Lead HR Business Partner

Circle; United States; On-site; USD 173,000 - 223,000; Full time

Job summary

Circle is seeking a seasoned Lead HR Business Partner to guide global people strategy and organizational effectiveness at scale. You will partner with executive leaders to shape design, workforce planning, change management, and leadership development across a distributed workforce.

In this role you will drive data-driven engagement, implement AI-powered insights for retention and culture, evolve performance management, and establish scalable employee relations frameworks to mitigate risk while

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience as an HR Business Partner in global contexts.
• Experience in fast-paced, global, high-growth environments and navigating pivots.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior leadership to drive programs.

Responsibilities

• Partner with senior leaders to shape company-wide people strategies, including organizational design, workforce planning, change management, and team effectiveness.
• Lead data-driven engagement strategies, leveraging AI-powered insights to identify trends and improve retention and culture.
• Design and evolve performance management frameworks aligned to business outcomes, development, and leadership succession.
• Act as trusted advisor on complex employee relations, establishing scalable frameworks to mitigate risk and ensure equitable outcomes.
• Own workforce planning strategy and influence hiring and talent investment decisions at the executive level.
• Drive adoption of AI and automation across People practices to improve efficiency and decision-making.
• Coach and develop leaders to strengthen organizational effectiveness across teams.

Skills

Global HRBP

Employee relations

Organizational design

Performance management

Leadership coaching

Data-driven HR

Change management

Business acumen

Tools

G-Suite

Slack

MacOS

Job description

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through digital assets, payment applications, and programmable blockchain infrastructure. Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest regulated stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation. Learn more at circle.com.

What you’ll be part of:

Circle is committed to visibility and stability in everything we do. As we grow as an organization, we're expanding into some of the world's strongest jurisdictions. Speed and efficiency are motivators for our success and our employees live by our company values: High Integrity, Future Forward, Multistakeholder, Mindful, and Driven by Excellence. We have built a flexible work environment where new ideas are encouraged and everyone is a stakeholder.

What you'll be responsible for:

We are seeking an experienced, high-impact, and data-fluent Lead HR Business Partner to serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior and executive leaders, shaping organizational effectiveness, performance, and talent outcomes at scale. In this role, you will bring deep expertise and a people-forward approach to designing and evolving high-performing organizations, navigating complex and ambiguous challenges, and leading transformation across global, distributed teams. You will partner closely with senior leaders to build resilient, inclusive, and high-engagement cultures while developing forward-looking people strategies that connect directly to long-term business success.

What you'll work on:

• Partner with senior business leaders to own and shape company-wide people strategies, including organizational design, workforce planning, change management, and team effectiveness across multiple functions

• Lead and operationalize data-driven engagement strategies, leveraging AI-powered insights to proactively identify trends, build scalable solutions, and drive measurable improvements in retention and culture

• Design and evolve performance management frameworks toward continuous, feedback-driven models aligned to business outcomes, talent development, and succession planning for key contributors and leadership positions

• Act as a trusted advisor on complex and sensitive employee relations matters, establishing scalable frameworks that proactively mitigate risk and ensure consistent, equitable outcomes across the organization

• Own workforce planning strategy, using data and modeling tools to anticipate future organizational needs, identify capability gaps, and influence hiring and talent investment decisions at the executive level

• Drive adoption of AI and automation across People practices, improving operational efficiency, enabling predictive insights, and enhancing decision-making across the employee lifecycle

• Coach and develop leaders at all levels, building leadership capability, fostering high performance, and strengthening organizational effectiveness across teams and functions

What you’ll bring to Circle:

• 10+ years of experience as an HR Business Partner with global experience and understanding of additional countries outside of the US.

• Demonstrated Ability to work in fast-paced, global, and high-growth environments and navigate all the necessary pivots as part of this.

• Proven track record of developing trusted relationships at all levels of an organization, including senior leadership, to drive complex programs and influence critical decisions

• Deep expertise in employee relations, organizational design, performance management, and leadership coaching

• Proven ability to translate data and insights into strategic actions that drive measurable business and people outcomes

• Strong business acumen coupled with emotional intelligence - you understand the key drivers and dynamics of a high-growth business and can connect people strategy to broader company objectives

• Excellent decision-making skills with a strong sense of urgency; comfortable managing competing priorities with a focus on timely execution and follow-through

• Demonstrated comfort operating in ambiguity, with level-headed leadership under pressure and creative problem-solving abilities

• Experience leading complex, ambiguous initiatives with high autonomy and accountability

Preferred Requirements

• Experience leveraging AI tools for people analytics, engagement insights, or workforce planning

• Familiarity with HR systems and tools such as G-Suite, Slack, and MacOS environments

Circle is on a mission to create an inclusive financial future, with transparency at our core. We consider a wide variety of elements when crafting our compensation ranges and total compensation packages.

Starting pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to: relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.

Base Pay Range: $172,500 - $222,500

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, or any other protected status required by the laws in the locations where we hire. Additionally, Circle participates in the E-Verify Program in certain locations, as required by law.

Should you require accommodations or assistance in our interview process because of a disability, please reach out to [e-mail] for support. We respect your privacy and will connect with you separately from our interview process to accommodate your needs.