Director of People Operations

Director Of People Operations

Kate McLeod creates solid body care that delivers the most concentrated moisture on earth, harnessing the power of pure plant butters. Our waterless formulas melt nature's most nourishing ingredients directly into your skin, without dilution or fillers. We're best known for The Body Stone™—a moisturizing lotion bar that melts on contact with dry skin, delivering a deep-conditioning treatment that's clinically proven to boost moisture levels and keep you hydrated for 72 hours.

Kate McLeod is hiring a Director, People & Business Operations to lead our People function and serve as the internal owner for a defined portfolio of corporate operations, including legal coordination, employee technology, insurance, and risk. Reporting directly to the CEO, this person will be our senior internal People leader and primary liaison to outside counsel, IT partners, insurance brokers, and carriers. They will ensure issues are investigated, coordinated, and brought forward for CEO review with clear context, options, risks, and a recommendation—drawing on external subject-matter experts where appropriate.

This role is well suited to a practical, highly resourceful builder who can move comfortably between sensitive employee matters, manager counsel, organizational design, and detailed execution. The person must also be able to get quickly oriented to unfamiliar legal, technology, insurance, and risk questions; engage the right experts; and translate complexity into clear decisions and next steps. Candidates may come from a senior People Operations path or from consulting, strategy, or business operations, but must bring substantive experience in people and organizational work.

This role is based at our Hudson Valley headquarters in Kingston, with regular on-site presence and periodic travel to our New York City office. Candidates based in Kingston or elsewhere in the Hudson Valley are strongly preferred. We may consider exceptional candidates based in New York City who can maintain a consistent presence in Kingston. The exact cadence will reflect business needs and the candidate's home base, but Kingston will be this role's primary working location.

Responsibilities include owning the employee lifecycle from offer through exit, managing the HRIS and employee records, running performance and compensation cycles, building manager tools, providing first-line employee relations support, maintaining clear policies, leading change management, and overseeing business operations and risk.

Experience and qualifications include eight or more years of relevant experience across People Operations, HR, organizational effectiveness, management consulting, strategy, Chief of Staff, or business operations roles, including meaningful hands-on work in organizational design, talent systems, performance and compensation, workforce planning, or change management. Candidates should have demonstrated sound judgment in employee relations and employment compliance, be comfortable owning unfamiliar legal, technology, insurance, and risk matters, and have strong program and project management skills.

Benefits and perks include competitive base salary, annual bonus eligibility, and equity participation, paid time off, paid sick leave, and company holidays, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with significant employer contribution, 401(k) retirement plan, generous product program and employee discount, and a collaborative, supportive culture that values excellent work, personal ownership, and celebration.

Kate McLeod is an Equal Opportunity employer and participates in E-Verify to confirm work authorization eligibility. Kate McLeod is committed to building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive culture. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome our employees' differences in race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, medical conditions, among other characteristics.