HR Operations Lead, Contract

HR Operations Lead, Contract

Menlo Park, CA | Onsite 4-days per week

Initial 6-Month Contract | Potential for Extension/Conversion

Pay Rate: $75-$85/HR w2

Role Overview

• We are seeking an experienced, hands-on HR Operations Lead to support a lean, fast-moving organization and help build the HR processes and operating structure needed as the business evolves.
• This role combines day-to-day HR Operations with ownership of cross-functional HR initiatives and process improvement. The ideal candidate is comfortable operating in ambiguity, identifying gaps, creating structure, coordinating across stakeholders, and driving HR work from initial need through implementation and follow-through.
• This is a hands-on individual contributor role suited to someone with broad HR experience who is comfortable moving between operational execution, HR programs, systems, employee support, compliance, and process building.

Key Responsibilities

HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Support employee lifecycle activities including onboarding, employee changes, documentation, HR records, employee support, and offboarding.
• Maintain accurate HRIS records, employee files, trackers, and reporting.
• Partner across HR, Finance, Legal, IT, Talent Acquisition, and external vendors to coordinate employee-related activities.
• Support employee relations, policy administration, compliance, and other HR matters as business needs evolve.

HR Programs & Cross-Functional Initiatives

• Own and coordinate cross-functional HR initiatives from planning through implementation.
• Establish timelines, stakeholders, deliverables, dependencies, and follow-up.
• Keep initiatives moving across multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Maintain clear documentation, status tracking, and accountability.
• Identify operational gaps or blockers and drive them toward resolution.

Process Building & Continuous Improvement

• Evaluate existing HR processes and identify gaps, inefficiencies, and areas requiring greater structure.
• Build and document practical HR workflows, SOPs, checklists, trackers, and operating procedures.
• Improve onboarding, employee support, HRIS, reporting, compliance, and other HR workflows.
• Support HR system implementations, migrations, integrations, and enhancements as needed.
• Develop scalable processes that can evolve as the organization grows.

HRIS, Data & Operational Discipline

• Maintain strong data integrity across HR systems, employee records, and operational trackers.
• Develop and maintain reporting and documentation that provide visibility into HR activities and outstanding actions.
• Support HRIS and HR technology enhancements and process improvements.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and operational controls.

Immigration & Compliance

• Support employment-based immigration, work authorization, and related documentation in partnership with employees, internal stakeholders, and outside counsel.
• Support Form I-9, employment eligibility, recordkeeping, and routine HR compliance activities.
• Direct immigration experience is helpful, but candidates with broader HR Operations experience and the ability to learn this area will also be considered.

Recruiting & Hiring Operations

• Partner with Talent Acquisition on recruiting-related processes and workflows as needed.
• Support requisition administration, interview processes, ATS administration, offers/approvals, agency coordination, reporting, and onboarding handoffs.
• Help improve hiring workflows and recruiting-process discipline as the organization evolves.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of combined experience across HR Operations, People Operations, HR Generalist, HRBP, HR Programs, or related HR functions.
• Substantial hands-on HR Operations experience across employee lifecycle activities.
• Demonstrated experience owning or coordinating cross-functional HR programs, projects, or initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience building, improving, or implementing HR processes rather than solely administering established workflows.
• Strong HRIS/data-management experience, including employee-data accuracy, reporting, documentation, tracking, or audits.
• Experience partnering with multiple stakeholders and driving work through completion.
• Strong judgment, discretion, attention to detail, organization, and follow-through.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment where priorities, processes, and responsibilities may evolve.
• Willingness to remain hands-on and flex across different areas of HR as business needs change.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a large enterprise, public company, or similarly complex organization with established governance, controls, or cross-functional HR practices.
• Experience supporting a startup, growth-stage organization, transformation, or new business buildout.
• HRIS implementation, migration, or HR process-transformation experience.
• Employment-based immigration or work-authorization experience.
• Employee relations, policy, compliance, and HR audit exposure.
• Experience improving onboarding or other employee lifecycle processes.
• Familiarity with recruiting operations, ATS workflows, offers, approvals, and hiring processes.
• Experience partnering with Finance, Legal, IT, Talent Acquisition, outside counsel, and HR vendors.

What Success Looks Like

• The successful candidate is a hands-on HR operator and process builder who recognizes where structure is missing and takes ownership of creating it.
• They can independently take an HR initiative or operational need, identify the appropriate stakeholders and dependencies, establish a practical process, and drive the work through completion without requiring a highly defined environment or large support structure.
• They bring enough breadth to operate across HR disciplines while partnering effectively with specialists in areas such as payroll, benefits, recruiting, immigration, and Legal.

By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions.

Equal Opportunity Notice

Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io .

Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that .

Representation Notice

By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco by Highspring the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. Additionally, you agree to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. Lastly, you agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco by Highspring about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco by Highspring agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.

For residents of Ontario, Canada only: to the extent the position for employment is not with Highspring or not otherwise noted as vacant above, candidate should be informed that this role is to replace a presently employed person at Vaco by Highspring's client.

Privacy Notice

Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees .
• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies .
• Residents of all other states may access our policies .
• Canadian residents may access our policies in English and in French .
• Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies .

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

· the individual's skill sets, experience and training;

· licensure and certification requirements;

· office location and other geographic considerations; and

· other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).