Director of People Operations

Aarki; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is searching for a strategic Head of People Operations to lead their global HR function. This pivotal role is responsible for overseeing talent acquisition, employee engagement, and performance development across multiple regions. The ideal candidate will bring over 8 years of progressive HR experience, including leadership in high-growth environments. You will partner closely with the executive team to align people initiatives with business goals, ensuring a thriving workplace culture. If you are passionate about shaping organizational success through effective people strategies, this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in HR, with 2+ years in a leadership role.
• Strong experience with international HR operations and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead global People Operations and oversee HR strategy execution.
• Champion company culture and manage employee engagement programs.

Skills

Human Resources Management

Talent Acquisition

Employee Engagement

Performance Development

International Compliance

Communication Skills

Strategic Planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources

Master’s degree or HR certification

Tools

HRIS

ATS

Lattice

BambooHR

Job description

About Us

Aarki is an AI company that builds advertising solutions to drive mobile revenue growth. We use AI to find audiences in a privacy-first world using trillions of contextual bidding signals coupled with proprietary behavioral models. Our audience engagement platform includes a full-service agency team and a Unified Creative Strategy that delivers ad creative ideation and execution. We have worked with hundreds of advertisers over 14 years and see 5M mobile ad requests per second from over 10B devices, driving performance for publishers and brands. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with offices in the United States, EMEA, and APAC.

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly strategic and hands-on Head of People Operations to lead our global People function. This role will oversee all HR strategy and execution across regions - including talent acquisition, employee engagement, performance development, international compliance, and total rewards. This is a key leadership position reporting to the COO, with close partnership to the executive team. This is an in-office role based at our San Francisco, CA headquarters.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead the global People Operations function, setting strategy and building systems to support a distributed team across the US, EMEA, and APAC.
• Champion Aarki’s culture and values across every touchpoint of the employee experience—recruiting, onboarding, development, engagement, and offboarding.
• Partner with the executive team to align people initiatives with company goals, ensuring talent and culture support strategic growth.
• Own and evolve HR infrastructure, including tools (HRIS, ATS, Lattice), onboarding/offboarding processes, and people analytics.
• Manage employee engagement programs (pulse surveys, DEI, internal comms, recognition, events) to improve morale and retention.
  Oversee global compliance and risk management, including policy creation, labor law adherence, and visa/mobility processes.
• Design and manage total rewards programs in partnership with Finance, ensuring compensation and benefits are competitive and equitable across regions.
• Oversee global performance and development processes—career pathing, OKRs, 360s, and manager enablement.
  Act as a trusted advisor to leadership on HR matters including organizational design, workforce planning, employee relations, and succession planning.
• Lead and mentor a small but mighty HR team and manage third-party HR partners as needed.
  

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Human Resources, with at least 2 years in a Director or Head of People role.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field (Master’s degree or HR certification a plus).
• Strong experience with international HR operations, employment laws, and compliance.
• Proven ability to scale PeopleOps systems and processes in high-growth, fast-paced environments.
• Strategic operator who can build from scratch and also execute tactically.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence and engage C-level executives.
• Proficiency with HRIS and ATS platforms (e.g., BambooHR, Lattice, Greenhouse, BreezyHR).
• Experience in the technology, advertising, or mobile performance marketing industry preferred.
• High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.