Senior People Consultant

Okta; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 148,000 - 204,000; Full time

Job summary

Okta is recruiting a Senior People Consultant to lead the team’s most complex advisory cases, delivering advanced coaching on leadership and people-management for managers and senior leaders.

You will elevate team effectiveness, develop reusable guidance, and align cases with AI-enabled support, with escalation to ER&C or regional specialists as needed. This role emphasizes judgment, collaboration, and scalable coaching within a dynamic AI-first environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant experience in HR, HRBP, employee relations, or related advisory roles.
• Ability to independently lead and resolve highly complex advisory cases requiring judgment and problem-solving.
• Proven experience advising senior leaders on sensitive leadership and organizational challenges.
• Exceptional coaching, communication, influencing, and conflict resolution skills.
• Understanding of leadership effectiveness, organizational dynamics, and escalation practices.
• Experience developing colleagues through peer coaching and knowledge sharing.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced coaching to managers and senior leaders on leadership effectiveness, employee development, team dynamics, organizational change, and complex performance challenges.
• Lead the assessment and resolution of highly ambiguous or sensitive cases by diagnosing root causes and advising on decisions balancing priorities, experience, and risk.
• Guide leaders through entrenched resistance, difficult conversations, and high-impact decisions while reinforcing accountability for outcomes.
• Exercise advanced judgment within established decision rights, ensuring escalation to ER&C or regional specialists when needed.
• Strengthen team capability through peer coaching, complex case reviews, and reusable frameworks.
• Analyze recurring case patterns and AI-supported interactions to identify systemic issues and opportunities to improve AI resources and workflows.

Skills

Leadership coaching

HR Business Partnering

Organizational development

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Job description

Secure Every Identity, from AI to Human
Identity is the key to unlocking the potential of AI. Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era. This work requires a relentless drive to solve complex challenges with real-world stakes. We are looking for builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence.

Secure Every Identity, from AI to Human
Identity is the key to unlocking the potential of AI. Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era. This work requires a relentless drive to solve complex challenges with real-world stakes. We are looking for builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence.
This is an opportunity to do career-defining work. We're all in on this mission. If you are too, let's talk.

At Okta, the Manager Success team helps managers lead effective teams through an AI-first support model that combines digital coaching and self-service resources with experienced human advisory. AI-powered guidance serves as the first point of support for everyday leadership and people-management questions, while People Consultants provide individualized coaching and problem-solving when situations require deeper diagnosis, judgment, or expertise beyond standard resources. The team partners with AI resource teams, Enablement, and regional specialists to strengthen manager capabilities and continuously improve the support experience.

Role

The Senior People Consultant leads the team's most complex and ambiguous advisory cases, providing advanced coaching and trusted counsel on sensitive leadership, performance, and organizational challenges. Applying deep consulting expertise and sound judgment, this role navigates competing perspectives, entrenched behavioral issues, and complex team dynamics where standard approaches are insufficient. Beyond individual case ownership, you will elevate the team's effectiveness through peer coaching, complex case reviews, reusable guidance frameworks, and insights that improve AI-enabled support, strengthen decision-making, and address recurring organizational challenges.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced coaching to managers and senior leaders on leadership effectiveness, employee development, team dynamics, organizational change, and complex performance challenges.
• Lead the assessment and resolution of highly ambiguous or sensitive cases by diagnosing root causes, evaluating competing perspectives, and advising on decisions that balance business priorities, employee experience, and organizational risk.
• Guide leaders through entrenched resistance, difficult conversations, and high-impact decisions while reinforcing accountability for outcomes and sustainable solutions.
• Exercise advanced judgment within established decision rights, identifying risks and ensuring sensitive, high-impact, or jurisdictionally complex matters follow appropriate escalation pathways to Employee Relations & Compliance (ER&C), Employment Legal, Strategic PBPs, Labor Relations, or regional specialists.
• Strengthen team capability through peer coaching, complex case reviews, and reusable frameworks that improve diagnostic skills, case strategy, and escalation judgment.
• Analyze recurring case patterns and AI-supported interactions to identify systemic issues, gaps in guidance, and opportunities to improve AI resources, workflows, knowledge content, and decision guardrails in partnership with Enablement and technology teams.

Requirements

• 8+ years of relevant professional experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or 6+ years with a Master’s degree, in Human Resources, HR Business Partnering, Employee Relations, management consulting, leadership coaching, organizational development, or a related advisory discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead and resolve highly complex, ambiguous advisory cases requiring advanced judgment, structured problem-solving, and cross-functional coordination.
• Proven experience advising senior leaders on sensitive leadership, performance, team effectiveness, and organizational challenges.
• Exceptional coaching, communication, influencing, and conflict resolution skills, including the ability to challenge assumptions, navigate competing perspectives, and guide leaders through difficult decisions.
• Deep understanding of leadership effectiveness, organizational dynamics, performance management, conflict resolution, risk assessment, and appropriate escalation practices.
• Demonstrated ability to develop colleagues through peer coaching, case consultation, knowledge sharing, or reusable advisory frameworks.
• Experience evaluating or improving AI-enabled workflows, automated guidance, knowledge resources, or digital service capabilities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of manager support.

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The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay area is between: : $148,000 USD - $203,500 USD

Below is the annual base salary range for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington. Your actual base salary will depend on factors such as your skills, qualifications, experience, and work location. In addition, Okta offers equity (where applicable), bonus, and benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), flexible spending account, and paid leave (including PTO and parental leave) in accordance with our applicable plans and policies. To learn more about our Total Rewards program please visit: https://rewards.okta.com/us.

The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Washington is between:: $132,000 USD - $181,500 USD

The Okta Experience

• Driving Social Impact
• Developing Talent and Fostering Connection + Community

We are intentional about connection. Our global community, spanning over 20 offices worldwide, is united by a drive to innovate. Your journey begins with an immersive, in-person onboarding experience designed to accelerate your impact and connect you to our mission and team from day one.
Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws.
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