Founding People Partner Manager

Allocate; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

Vacation time (PTO)

Job summary

Allocate is seeking its first People Partner to design and lead our people and talent operations from 0-to-1. You will architect the roadmap for a holistic People function, spanning onboarding, development, rewards, and engagement, while connecting people initiatives to measurable business outcomes.

In this role, you’ll be a strategic thought partner and hands-on operator, partnering with managers to diagnose needs, implement scalable processes, and drive data-driven decisions that support

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive HR/People experience with 5+ years in People Ops Lead in a fast-paced startup.
• 3+ years as an HR Business Partner/People Partner.
• Experience building people programs and initiatives across the employee lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Define the roadmap for building the People and Talent organization from the ground up.
• Design and lead strategic people initiatives across onboarding, learning, rewards, and engagement.
• Translate metrics and feedback into insights to inform leaders on health, engagement, and retention.
• Architect and implement the HR tech stack (HRIS, ATS, performance, onboarding, compensation).
• Evaluate processes to automate and improve efficiency, data integrity, and self-service.
• Build scalable end-to-end processes for candidate experience, onboarding, and high performance teams.
• Work closely with managers as a trusted advisor on people issues and team effectiveness.

Skills

People ops leadership

HR systems

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Project management

Communication

Ambiguity handling

Tools

Ashby

TriNet

Rippling

CultureAmp

Lattice

Vanta

Job description

About Allocate.

Allocate is building the operating system for private markets — wealth advisors and their clients use the platform to access, transact in, and manage private market investments. The platform supports 350+ advisory firms and 1,500+ GP relationships, with $ 5B+ in assets on the platform.

The Role

Allocate is looking for its first people partner - someone who can help build our people and talent function from 0-to-1. You come ready to design and lead key people and talent operations processes, initiatives, and programs that support our team members throughout their entire journey at Allocate.

This role is ideal for candidates who thrive in ambiguity, enjoy systems thinking to solve operational and organizational challenges, and can connect people initiatives to measurable business outcomes You are both a strategic thought partner and a hands-on operator—equally comfortable creating a strategic plan and roadmap of how people initiatives support the business and rolling up your sleeves to follow through on the day-to-day tactical and operational work to support our employees and keep Allocate running smoothly.

What You’ll Do

• Help define the roadmap on how we build the People and Talent organization from the ground up that not only align to the top line business goals for the company, but also support our team members throughout their entire lifecycle at Allocate.

• Design and lead strategic people initiatives that support the major milestones throughout the employee lifecycle, including ongoing learning programs, rewards and recognition, talent planning, and engagement.

• Translate key metrics and team feedback into actionable insights and recommendations to inform leaders on the health of the organization, employee engagement, and retention strategies. You’ll also use the feedback and insights to iterate on people initiatives to better address the needs of our team members throughout their journey at Allocate as well as the needs of the business.

• Help architect and implement the HR tech stack and ecosystem cross talent and people operations, which includes HRIS, ATS, performance management tools, onboarding software, compensation, and benefits platform.

• Evaluate internal processes and workflows to identify opportunities to automate, improve operational efficiency, ensure data integrity, and enhance employee self-service that is scalable and supports Allocate’s continued growth across multiple geographies.

• Build repeatable, scalable processes and workflows that ensure a seamless, smooth, and exceptional team member experience throughout the full, end-to-end employee lifecycle - starting with talent operations to ensure a seamless candidate experience to new hire onboarding, orientation, and becoming a high performing team member.

• Work closely with managers as a trusted advisor on people issues, team effectiveness, and how to navigate and resolve issues with sound judgment and empathy. You’ll also help support our employees to resolve top of mind issues (such as leaves, benefits, etc.).

Who You Are

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive HR/People experience with at least 5+ years operating in dedicated People Ops Lead in a fast-paced, high growth startup environment and 3+ years as an HR Business Partner/People Partner.

• 0-to-1 Track Record: Proven track record of building both people and talent/recruiting operations processes and workflows from scratch. Experience designing, building, and leading people programs and initiatives throughout the entire employee lifecycle - especially onboarding/new hire initiatives, talent development, engagement, etc. during periods of significant growth. Proven ability to translate complex initiatives into clear narratives, priorities, and actionable next steps.

• HR Systems expertise: Deep familiarity with modern HR and Recruiting platforms and tools (e.g., Ashby, TriNet, Rippling, CultureAmp, Ashby, Complete, Lattice, Vanta, etc.). Experience leading an RFP for HRIS evaluations and HRIS implementation a plus.

• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives in fast-paced, high-growth environments: Demonstrated success partnering directly with managers and cross-functional stakeholders to diagnose team needs and converting those insights into company-wide people programs and initiatives.

• Strong project management, prioritization, and stakeholder management skills: Must have proven operational and organizational problem-solving capabilities with the ability to move from ambiguity to execution and follow through.

• Acting with agency, urgency, and sound judgment: Comfortable operating autonomously in ambiguous, high-paced environments where processes and best practices are still being established. You bring excellent judgment to your decision making and find the right balance in empathy, risk, and business needs in solutions.

• Outstanding communicator, both written and verbal communication skills. You are able to synthesize and simplify complex issues, communicate clearly, and adapt your communication style to the audience and situation at all levels of the organization.

Essential Values & Culture

• Providing our clients with a world-class experience is our number one priority. We obsessively search for ways to improve the experience for our clients and partners. This requires extraordinary response times, proactivity, and ensuring that everything we do — from product strategy to offline communications — reflects a top-tier client experience.

• Challenge convention: Instead of detailing all the reasons why an idea may not work, we constantly question things to determine how a viable idea may be put into motion.

• Commitment to continuous improvement: We find ways to personally scale each day by pushing ourselves up the learning curve.

• Meritocracy, not politics: We place the utmost value on results and rewards through merit, not reward actions driven by political agendas or behavior.

• Civil Discourse is embraced: We believe open, intellectually curious conversations are required to consistently arrive at the best decisions. Respect is paramount in our dealings with one another, but our mission is always to get the right answer collectively, not to be right.

• Embrace technological change: We adopt tools and techniques that make us faster, smarter, and better. We stay open to innovation, especially around AI and automation, and drop outdated methods without hesitation. This includes actively integrating AI-assisted tools into your daily workflow and staying current as the landscape evolves. Complacency kills progress — we value adaptability and curiosity.

Additional Details

• Hybrid Onsite in either the Palo Alto, CA

• Travel may be required for company offsites

• Broadband internet connection required

• Location: All I-9 eligible candidates will be considered

• Salary: $160,000 - $190,000 base, with bonus and equity eligibility

• Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision; 401(k); and responsible vacation time (PTO)

• Employment: Full-time

The base pay offered will be determined based on the candidate's experience, location, skills, training, certifications, education, internal equity, and market data. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. We do not anticipate that candidates hired will begin at the top of the range, though this may occur on a case-by-case basis.