People Operations Partner

People Operations Partner

Nofence is a Norwegian scale up who has built the world's first virtual fencing solution for livestock. As we aim to revolutionize livestock management we will need top-notch competence in our People team, and we are now looking for a People Operations Partner to support our US team. Elevate your career with us and be at the forefront of innovation in agricultural technology!

As Nofence's first people hire in the US, People Operations Partner is the local anchor for our growing US team. This is a broad, hands-on role that covers the full employee experience, all from hiring and onboarding through to day-to-day people support, local compliance, and culture for a team that is scaling fast in a commercially critical market.

You will be the person the US team turns to first. You will run recruiting for US roles, ensure we are operating compliantly across all states, and make sure Nofence's culture and ways of working land well for employees who are far from the headquarter in Oslo. You will work closely with the MD US, the VP People and partner with the wider People & Finance team globally. Nofence's People team is small, you will know everyone in it and work directly with all of them.

You are a full member of Nofence's global People team, not a standalone HR function for the US. This means you work within global people processes on hiring philosophy, performance rhythms, onboarding standards, culture initiatives, and HRIS hygiene. You bring them to life for the US context, adapting where local law or practice requires. You will work closely with the broader People team, lead or drive global projects and initiatives as time allows, and bring a US perspective that actively shapes how Nofence builds its people practices globally.

This role sits at the intersection of recruiting, operations, and people partnership and it calls for someone who can hold all three with confidence, genuinely energized by building and shaping, not just maintaining, in a high-expectations environment.

About the Role

The main responsibilities for this role will be:

Employee Experience

• Be the first point of contact for US employees on people-related matters. This includes:
• Running onboarding for all North America new hires, connecting them to Nofence's purpose, values, and the team, not just systems access
• Supporting managers with day-to-day people questions, performance conversations, and employee relations
• Administering benefits and leave for US, ensuring offerings are competitive and well understood. Owning the day-to-day administration and employee communication, with the global People team supporting on programme design and benchmarking
• Managing local People administration and owning biweekly US payroll inputs, ensuring all salary data, variables, and changes are accurately prepared, validated in Rippling and HiBob, and approved for our external payroll provider

Recruiting

• Drive the end-to-end hiring process for North American roles, from scoping and sourcing through to offer. This includes:
• Running structured hiring processes in line with Nofence's hiring philosophy and frameworks
• Sourcing candidates
• Managing candidate experience and communication, ensuring every candidate interaction reflects Nofence's brand and values
• Activating and maintaining US compliant hiring flows end-to-end
• Partnering with hiring managers to define role criteria, set expectations, and make good decisions, not just fill seats

Compliance & Local Employment

• Own compliance for US employment, keeping pace with a changing regulatory environment. This includes:
• Multi-state US employment compliance: at-will employment, state-specific leave laws, workers' compensation, benefits obligations, and contractor classification
• Owns multi-state SUI and employment tax compliance; verifies Rippling filings, manages state correspondence, and escalates audit or rate adjustment issues.

Culture & Belonging

• Carry Nofence's culture into a US context, not by replicating Norway, but by helping the North America team feel genuinely connected to the company's values, ways of working, and each other. This includes:
• Supporting the rhythm of check-ins, phase conversations, and performance processes in the US team
• Identifying where North America employees need more connection, clarity, or support and doing something about it
• Acting as a trusted presence with low ego and high integrity, the kind of person employees come to before a problem becomes a problem
• Support the organization of regular US team gatherings

About You

4+ years in people roles at a scaling US company or start-up, with genuine, proven generalist breadth across both recruiting and HR operations.

• Solid knowledge of multi-state US employment law and practical experience navigating it
• Hands-on experience administering US employee benefits: health insurance, leave management including FMLA, and benefits administration in HiBob or Rippling or a comparable HRIS
• A recruiter's instincts. You know how to source, you care about candidate experience, and you can run a structured process without a lot of infrastructure around you
• Comfortable with ambiguity and building from scratch. There is no playbook for this role yet, you will write it
• High ownership and low drama. You make things happen and flag problems early
• Aligned with Nofence's culture. You are direct, grounded, and genuinely motivated by impact over titles

This is not a profile where depth in one compensates for absence in the other, we need someone who has run end-to-end hiring processes and understands employee relations, benefits administration, onboarding, manager support, and compliance.

Practical Details

• Based in the US, preferably around Denver, Colorado and with the ability to facility time overlap with colleagues across US and in Europe
• Remote-first, with some travel in the US and to Oslo for company events and team sessions
• Reports to the VP People, with close day-to-day collaboration with the MD US and the wider People & Finance team
• Member of the global People team, operating within shared people processes and standards, adapting for a US context where legally or practically required

The base salary for this role is $90 000 - $120 000 per year. When determining salary ranges for our roles, we look at external market data and the salaries of Nofencers holding the same or similar roles. Our pay bands reflect the broad range of skills and experience levels great candidates bring to us. When making individual pay decisions, we take into account the candidate's depth of relevant experience, their skills relative to the role, and their location.

About Nofence

Managing livestock has always been a challenge. Humanity has tried everything from herding with dogs to walling the animals in with barbed wire, electric, and wooden fences, but these are costly and time-consuming solutions and often in conflict with the local wildlife. It has also left vast areas of potential pasture overgrown and underutilized.

Enter virtual fences.

What started as a small group of farmers and engineers with a big idea has become Nofence - the world's first virtual fencing solution for livestock.

About the Application

Are you ready to change pasture? Just like the soil needs a balanced diversity of nutrients to thrive, a company needs a diversity of hearts and minds. We are an equal opportunity employer!

Please submit your application directly through this portal. In line with applicable data protection regulations and our data protection practices, we are unable to accept or process applications received by email. Applying through the portal also ensures your personal data is handled securely. We review applications on a rolling basis and look forward to hearing from you!