Head of Employee Relations & HR Compliance

An internationally recognized hospitality and entertainment brand is launching an ambitious U.S. expansion plan and seeking a Director of Human Resources to help build the people infrastructure that will support rapid growth. With hundreds of successful locations globally and a strong reputation for guest-focused service, this organization is bringing a fresh, inclusive, and community-driven concept to the American market.

This is a rare opportunity to join at the ground floor of a high-growth U.S. platform and shape the culture, compliance, and talent strategy from day one.

Position Overview The Director of Human Resources will serve as the senior HR leader for the U.S. business, partnering closely with executive leadership to establish scalable people systems, ensure legal compliance, and support multi-unit expansion. This individual will build foundational HR practices while also operating tactically in a startup environment.

The ideal candidate is both strategic and hands-on, with strong California labor law knowledge, hospitality or multi-unit experience, and the ability to create structure in a fast moving environment.

Human Resources functions including employee relations, compliance, recruiting support, onboarding, benefits, and performance management

Ensure compliance with federal, California, and local employment laws, wage/hour regulations, handbook policies, and required postings

Create and implement HR systems, SOPs, employee handbook, training programs, and scalable people processes

Partner with operations leadership to support hiring for current openings and future locations

Develop compensation structures, organizational planning, and performance review programs aligned with business growth

Lead employee relations matters with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment

Manage onboarding/offboarding processes and maintain HRIS / personnel documentation

Qualifications 7+ years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience

Experience in hospitality, restaurants, retail, entertainment, or multi-unit consumer-facing businesses strongly preferred

Proven success building HR infrastructure in growth-stage or startup environments

Experience supporting hourly and salaried workforces

High level of professionalism, discretion, and emotional intelligence

Passion for culture-building and people development

Why This Role Ground-floor leadership opportunity with a globally established brand entering the U.