People Operations Lead

Watch Duty is a non-partisan, non-profit, and non-government organization focused on disseminating public-safety information in real time from verified sources. Our mission is to publish only the facts that provide true situational awareness in case of emergency.

We are always looking for passionate individuals—both volunteers and professionals to help us build our platform and expand our reach to keep communities safe.

Department: People Operations Reports To: SVP, People Operations Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt Location: Remote (U.S.

-based)
Salary: $135,000 - $165,000

The People Operations Lead is the first dedicated hire into Watch Duty’s People Operations function beyond its executive leader, and owns the full operating surface of the function alongside the SVP of People Operations. This role exists because People Operations has outgrown a single leader: the organization needs someone who can absorb the day-to-day execution of the function and build the systems that a scaling, mission-critical organization requires, often at the same time.

Operating in a scaling organization, the People Operations Lead is expected to work fluidly across altitudes: designing org-wide process one moment and executing hands-on operational work the next. This is not a strategy-only seat, and it is not an administrative-only seat, it is a generalist role for someone who has repeatedly done the full range of People Operations work, wants the breadth, and wants to have a cross-functional impact.

The role requires sound judgment, discretion, comfort with ambiguity, and a genuine willingness to switch-hit – stepping outside the People Operations function to take work off other teams’ plates, including acting as the point for Recruitment Operations (note: not a Recruiter).

• Own the day-to-day operational stack of the People function, including onboarding and offboarding, benefits administration, HRIS and records management, leave administration, and employment compliance operations.
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee questions on policies, benefits, and day-to-day People matters.
• Ensure People Operations processes run reliably and accurately without requiring SVP oversight.

• Build People Operations processes, frameworks, and documentation from scratch where none exist today.
• Identify and up-level existing processes to support the organization’s growth, reliability, and scale.
• Design systems that work across the whole organization, not only within a single team or function (i.e. processes where there is overlap between HR, Operations, and IT, for example).
• Bring order and repeatability to work that is currently ad hoc, while keeping solutions right-sized for a scaling organization.

• Handle day-to-day employee relations matters independently, applying sound judgment and prior experience.
• Conduct and support routine employee relations work, escalating complex investigations, executive-level conflict, and matters carrying significant legal or organizational exposure to the SVP of People Operations.
• Exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality across sensitive employee and organizational matters.

• Design and run employee engagement programs that build connection and belonging across a fully remote workforce.
• Co-create and help plan the organization’s annual all-team offsite.
• Develop and deliver leadership training and development programs.
• Build and operate performance management systems, including review cycles and calibrations.

• Step outside the People…