Head of People & Recruitment — Scale Teams & Culture

London or San Francisco preferred, New York or Washington DC possible Salary (US): $118,000 – $164,000 Salary (UK): £78,000 – £93,000 Apply by Sunday, June 14 We’re hiring a Head of People and Recruitment to build the systems and culture that will let us double our team to 30+ staff over the next two years. Tarbell’s work depends entirely on the people we hire and how well we support them. You’ll own the people function end-to-end: running hiring processes for 10+ new staff and 25+ new fellows annually, building the onboarding systems and policies that retain them, and shaping the culture of a rapidly growing organization. There’s significant scope to define how the role develops through this period of rapid growth. About the Tarbell Center The Tarbell Center for AI Journalism supports journalism that helps society navigate the development and deployment of advanced AI. We provide funding and training to strengthen AI reporting at major news outlets. Since 2023, we’ve raised ~$20M in funding and supported 50+ journalists through fellowships, grants, and residencies. We’re now in a period of rapid expansion as we scale from a $4M budget in 2025 to $14M by 2027. Across our programs, we’ve supported a wide range of impactful reporting: We believe journalism will be essential to helping society understand and respond to AI advancements in the coming years. By 2030 we aim to grow Tarbell into the leading institution supporting AI journalism globally, providing the funding and training needed to make that possible. About the role You’ll own people and recruitment at Tarbell, reporting to the Operations Director. The role splits into four areas: Recruitment support You’ll partner closely with hiring managers across the organization to run rigorous, effective hiring processes. That means: Helping managers specify criteria, write job descriptions, and design application questions Designing and administering work tests and interviews, and supporting managers in evaluating them Managing candidate communications throughout the process, making sure every applicant has a positive experience with Tarbell, whether or not they’re hired Proactively identifying and reaching out to potential candidates for open roles, either directly or through hiring managers Co‑leading fellow recruitment and selection with the Fellowship team, helping design and run processes that attract top emerging journalists and AI talent globally People operations You’ll own the day‑to‑day systems that keep Tarbell running: Drafting, negotiating, and communicating contracts and offer letters Onboarding new staff and fellows Developing and maintaining staff policies and making sure staff understand them Managing payroll, taxes, and government reporting across multiple jurisdictions Onboarding 25+ fellows annually, including contracts, onboarding, and continuing support throughout their placement Culture You’ll work with the leadership team to translate high‑level principles into the day‑to‑day reality of working at Tarbell: Developing and reinforcing organizational culture Planning staff retreats and other events Building and managing the wider Tarbell community of fellows and grantees Monitoring job satisfaction and identifying ways to improve it General operations As the second operations hire for a small but growing organization, you’ll work across programs to solve problems and increase impact: Deploying and maintaining software tools Helping program leads to manage complex projects and fix problems before they happen Being someone that staff, fellows, grantees, and partners can always turn to with a question or problem, whatever it is. Who we’re looking for Operations experience. 3–5 years in HR, recruiting, or related operations, ideally at a small‑to medium‑sized organization where you’ve worn multiple hats. You don’t need to have done every part of this role before, but you should have meaningful experience across at least some of the areas above. Excellent written and verbal communication. Whether writing a job description, organizing community events, or mediating staff disputes, your communication is clear, professional, and supportive. People like talking with you. Strong project management. You build systems that scale, maintain standards under pressure, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. You’re detail‑oriented and people trust you to follow through. Good judgment about people. You can quickly assess candidates, give hiring managers useful pushback, and navigate sensitive situations with discretion. Generalist mindset. You’re willing and able to take on tasks outside of your core areas of responsibility. Whether that’s setting up budgets in Ramp, troubleshooting a coworker’s software issue, or correcting spelling errors on the website, no task is too big or too small for you. Skill in other areas of operations like accounting, budgeting, or IT A background that includes active sourcing or headhunting, not just inbound recruitment Experience building HR functions from the ground up at a growing organization While we’re most excited to hire an experienced professional who can own the role from day one, we’ll also consider strong candidates earlier in their careers for a Senior Operations Associate variant of the role. This role would have the same scope but would involve more support from the Operations Director as you grow into ownership over the first 12 months. Compensation and location We’ll offer a salary of $118,000 – $164,000 in the US or £78,000 – £93,000 in the UK, based on experience and seniority. Our benefits include: 33 days of annual leave in total (including national holidays) 16 weeks of paid parental leave, increasing with tenure $2,000 per year in professional development funding Up to 5% employer contribution towards a standard pension/401(k) For employees based in the US: Platinum health, dental, and vision plans, with 95% of premiums paid for by Tarbell Productive, collaborative offices in London and San Francisco We prefer candidates based in London or the San Francisco Bay Area and will require such candidates to work 2 days/week from our office space. We’re also open to candidates based in New York or Washington DC. Tarbell is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate against qualified employees or applicants based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, sexual preference, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law or local ordinance. #J-18808-Ljbffr Tarbellfellowship