Senior Manager, People Partner

Overview

We’re Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking to save consumers time. Through an innovative combination of hardware, software, and fresh food delivery, we make it incredibly simple for anyone to prepare and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without sacrificing time. Through our superior technology, product experience and food quality, we have separated Tovala from the busy pack of other meal delivery businesses.

We’ve raised over $100mm from investors and have built a culture that fosters growth, personal development and camaraderie.

We’re looking for a Senior Manager, People Partner (Manufacturing & CS) to lead talent and HR support for our Manufacturing and Customer Support teams. This role reports to the Chief People Officer and oversees a team of three HRBPs while working closely with the Chief Manufacturing Officer and other leaders. This is a high-impact hands-on role for someone who likes being close to the work, building strong relationships, navigating tough situations, and making our plants and CS teams the best place to work.

This role suits a People leader with strong judgment, flawless follow-through, and the emotional intelligence to handle difficult issues with care and clarity. You’ll balance hands-on problem-solving with helping your team and our managers grow stronger over time.

Location: Chicago or Western Suburbs (must be willing to commute to both facilities in the South Side of Chicago and in Carol Stream, IL)

• Lead & Develop the HRBP Team: Manage, coach, and develop a team of three HR Business Partners supporting Manufacturing and CS
• Act as a player-coach, providing hands-on support and modeling strong judgment, prioritization, and partnership
• Coach leaders through performance issues, corrective action, investigations, mediations, and terminations with clarity, care, and consistency
• Training, Development & Manager Capability: Partner with Manufacturing and CS leadership to identify skill gaps and build practical training and development programs, especially for frontline and people managers
• Strengthen manager effectiveness through coaching, tools, and clear frameworks without over engineering process
• Support change management efforts tied to manufacturing initiatives, growth, and operational shifts
• Partnership & On-the-Ground Presence: Maintain a regular, visible presence in our production facilities (at least 3 days per week) to build trust and credibility and provide support to our leaders and teammates
• Step in to support facilities as needed - demonstrate a “no task beneath me” mindset
• Act as a key People partner to the Chief Manufacturing Officer
• Assist Customer Support leaders with traditional HRBP partnership needs

• 7+ years of progressive People/HR experience with broad generalist exposure
• Prior experience managing and developing HRBPs or similar People roles
• Experience building and delivering practical training and development for frontline and people managers in operational environments
• Meaningful experience supporting large hourly populations; manufacturing or operational environments strongly preferred
• Deep comfort with employee relations, including complex, high-stakes situations
• Proven ability to build trust and influence leaders through strong relationships and credibility
• Strong judgment, follow-through, and attention to detail
• A pragmatic mindset: you value structure, but you don’t hide behind process
• Warm, confident, and emotionally intelligent presence, even in tough moments

• Tovala uses market data, geography, and placement of internal employees to determine salary. Additionally, we offer all employees real ownership in the company in the form of a competitive equity package.
• Flexible paid time off (with a minimum of 15 days off you are highly encouraged to take)
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage we really invest in
• 401k with match
• Free Tovala Smart Oven and discounted Tovala meals
• Paid holidays and our winter holiday office shutdown where the offices and facilities close for a week around Christmas and New Years
• Various other perks - recognition programs, continued learning stipend,…