Chief HR & Operations Officer

Position Overview:

Responsible for leading and overseeing the organization's human resources, workforce operations, consultant management, employee relations, compliance, and people strategy. This executive role will work closely with the CEO and leadership team to build a scalable and compliant workforce while ensuring an exceptional experience for employees, consultants, candidates, and clients.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in IT staffing, consulting, workforce management, HR operations, employment compliance, immigration processes, employee relations, and organizational development. The role requires a hands-on leader who can balance strategic HR leadership with day-to-day operational execution.

Key Responsibilities:

• HR Strategy & Leadership – Develop and execute the company’s HR strategy aligned with business growth, workforce planning, organizational development, employee engagement, and overall company objectives.
• Consultant & Employee Management – Oversee the complete employee and consultant lifecycle, including onboarding, communication, assignment management, performance, employee relations, transitions, redeployment, and separation.
• Recruitment & Workforce Planning – Partner with Recruiting, Sales, and Account Management teams to plan workforce requirements, improve hiring processes, attract top IT talent, and monitor recruitment and staffing performance.
• Client & Consultant Relationship Management – Build strong relationships with consultants and support client-facing teams in managing consultant performance, client feedback, extensions, transitions, workplace expectations, and workforce-related issues.
• Immigration – Oversee immigration including coordination with immigration attorneys and service providers.
• HR Compliance & Employment Law – Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, including I-9, E-Verify, wage and hour requirements, employee classification, background checks, personnel documentation, audits, and employment policies.
• HR Operations, Payroll & Benefits – Lead HR operations, HRIS, employee records, onboarding/offboarding, payroll coordination, benefits administration, compensation programs, HR documentation, SOPs, and process automation.
• Performance Management & Employee Development – Establish performance-management programs, KPIs, performance reviews, improvement plans, career-development initiatives, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Employee Engagement, Retention & Culture – Develop initiatives to strengthen employee and consultant engagement, communication, recognition, retention, and organizational culture while identifying and addressing key drivers of attrition.
• Staffing Operations, Utilization & Bench Management – Lead consultant utilization and bench-management strategies, proactively manage project transitions, coordinate redeployment with Sales and Recruiting, minimize bench time, and establish KPIs for utilization, redeployment, and workforce productivity.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree - Human Resources, Business Administration, Management, or related field.
• Master's degree/MBA or HR-related advanced qualification preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive HR/HR Operations experience, preferably within IT staffing, consulting, technology services, or professional services.
• Significant experience managing employees and consultants in a staffing environment.
• Strong understanding of U.S. employment practices and HR compliance.
• Experience with immigration/work authorization processes is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of staffing operations, consultant lifecycle management, and workforce planning.
• Experience managing HR teams and cross-functional business stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, leadership, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to travel based on business requirements.

Leadership Competencies:

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Strategic thinking
• Executive presence
• Strong business acumen
• High integrity and confidentiality
• Decision-making ability
• Accountability and ownership
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Conflict-resolution capability
• Change-management leadership
• Data-driven decision making
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced staffing environment
• Strong understanding of both people and business operations