Works closely with: Hiring managers and functional leads, Finance/Controller, and outsourced HR partner
Geographic scope: US primary; coordinate with Guangzhou HR/admin and PH ops as needed, without owning day-to-day there
ABOUT WARREN JAMES
Warren James is a leading creator commerce company that builds premium product lines for top digital creators. We partner with talent to launch brands that go well beyond traditional merch, with strong capabilities across design, product development, DTC, and retail. We are 80+ people worldwide across the US, Guangzhou, and Manila.
We are at an inflection point. The business is strong and the team is real, but how we hire, develop, and operate still runs too much on founder attention, manager instinct, and patchwork support. That worked to get us here. It won't get us to the next stage.
This role is a builder seat, and an honest one. It is hands-on, day-in-day-out work, at senior-manager comp. If you want the leverage of running People for a global creator-commerce business, and being the person who sets how we hire for the next three years, this is it.
THE ROLE
We're hiring a hands-on Head of People to lead hiring and build the people infrastructure Warren James needs for the next stage.
You will personally run critical searches and raise the quality bar on every hire we make. From there the role broadens: onboarding that actually lands, HR ops that don't leak, a performance rhythm managers can run, compensation design that holds up as we grow, and compliance that stays quiet. You'll coordinate across the US, Guangzhou, and Manila, and work alongside our outsourced HR partner. This is not a seat for someone who wants a team on day one.
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
1) Talent Acquisition and Hiring Effectiveness
Build a repeatable hiring system. Personally run the searches that matter.
• Role scorecards (success outcomes, core competencies, dealbreakers) written before the loop starts
• Structured interview loops, rubrics, and work samples for every critical role
• Reference checks and decision docs treated as real artifacts, not formalities
• Time-to-fill and quality-of-hire moving in the right direction, with managers calibrated to a shared rubric
2) Workforce Infrastructure and Core HR Ops
The basics, run cleanly.
• Onboarding and offboarding owned end-to-end: new hires ramp fast, departures close properly
• HRIS and operating rhythm maintained without drama
• Payroll and benefits reconciled with Finance, no dropped handoffs
• Employee lifecycle changes organized, accurate, and on time
3) Performance and Accountability Systems
A lightweight process managers will actually use.
• 30/60/90 plans and early checkpoints that stick
• Simple, consistent performance documentation and coaching
• Leaders coached through hard conversations and real underperformance cases
4) Compensation Design
Comp that scales with the business, defensible to candidates and to leadership.
• Leveling and bands built and maintained across functions and geographies
• Offer strategy and counteroffer decisions calibrated, not one-off improvisation
• Annual comp cycle run cleanly, with clear rationale managers can defend
5) Risk Management and Compliance Hygiene
Pragmatic protection, no theater.
• Handbook, policies, and documentation kept current and usable
• Worker classification held correctly across employees and contractors
• Separations handled with dignity, and with a clean paper trail
6) Engagement and Culture Stability
Culture reinforced through hiring, coaching, and catching issues early.
• Culture Index used to sharpen hiring signal and manager alignment
• Issues spotted early through manager check-ins and lightweight pulse methods
• Company stays aligned and stable, without process bloat
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Within 90 days
• Hiring system in flight for every critical open role: scorecards, loops, work samples, reference process
• Managers calibrated on a shared rubric and making cleaner decisions
• Onboarding and offboarding checklists clean and in daily use
Within 6 to 12 months
• Measurable quality-of-hire signal at 90 days
• Critical roles filled faster, without cutting corners
• Less leadership thrash around hiring and employee-relations cleanup
• Compensation bands documented and managers making offers against them
• Compliance posture quiet, organized, and free of surprises
• CEO trusts the hiring process enough to stop being the de-facto recruiter
WHO YOU ARE
• 5 to 8 years across People Ops, HR, recruiting, and performance management
• You have built hiring systems from scratch, not just run the ones you inherited
• You have closed critical leadership hires, and can explain exactly how
• You have written performance frameworks that held up under pressure
• You have handled hard people conversations without outsourcing them
• You have lived inside a small, fast company, and know what that rhythm demands
• You have the judgment to push back on founders when they are wrong, with care
• You write clearly, think in systems, and default to documentation
• You are low ego, high ownership, and allergic to performative HR
STRONGLY PREFERRED
• Experience in a creator, media, talent, or entertainment environment
• Experience supporting remote-first teams that still operate with urgency
• Exposure to compensation design, including leveling, bands, and annual cycles
• Experience being the first or second People hire at a growth-stage company
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
• Base salary range: $85,000-110,000 depending on experience
• Performance bonus
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Remote-first, with periodic team offsites
HOW WE WILL HIRE FOR THIS ROLE
1) Intro call with the CEO
2) Structured working session on your hiring approach and a recent people decision
3) Meet two leaders whose teams you would support most
4) References, including at least one person you have coached or managed out
We aim to close the loop within four weeks of the first screen.
HOW TO APPLY
Apply via LinkedIn Easy Apply
Complete the required Google Form (link: https://forms.gle/B2EHDPEirnX7xzqe7)
The Google Form includes:
Short written responses to key questions
The Culture Index survey
Applicants who do not complete the Google Form and Culture Index survey (embedded in the Google Form) will not be moved forward.
Seniority level
Director
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
Human Resources
Industries
Retail Apparel and Fashion
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