Principal HR Consultant (HR Consultancy Firm) - Atlanta, GA

The Wilkinson Firm (TWF) is an enterprise workforce strategy and solutions company with two divisions: HR Advisory (behavioral health and HHS focus) and Hospitality Staffing. Headquartered in NC and Atlanta, Georgia, respectively. Three active staffing contracts today; the next 24 months are about scaling the HR Advisory practice serving behavioral health and HHS clients.

What\'s already built

Three active staffing contracts in delivery. Two division sites live (hr.thewilkinsonfirm.com, hospitality.thewilkinsonfirm.com). MBE-certified, SAM.gov-registered, Hartford-insured. TWF Team Portal in production.

16+ trademarked frameworks: The Workup (8-dimension diagnostic), PlacementCare (18-month placement guarantee, monitored by the Workforce Emotional Index), SCAN. BUILD. STAY. (operating system), the Earned Equity Ladder, and our six TWF Signature Programs: Compliance Confidence, Foundation First, Retention Reset, Talent Magnet, Leadership Launchpad, Multi-State Mastery.

The bench: former EEOC Administrative Law Judge, employment attorneys (JD, MBA), clinical advisors (LCMHCS, LCMHC, former UnitedHealth Group), PHR-certified Managing Partner, 32-year enterprise operations specialist. 47 combined years HHS experience. 150+ organizations served across 12 states.

You're betting on practice expansion. The frameworks, IP, and bench are already built.

About this role

You\'ll deliver TWF\'s Signature Programs to behavioral health and HHS client organizations. The frameworks are documented and field-tested. The clients are warm and converting. The senior delivery hands haven\'t been hired yet. You\'re it. You\'ll lead Workup engagements, run Compliance Confidence audits, architect Foundation First implementations, and build the delivery muscle that turns signed contracts into client outcomes worth referring.

TWF is mission-led and builder-grade. This is a senior delivery seat with a partner path. Base pay is contribution-based, not entitlement-based, and grows as the practice grows. The real long-term play is equity ownership in the HR Advisory division you helped scale. If you want a paycheck without a stake in the outcome, you\'ll be miserable here. If you want to own what you build, you\'ll thrive.

The pay and partner upside

• Base: $3,000 to $5,000/month during first 90 days, scales with engagement volume
• Per-engagement bonuses: $2,500 per completed Workup, $5,000 per signed PlacementCare delivery, $2,000 per Signature Program delivered
• Y1 OTE at target performance: $80,000 to $150,000
• Equity: Earned Equity Ladder Tier 2 (1-3%) at month 6 if 5-gate evaluation met. Tier 3 (3-8%) at month 18 with sustained delivery quality + practice ownership. 4-year vest, 1-year cliff.
• The math: 8-12 Workup engagements + 4-6 Signature Program deliveries in Y1 puts you in the middle of the OTE range with Tier 2 equity by month 6. Top-quartile performance unlocks Tier 3 by month 18.

What this is and isn\'t

This is: senior delivery-grade work, frameworks already documented, clients already warm, founder-led ramp, partner path through delivery excellence.

This isn\'t: business development (separate AE handles closing), entry-level HR work, generic HR consulting (we serve HHS exclusively), a 9-to-5 with predictable scope.

What you\'ll do

• Deliver The Workup (8-dimension workforce diagnostic) to client organizations
• Architect and implement Compliance Confidence audits and Foundation First infrastructure builds
• Run Retention Reset, Talent Magnet, and Leadership Launchpad engagements
• Manage PlacementCare delivery with the 18-month guarantee + Workforce Emotional Index checkpoints
• Document delivery learnings to refine the frameworks across the practice
• Train and mentor the delivery team as the practice grows

What success looks like

• Day 30: first two Workup engagements delivered, framework adoption documented
• Day 60: first Signature Program delivered to a client, retention metrics improved
• Day 90: 4-6 active delivery engagements, client satisfaction at 100%
• Day 180: Tier 2 equity grant landed, delivery framework refinements integrated
• Day 365: Practice grown to 10-15 active client engagements, Tier 3 equity progression on the table

Who you are

• 5-10 years in HR consulting, HR leadership, or HHS operations
• Familiar with CARF, Joint Commission, state behavioral health regulatory environments
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or PHR credentialed
• Clinical or HHS-adjacent operational background a major plus
• Comfortable with senior client-facing delivery (you can sit with an Executive Director and earn trust in 20 minutes)
• Self-directed, framework-fluent, eager to refine and improve documented IP
• Eastern Time work hours
• Located in a market with HHS density (Southeast preferred), or remote with quarterly travel

Bonus points

• Former HR Director or CHRO at a behavioral health, IDD, foster care, or community health organization
• Existing relationships with NABH, ABHW, NCCBH, or state-level behavioral health associations
• Prior experience delivering HR transformation engagements at a consulting firm
• Published HR thought leadership in HHS contexts

What we believe

Trust before revenue. Mission before money. We treat every clinical executive like a peer. We build durable HR infrastructure, not generic playbooks. We pay people in real upside, not in pizza parties.

Application Tips

1. Visit hr.thewilkinsonfirm.com. Five minutes. Understand the practice and its frameworks.
2. Find The Wilkinson Firm on LinkedIn. Look around at our social media presence.
3. In your cover note, tell us one thing: which TWF Signature Program aligns most with your background, and why you\'d be excited to deliver it.

What to expect from us

• Reply within 48 hours of application
• First-round screen within 7 days
• Full process: 3 weeks
• We tell you yes or no. We do not ghost.