Director of People Operations & Global

Director of People Operations & Global Talent

Full-Time IC • Remote • Reports to a Partner

Location:Remote

Hours:Full overlap with U.S. business hours (Eastern/Central). Enterprise-grade internet with verified backup power and connectivity required.

Engagement:Full-time independent contractor. Termination-for-convenience with 30-day notice. Annual performance bonus (paid Q4) tied to scorecard outcomes; health insurance and internet stipends included.

Compensation:Commensurate with location and depth of U.S.-client HR compliance experience.

About the Company

We are a rapidly growing U.S.-based private equity firm operating on a permanent-equity model in the lower middle market. Rather than acquiring businesses to resell them quickly, we buy profitable, founder-owned companies and partner with their teams to grow them for the long term. We consider ourselves an operating company first and an investment company second.

Our portfolio spans six to eight established businesses across skilled-trades and service industries and continues to grow through new acquisitions. People and culture sit at the center of how we build long-term value, and we run on a disciplined operating system with clear goals, scorecards, and weekly accountability.

About the Role

As our portfolio has grown, HR has been handled through a mix of the partners' time and an outside fractional HR firm. This role exists to bring that function fully in-house and build it properly: one leader who owns HR and compliance across the firm and its portfolio companies, and who builds the offshore hiring engine that lets us recruit world-class global talent at a structural cost advantage.

This is a build-from-the-ground-up leadership role and the Partner's right hand on all things people. You will start hands-on and own the function outright, standing up the systems, policies, and hiring processes that do not yet exist. Over time you will hire and lead a team spanning talent acquisition, HR administration, and culture. This role is for someone who has genuinely done U.S.-client HR compliance work — not someone who could learn it.

What Success Looks Like (First 90 Days)
* By Day 45 —an approved offshore employment infrastructure recommendation (contractor vs. EOR vs. future local entity), with a standard contractor agreement template and a classification review of existing offshore staff.
* By Day 60 —a signed offshore finance/accounting hire, sourced against an approved scorecard and Culture Index threshold.
* By Day 90 —the external fractional HR firm transitioned out, with HR coordination brought in-house and a documented escalation playbook in place (working alongside outside counsel and ADP); plus a published offshore talent playbook (salary benchmarks by function and market, sourcing channels, screening process, retention framework).

Key Responsibilities

U.S. HR Compliance Coordination
* Coordinate U.S. HR compliance across the firm and its portfolio companies, working alongside outside employment counsel and the firm's PEO (ADP) — taking over the coordinating role currently held by an external fractional HR provider.
* Own HR administration and policy: handbooks, SOPs, onboarding and offboarding, and day-to-day HR matters across entities.
* Maintain a written escalation playbook and know when to route matters to employment counsel (e.g., protected-class terminations, FMLA/ADA interactions, classification changes, harassment or retaliation matters).
* Partner with ADP on payroll execution and with counsel on legal matters, owning the workflow and follow-through without being the legal or payroll owner.
Offshore Talent Acquisition & Hiring Engine
* Build and run the offshore hiring engine across finance, operations, and administrative functions.
* Own full-cycle recruiting: sourcing, screening, and closing professional-role candidates in offshore markets.
* Develop a salary benchmark database and sourcing channel map by function and market.
* Adapt a structured, who-based screening process for remote offshore candidates, including U.S.-hours viability and infrastructure verification.
HR Operations, Systems & People Programs
* Build and maintain employee handbooks, HR policies, and standard operating procedures for disciplinary action, onboarding, and offboarding across all entities.
* Design a retention and benefits framework suited to the firm's contractor model (performance bonuses, stipends, local holiday norms).
* Own and expand professional development, personal development, and culture-building programs across the portfolio.
* Serve as HR partner to leadership at each portfolio company and support HR integration for newly acquired businesses.

Required Qualifications
* Strong U.S.-client HR experience (required).Multiple years supporting U.S. employers at a BPO, Employer of Record, or offshore HR services firm, with real exposure to U.S. compliance matters (payroll, classification, leave, handbooks, terminations). Domestic-only