Director of Talent

About the Company

The hiring company is a contemporary hydration brand designed for everyday consumers rather than only athletes. Its ready-to-drink sports beverage is set for a nationwide launch in early 2026. The leadership team includes serial founders with experience behind one of the largest exits in recent consumer packaged goods history, supported by senior operators who have worked across Poppi, Vita Coco, Nutrabolt/C4, Health-Ade, Amplify, and Frito-Lay.

About the Role

This is a foundational people leadership role with no pre-existing playbook or legacy system to manage. As Director of Talent, you will be responsible for the full people agenda: hiring, culture, organizational design, compensation, performance management, and compliance. In the company’s early phase, you will also act as a close executive partner to the founders, handling scheduling, travel, board preparation, and correspondence. That administrative support scope is temporary and will taper off once a dedicated executive assistant is brought in, allowing you to focus fully on people strategy. The role offers the chance to establish the cultural, structural, and operational base for a brand that is being built to scale and win.

What You'll Do

• Create the talent function from the ground up and build a scalable recruiting system.
• Lead end-to-end hiring across corporate, commercial, field, and executive roles, using both direct sourcing and agency partners.
• Set sourcing strategy, interview design, and offer guidelines before growth outpaces the team’s infrastructure.
• Shape the organizational design by partnering with the founders to align hiring plans with business milestones and accountability needs.
• Embed culture into the employee journey, from hiring and onboarding through performance conversations and team rituals.
• Develop compensation benchmarking and total rewards practices using market data and equity/option comparisons.
• Choose, implement, and manage the HRIS and ATS stack, and create reporting that gives leadership clear visibility into headcount, cost, and employee health.
• Design onboarding programs that accelerate ramp-up and communicate expectations from day one.
• Build performance management and goal-setting processes suited to a lean, fast-moving organization.
• Lead inclusive hiring and DEI-focused sourcing practices that intentionally generate diverse candidate slates.
• Own and strengthen the employer brand story.
• Manage HR compliance, benefits administration, classification decisions, and multi-state employment considerations, escalating legal questions when appropriate.
• Support the founders with early-stage executive assistance tasks such as calendar management, travel coordination, board materials, investor communications, and project tracking until a dedicated EA is hired.
• Develop retention mechanisms by monitoring engagement, conducting stay conversations, and building career paths that retain high performers.
• Maintain monthly talent reporting, including open roles, time-to-fill, retention, and cost-per-hire, and use those insights to guide decisions.

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of progressive experience in talent and people leadership, including a minimum of 3 years in consumer goods, beverage, or consumer brand environments.
• Direct experience recruiting for both corporate and brand-side roles, with ownership of the full hiring lifecycle.
• Background in building or substantially rebuilding a people function rather than simply inheriting a mature one.
• Hands-on experience with HRIS and ATS platforms such as Rippling, Lattice, Greenhouse, or similar tools, including reporting setup.
• Strong capability in compensation benchmarking, total rewards design, and market-based offer decisions.
• Working understanding of multi-state employment law, benefits administration, and HR compliance.
• Experience in founder-led or early-stage companies where organizational design is a recurring strategic topic.
• High discretion when handling confidential and sensitive information.
• Comfort providing high-trust administrative support when needed, including calendars, travel, and correspondence.

Additional Requirements and Background

• Relevant exposure to beverage or better-for-you consumer packaged goods hiring across field sales and corporate functions, or experience scaling talent in a high-growth company recognized for strong talent density.
• Experience creating an employer brand without an existing template.
• Previous work as an executive assistant or chief of staff supporting founders or C-suite leaders.
• Familiarity with board or investor communication, quarterly business review preparation, or executive reporting.
• Understanding of equity, option grants, and compensation structures common in venture-backed startups.

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate is a builder who earns trust quickly, recruits with conviction, thrives in high-growth environments, and views culture as something to intentionally design. The role calls for humility, strong mission alignment, and the ability to operate with confidence and ownership.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary: $150,000 to $175,000 annually.
• Annual bonus: 15%, based on hiring milestones, retention, and people-related KPIs.
• Equity: meaningful ownership stake, with structure and vesting to be determined.
• Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, PTO, and a 401(k) plan.

Equal Opportunity

The employer states that it is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.