Senior Director of HRBPs & Strategic Projects, Handshake
$228-305k
+ RSUs
3 days a week in office
College career network and job board
Be an early applicant
College career network and job board
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
$228-305k
+ RSUs
3 days a week in office
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To democratize access to opportunity and ensure any student can build a great career no matter who they know, where they live or what school they attend.
Role
Who you are
- 15+ years of progressive HR experience, including 5+ years as a senior HRBP partnering directly with execs in high-growth environments
- Strong track record of shaping organizational strategy, leading through change, and supporting complex people decisions at the executive level
- Known for turning big ideas into clear plans that drive real outcomes with an eye on both impact and execution
- Brings a systems mindset and spots patterns across teams, organizational design, and talent levers
- Experienced leader of small, high-performing teams; skilled at coaching and developing others while holding a high bar
- Comfortable in ambiguity, energized by solving hard problems, and always guided by data and context
What the job involves
- We’re looking for a senior People leader who brings a strong mix of business acumen, leadership coaching, and operational rigor. In this role, you’ll partner closely with executives to shape how teams scale, how performance is driven, and how culture shows up in day-to-day decisions.
- You’ll lead our HRBP function while also taking on high-impact, cross-functional initiatives that accelerate how we attract, grow, and retain top talent. You will be a significant member of the People Leadership team, reporting directly to the VP of People to set strategy and goals to support our Handshakers and the business
- Partner closely with senior leaders to shape organizational design, talent planning, and team performance as the business scales
- Lead key talent initiatives, from performance management to leadership development, that raise the bar and support team growth
- Drive cross-functional People projects that shape how we work, including evolving our company principles and optimizing our hybrid working model
- Play a key role in change efforts, helping teams navigate shifts with clarity, transparency, and trust
- Use data and insights to guide decisions, whether it’s spotting engagement trends, tackling attrition, or sharpening team performance
Our take
The three founders of Handshake established their company in an attempt to eliminate inequality and make the student hiring landscape fairer. The Handshake platform acts as a LinkedIn for college students, pairing students from every walk of life with more than 650K employers, including the entire Fortune 500, which includes Google and Nike.
The graduate recruitment platform is open to any student with a valid @.edu email address, with more than 12 million active users from thousands of colleges and universities. With a student-first philosophy, the company generates revenue from both universities and employers rather than students.
Valued at $3.5B, Handshake has gained traction in a competitive market, although it has strong competition from recruiting giants LinkedIn and Indeed. It stands out, however, by helping students build new relationships and skills, rather than simply making connections to people they already know.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
2% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Jan 2022
$200m
SERIES F
May 2021
$80m
SERIES E
Total funding: $434m
Company benefits
- 💰Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company
- 🍼16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents
- 💝Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support
- 💻Handshake offers $500/£360 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home
- 📚Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000/£1,500 stipend for you to grow your skills and career
- 🏦401k Match: Handshake offers a dollar-for-dollar match on 1% of deferred salary, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year
- 🏝 All full-time US-based Handshakers are eligible for our flexible time off policy to get out and see the world. In addition, we offer 8 standardized holidays, and 2 additional days of flexible holiday time off. Lastly, we have a Summer and Winter #ShakeBreak, two one-week periods of Collective Time Off
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Garrett Lord
(Co-Founder & CEO)Majored in Computer Science at Michigan Technological University. Interned at Palantir Technologies before co-founding Handshake in 2012.
Ben Christensen
(Co-Founder)Graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in Computer Networking & Systems Administration. Interned at Target and worked as a Developer at Up and Running Software. Was part of Arbor Networks' ASERT Security Research team.
Scott Ringwelski
(Co-Founder)Attained a degree in Computer Software Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Co-founded Handshake in 2012.
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