Director of HR

Short Story; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity opportunities

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Short Story, a fast-growing, technology-powered retailer in San Francisco, seeks a strategic Director of HR to lead and scale the HR function across its SFHQ, South SF Fulfillment Center, and distributed stylist network.

Reporting to the CEO, you will own HR operations, programs, and policy development, partnering with the People Operations Manager and business leaders to move quickly while upholding high standards. This role is 100% onsite and requires deep California employment-law expertise.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of HR experience in complex environments.
• Track record heading up HR for hourly, distributed or multi-site workforce.
• In-depth knowledge of California employment law and compliance.
• Bilingual English & Spanish is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead health, compliance, performance infrastructure, and cultural alignment across HQ, fulfillment center, and stylist network.
• Develop scalable HR processes and standardize workflows to enable fast execution.
• Partner with People Operations and leadership to design workforce planning and talent development.

Skills

HR leadership

Multi-site workforce

California employment law

Bilingual EN/ES

On-site operations

Job description

Our Story:

Short Story is an award winning, technology powered retailer dedicated to petite women 5'4" and under. Our mission is to create a seamless shopping experience for millions of petite women so they can dress with effortless confidence.

As a fast-growing startup, we're revolutionizing retail with a data driven learning system that leverages customer feedback to create tailored products. We've been recognized by top publications like Forbes, Fortune and are backed by leading investors who share our vision of building the world's next great consumer brand.

Our Values:

We're building a company with intention and purpose. Our culture thrives on data insights, exceptional commitment to fit, and the urgency to move quickly on what matters.

• Transform Lives. We're customer-first. Everything we create exists to give her confidence.

• Demand Excellence. We deliver only our best work, in Fit and Finish. We obsess about details others overlook.

• Embrace Challenges. We see obstacles as opportunities to invent better solutions.

• Think Differently. We get a thrill from finding better solutions others haven't seen.

The Role

Startups win by having great people, clear standards, and repeatable infrastructure. We’re looking for a strategic, hands-on Director of HR to lead and scale our HR function across our San Francisco corporate headquarters, South SF Fulfillment Center, and distributed stylist network.

Reporting to the CEO, you'll be the accountable owner to lead the HR function with judgment and follow-through to run it independently. You’ll partner closely with our People Operations Manager and business leaders to strengthen the systems that help our teams move quickly, operate consistently, and uphold high standards. This is a high-trust, high-impact role for an HR operator who is equally comfortable advising leadership, building scalable processes, and spending time with frontline teams. As we grow, you’ll help architect and lead the next stage of our HR function.

What You’ll Do

You’ll own the health, compliance, performance infrastructure, and cultural alignment of three distinct branches, each with its own cadence and composition. Build simple, repeatable tools and routines that help managers handle performance, attendance, employee relations, documentation, and communication with consistency across functions:

1. Corporate HQ (Product, Engineering, Marketing, Finance)

• Strategic Partnership: Be a thought partner to the CEO and leadership team on organizational design, workforce planning, and talent development.

• Performance Systems: Build data-driven performance management, growth frameworks, and compensation benchmarking to retain top talent.

• Process & Alignment: Standardize HR workflows that keep corporate teams aligned and moving quickly.

2. Fulfillment Center Operations (South San Francisco)

• Oversee HR for the fulfillment team. Build and maintain strong HR practices for our hourly fulfillment workforce, from onboarding through day-to-day operations, using our existing HR and timekeeping systems.

• Labor & Capacity Planning: Partner with the Warehouse Manager and People Operations Manager to forecast headcount, plan labor, and coordinate high-volume front-line recruitment.

• Floor Presence: Regularly walk the floor, helping supervisors enforce rigorous standards in a culture of pride and urgency.

• Employee Relations: Lead clear and empathetic employee relations strategies, navigating difficult conversations with good judgment.

3. Styling (Distributed Stylist Network)

• Scaling: Evolve HR systems and processes for our distributed stylist network so they can support changing volume, team growth, and operational complexity.

• Retention and Engagement: Improve how we recruit, onboard, develop, communicate with, and retain stylists.

Minimum Qualifications

• This role is 100% onsite, at our South SF warehouse and HQ (about 20 minutes apart)

• A track record heading up HR for an hourly, distributed, or multi-site workforce. Retail, logistics, fulfillment, hospitality, or marketplace backgrounds map well.

• 8+ years of experience in HR.

• Experience managing across diverse, multi-location setups (e.g. logistics/fulfillment environments) is a major plus.

• Deep, current knowledge of California employment law, especially as it applies to hourly, onsite, and operational teams.

• Proven experience managing, developing, and holding HR team members accountable.

• Bilingual (English & Spanish) is a plus

What We’re Looking For

• Rigorous and Hands-On: You hold a high standard and don't bend on the things that matter. You make the hard call under pressure, and you back it up by getting into the work yourself rather than directing it from a distance.

• High Judgment and Ownership: High judgment, a strong bias for action, and an ownership mentality. You can prioritize well in a fast moving environment and make progress without waiting for perfect conditions.

• A Systems Thinker: You build for repeatability. You look at the systemic failure behind individual mistakes and design software or process-driven solutions to solve them.

• Obsession with Detail: An uncompromising commitment to quality, clear writing, and communication.

Why This Role

• We’re a profitable, fast-growing company with strong traction and a passionate customer base. We’ve reached meaningful scale, and the bigger opportunity is still ahead. You’ll help build it, not just maintain it.

• Join a mission‑driven company redefining fashion for millions of underserved women

• Competitive salary, meaningful equity, and comprehensive benefits

• You're not building from zero. We operate on modern HR stack.

• A culture of excellence, ownership, and thinking differently.

Short Story is committed to providing equal employment opportunity and a work environment free of discrimination and harassment for all employees and applicants. We work diligently to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics.