Chief People Officer

Department: People Reports To: Chief Executive Officer Location: Tampa, Florida

About Naked Farmer

Naked Farmer is a fast-growing, people-driven restaurant company focused on bringing high-quality, scratch-made food and an exceptional hospitality experience to our guests, at a fast-casual pace. As we continue to expand into new markets and grow our restaurant portfolio, our strategy must grow with us.

Position Overview

The Chief People Officer (CPO) is the senior-most People leader at Naked Farmer and is responsible for developing and executing the company's overall People strategy in alignment with its growth strategy.

The CPO will serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and executive leadership team while leading all aspects of the People function, including talent acquisition, employee experience, culture, leadership development, compensation and benefits, performance management, employee relations, compliance, learning and development, workforce planning, succession planning, and People operations.

This is a highly visible leadership role. The CPO must be equally comfortable developing an executive strategy, coaching and developing, reviewing People metrics, and listening directly to a frontline team member.

The goal is simple: build a People organization that helps Naked Farmer grow without losing the culture that made the company successful in the first place.

Key Responsibilities

People Strategy & Executive Leadership

• Develop and execute Naked Farmer's long-term People strategy in partnership with the CEO and executive leadership team.
• Align workforce strategy with the company's restaurant growth and expansion plans.
• Serve as the primary strategic advisor to leadership on organizational, talent, culture, and employee matters.
• Build a scalable People function capable of supporting significant multi-state growth.
• Establish People dashboards and KPIs that give leadership clear visibility into workforce health.
• Identify organizational risks and develop proactive solutions.

Culture & Employee Experience

• Protect, strengthen, and evolve the Naked Farmer culture as the company grows.
• Ensure the employee experience reflects Naked Farmer's values at every level of the organization.
• Create meaningful strategies around engagement, recognition, communication, retention, and employee development.
• Build systems that allow frontline employees to feel heard, valued, and connected to the company.
• Establish and monitor employee engagement and eNPS programs.
• Ensure culture is reflected in hiring, onboarding, development, performance management, and leadership decisions.

Talent Acquisition & New Restaurant Growth

• Own the company's talent acquisition strategy across restaurants and corporate functions.
• Build scalable recruiting systems to support continued New Restaurant Openings (NROs).
• Develop talent pipelines for General Managers, Assistant Managers, culinary leaders, hourly team members, and corporate positions.
• Partner closely with Operations and Development to ensure each new restaurant is properly staffed and ready to open.
• Establish talent forecasting and workforce planning tied to the company's expansion strategy.
• Develop internal talent pipelines to reduce reliance on external hiring.

Leadership Development

• Build a leadership development strategy for Naked Farmer's managers, directors, and executive team.
• Establish clear leadership competencies and expectations.
• Create career paths that give employees a reason to grow with Naked Farmer.
• Develop high-potential employees and succession plans for critical positions.
• Build a strong internal promotion culture.
• Partner with Operations and Training to ensure managers receive the tools and development necessary to lead effectively.

Compensation & Total Rewards

• Develop a competitive and scalable compensation philosophy for Naked Farmer.
• Oversee compensation structures, incentive programs, bonuses, benefits, PTO, parental leave, recognition, and other total rewards.
• Regularly benchmark compensation against relevant restaurant and hospitality markets.
• Partner with Finance and executive leadership on labor strategy and compensation planning.
• Ensure compensation practices are equitable, competitive, compliant, and aligned with performance.

Performance & Accountability

• Build a high-performance culture based on clear expectations, coaching, accountability, and development.
• Establish consistent performance management processes across all locations.
• Develop leadership scorecards and People KPIs.
• Strengthen manager accountability for turnover, engagement, training, retention, and team performance.
• Partner with leaders on performance improvement, succession planning, and organizational decisions.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Oversee employee relations and ensure consistent, fair, and legally compliant practices across all Naked Farmer locations.
• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws across all markets, including Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and future expansion markets.
• Oversee employment policies, investigations, accommodations, leave administration, immigration compliance, E-Verify, I-9 compliance, and employment documentation.
• Partner with legal counsel on complex employee relations and employment matters.
• Ensure managers are properly trained on People policies and employment practices.
• Develop proactive strategies to minimize organizational and employment risk.

People Operations & Technology

• Oversee Naked Farmer's People technology ecosystem, including HRIS, payroll, recruiting, scheduling, learning, benefits, and employee engagement platforms.
• Ensure People data is accurate, secure, and actionable.
• Develop efficient and scalable People processes.
• Continuously evaluate technology and systems to improve the employee and manager experience.
• Build a People infrastructure capable of supporting Naked Farmer's growth from its current footprint into a significantly larger restaurant organization.

Organizational Development & Change Management

• Evaluate organizational structure and effectiveness as Naked Farmer expands.
• Lead People strategy related to new markets, organizational changes, acquisitions, restructurings, and other major business initiatives.
• Ensure the company's organizational structure supports both operational excellence and future growth.
• Build change-management strategies that help leaders and employees successfully navigate growth.

Leadership Expectations

The CPO is expected to:

• Put the Human in HR.
• Lead with empathy while maintaining accountability.
• Be visible and accessible throughout the organization.
• Understand restaurant operations and the realities of frontline teams.
• Operate as a business leader, not simply an HR administrator.
• Build trust with employees at every level.
• Challenge leadership when necessary and provide thoughtful, solutions-oriented counsel.
• Develop leaders instead of becoming the solution to every problem.
• Partner closely with Operations, Finance, Marketing, Development, Culinary, and other functions.
• Protect the Naked Farmer culture while helping it evolve.
• Make data-informed decisions without losing sight of the individual employee.

Key Success Metrics

The CPO will be accountable for measurable improvement in:

• Hourly and management turnover
• Employee engagement and eNPS
• New-hire retention
• Internal promotion rate
• Leadership bench strength
• Time-to-fill and quality of hire
• New Restaurant Opening staffing readiness
• Training and development completion
• Manager performance
• Compensation competitiveness
• Employee relations trends
• Compliance and audit performance
• People-related operating costs
• Retention of high‑performing employees
• Overall employee experience

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive People/HR leadership experience.
• Experience overseeing 75-100 locations in an executive people role.
• Significant experience leading a People/HR function in a multi-location organization.
• Experience in restaurants, hospitality, retail, consumer brands, or another high‑growth operational environment strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success scaling People infrastructure during rapid growth.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, employee relations, talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, leadership development, and organizational development.
• Experience partnering directly with a CEO and executive leadership team.
• Strong business and financial acumen.
• Exceptional communication, coaching, leadership, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining close to the frontline employee experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Development, or related field preferred.
• SHRM certification or other professional HR certification preferred.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive Executive Compensation — A competitive base salary with an opportunity to participate in an incentive/bonus program tied to company and individual performance.
• 401(k) Plan — Access to the company's 401(k) retirement savings plan, including company matching opportunities in accordance with plan terms.
• Paid Time Off — Generous PTO to encourage our leaders to rest, recharge, and spend meaningful time away from work.
• Paid Holidays — Company-recognized holidays.
• Parental Leave — Paid parental leave to support employees during important family milestones.
• Health & Wellness Benefits — Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefit options, subject to applicable plan eligibility and terms.
• Executive Leadership Exposure — Direct partnership with the CEO and executive leadership team with the opportunity to play a meaningful role in shaping the future of a rapidly growing restaurant organization.
• Growth & Impact — The opportunity to build and scale the People function as Naked Farmer expands into new markets and grows its restaurant portfolio.
• Culture & Community — A people‑first environment where collaboration, authenticity, accountability, and having fun are part of how we work.