Everyone is welcome at Handshake. We know diverse teams build better products and we are committed to creating an inclusive culture built on a foundation of respect for all individuals. We strongly encourage candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, historically marginalized or underrepresented groups to apply.

Your Impact:

We are looking for a leader to develop and drive our talent management, culture, and employee experience strategies. This role will be responsible for designing and implementing programs that embed cultural principles into our ways of working, align performance management with our overall goals, enhance employee engagement and retention, and maximize the value of a hybrid working model. You will be a significant member of the People Leadership team, reporting directly to the VP of People to set strategy and goals to support our Handshakers and the business.

Your Role:

• Develop a company-wide talent management, culture and employee experience strategy in partnership with executive leadership.

• Build and refine performance management frameworks that drive accountability and link performance to compensation and career development.

• Drive consistency in talent evaluation across the entire employee lifecycle (i.e. hiring, performance, progression, etc.).

• Drive the evolution of our company principles, making them digestible and a true differentiator of our culture, while embedding them into the fabric of how we operate.

• Lead employee engagement and retention strategies by leveraging data-driven insights to shape programs that enhance culture and employee experience.

• Own the design and execution of strategies to maximize the value of a hybrid working model, balancing business needs with employee engagement and productivity.

• Partner with HR Business Partners (HRBPs) to align talent initiatives with business priorities.

• Partner with People Analytics to establish metrics to assess the effectiveness of talent programs and drive continuous improvement.

• Provide thought leadership and best practices on talent management, manager enablement, and workforce planning.

Your Experience:

• 12+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 5+ years in a strategic leadership capacity.

• Proven ability to set strategy, build tactical execution plans, and deliver measurable results.

• Systems thinker who can take a structured approach to planning and recognize patterns across HR disciplines and business needs.

• You thrive on innovation and tailoring solutions to the unique needs of a company.

• Experience and passion for building and managing small, high-performing teams.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven approach to decision-making.

• Expertise in change management, with the ability to drive transformation with transparency.

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias for action and adaptability to navigate ambiguity.

*Must be willing to work a hybrid schedule from our SF office - Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday*

Compensation Range

• $228,000-$285,000 + RSUs

For cash compensation, we set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including geographic location as well as candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

About us

Handshake is the career platform for Gen Z. With a community of over 17 million students, alumni, employers, and career educators, Handshake’s network is where career advice and discovery turn into first, second, and third jobs. Nearly 1 million companies use Handshake to build their future workforce—from Fortune 500 to federal agencies, school districts to startups, healthcare systems to small businesses. Handshake is built for where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

When it comes to our workforce strategy, we’ve thought deeply about how work-life should look at Handshake. With our hybrid-work model, employees benefit from collaboration and shared team experiences three days per week in our vibrant offices, and enjoy the flexibility of remote work two days per week. Handshake is headquartered in Sa