkit platform The Start-Up Gate. This latter decision could signal an exciting new developmental direction for Academia.edu - but thus far, the motivation remains unclear.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Few candidates hear
back within 2 weeks
4% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Feb 2022
$23m
SERIES D
Mar 2019
$16m
SERIES C
Total funding: $56.2m
Company benefits
- 21 days of paid vacation and 11 paid holidays per year
- 8 weeks of paid bonding parental leave plus 8 weeks of birth parent leave
- 6 weeks of fully-paid sabbatical leave for every four years you work here
- Book stipend
- Catered lunch
- Stock options
- Work from home opportunities
- Health insurance
- 401k
- FSA
- Activities
- Commuter benefits
Company values
- Mission Oriented
- Kindness
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Articles
Leadership
Richard Price
(CEO)Studied PPE at Oxford, going on to complete a PhD in Philosophy. Founded two other businesses: LiveOut.co.uk, and PeopleRadar.co.uk. For 7 years was a Fellow of All Souls College at Oxford University.
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