People Operations Manager

Location: New York, NY (60 Charlton Street) — In-office ABOUT: LOVE LLC is the company behind Be LOVE, a fast-growing functional beverage brand across Energy, Protein, and Hydration in 11,000+ doors, Amazon, and DTC. Founded by Kurt Seidensticker (founder of Vital Proteins, acquired by Nestlé), we are building the most meaningful beverage and the next category-defining CPG brand with a mission tied to GivePower's clean water initiative. THE OPPORTUNITY: We are looking for a highly operational People Operations Manager to own how we hire and how we run. Recruiting is the priority: we are scaling aggressively across marketing, growth, supply chain, and finance, and you will run that process end to end — partnering with hiring managers on roles and scorecards, sourcing and screening, coordinating interviews, and managing offers through close. You will also own the operational foundation underneath it: onboarding, payroll and benefits through our PEO, compliance across multiple states, and the SOPs that don't exist yet. This isn't an HR-generalist seat at a mature company. You will work directly with the founder and functional leads with no layers in between, and the systems you build now are the ones this company will run on at three times the size. For the right high-motor operator, this role is designed to grow into Head of People as the organization scales. RESPONSIBILITIES: Recruiting & Talent Acquisition: Own full-cycle recruiting across all functions — partner with hiring managers on role definition and scorecards, source and screen candidates, coordinate interviews, and manage offers through close while delivering an exceptional candidate experience. Onboarding & Employee Lifecycle: Lead onboarding, offboarding, promotions, compensation changes, organizational updates, and employee documentation, ensuring every transition is handled accurately and with care. Payroll, Benefits & HRIS: Administer payroll and benefits through ADP TotalSource, review payroll for accuracy, manage enrollments, qualifying life events, and Open Enrollment, and serve as system administrator maintaining HRIS accuracy and reporting. Compliance & Risk Management: Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local employment law across multiple states — leave administration, workers' compensation, unemployment claims, employment verifications, required postings, and HR documentation — partnering with outside employment counsel on offers, restrictive covenants, and escalated matters. Manager & Employee Support: Serve as the first point of contact for employees and managers on policy, benefits, employee relations, and performance processes, exercising judgment on what to resolve directly and what to elevate. Systems & Scale: Build the People Operations infrastructure that doesn't exist yet — SOPs, workflows, headcount and org reporting, and equity grant administration in coordination with Finance and counsel — designed for a company that will be several times its current size. QUALIFICATIONS: 5+ years of progressive Human Resources or People Operations experience, with demonstrated ownership of core HR functions in a consumer, retail, or high-growth operating environment. Demonstrated full-cycle recruiting ownership — sourcing, screening, and closing candidates across multiple functions in a high-growth environment. Experience delivering 20+ hires in a single year is strongly preferred. Experience administering a Professional Employer Organization (PEO); ADP TotalSource experience is strongly preferred. Strong working knowledge of payroll, benefits administration, HR compliance, and employment law. Experience supporting multi-state employees and partnering with managers on employee relations, performance management, and manager training. Strong systems aptitude with experience working in HRIS platforms; experience with ADP TotalSource, Google Workspace, NetSuite, Ramp, and Microsoft Office is preferred. Excellent organizational, communication, and project management skills. Ability to operate independently, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple workstreams in a fast-paced, in-office environment. Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred. ATTRIBUTES: You lead with ownership. You take accountability for the employee experience, follow through on commitments, and understand that great People Operations help build exceptional organizations. You exercise judgment. You think critically, weigh incomplete information, and know the difference between a decision you should make and one you should escalated. You are trusted with sensitive matters You’re hands-on and adaptable. You’re comfortable rolling up your sleeves, solving problems, and supporting the business wherever needed. No egos, no hesitation — just getting the work done as the company scales. You’re collaborative. You build trusted relationships across the organization and communicate with professionalism, empathy, and discretion. You enjoy partnering with employees, managers, leadership, and external partners to solve problems. You care about people and process. You take pride in creating a positive employee experience while building organized, compliant, and scalable systems that support growth. You’re organized and process-minded. You bring structure, improve workflows, and eliminate inefficiencies. Process matters to you — not for bureaucracy, but to create consistency, clarity, and scale. BENEFITS: Base salary range: $125,000 – $150,000, commensurate with experience. Full benefits, 401(k) match Participation in the LOVE Community Incentive Plan (quarterly revenue-linked bonus pool) Great teams, rapid growth, and challenging work EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: LOVE LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities; please contact us if you need an accommodation at any point in the process. #J-18808-Ljbffr Be LOVE™