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Director, People Operations and Culture

Kiva Confections· Kiva Brands – Human Resources
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Hybrid (Alameda, CA), Hybrid (Bay Area, CA)$167k - $185kFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Director of People Operations & Culture serves as the head of HR for all Kiva companies, setting strategic direction and operational foundation for attracting, developing, supporting, and retaining people across multiple entities and states in a highly regulated industry. Leads Talent Acquisition, HR Operations, Employee Relations, Performance Management, Total Rewards, Payroll & Benefits, Workers’ Compensation, Compliance, and Culture. Hybrid in Alameda, CA; must reside near the Bay Area.

Responsibilities

  • Set and execute the enterprise-wide People Operations strategy aligned with business goals and growth plans.
  • Build scalable people processes for a multi-entity, multi-state organization in a regulated industry.
  • Lead people workstream in acquisitions, integrations, and organizational restructuring, including diligence, transition planning, and post-close harmonization of pay, benefits, and policy.
  • Serve as the senior People Operations leader across all Kiva companies ensuring alignment and consistency.
  • Lead, develop, and mentor the People Operations team with clear priorities and standards.
  • Foster cross-functional collaboration between People Operations, Finance, Legal, Operations, and business leaders.
  • Establish operating rhythms, metrics, and reporting for people performance and risks.
  • Own full-cycle talent acquisition, including sourcing strategy, hiring process, candidate experience, time-to-fill, and quality of hire.
  • Lead workforce planning with Finance and leaders including headcount forecasting and requisition governance.
  • Own onboarding end-to-end (I-9 compliance, new hire docs, first-year integration).
  • Design and continuously improve performance management program (goals, reviews, calibration).
  • Own engagement listening strategy (survey design, results analysis, manager action planning).
  • Lead talent review and succession planning; build development and internal mobility paths.
  • Strengthen manager capability with guidance, tools, and training.
  • Provide strategic oversight of employee relations, investigations, and conflict resolution.
  • Oversee workplace investigations and escalation to Legal for harassment, discrimination, retaliation, etc.
  • Identify recurring themes and drive proactive solutions; oversee separations and RIFs with Legal.
  • Own compensation strategy, job architecture, leveling, salary structures, and market benchmarking; ensure pay equity and compliance.
  • Ensure accurate payroll processing across entities and states; oversee benefits strategy and administration.
  • Own workers' compensation program, ADA/FEHA accommodations, and leave programs (FMLA, CFRA, PDL, SDI, PFL, etc.).
  • Partner with EHS on claim strategy, return-to-work, and prevention.
  • Ensure compliance with employment laws across states; manage regulatory filings (California pay data reporting, EEO-1).
  • Maintain audited, compliant employment infrastructure as new jurisdictions are entered.
  • Maintain audit-ready HR documentation and mitigate people-related risks.
  • Ensure HRIS data integrity, system optimization, automation, and reporting on turnover, retention, headcount, and cost of workforce.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; SHRM-SCP or SPHR strongly preferred.
  • 8+ years of progressive experience in Human Resources or People Operations, including team leadership.
  • Experience leading People Operations in multi-entity, distributed, multi-state workforce; experience entering new states and managing registrations and jurisdiction-specific requirements.
  • Strong background in employee relations, compliance, total rewards, and HR operations.
  • Experience owning a talent acquisition function and building compensation structures.
  • Experience partnering with executive leadership.
  • Experience with mergers, acquisitions, or integrations (strongly preferred).
  • Cannabis, food & beverage, CPG, or other regulated manufacturing experience preferred.
  • Exceptional communication and influencing skills at all levels.
  • Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Kiva Confections

Enjoy the World’s Finest Cannabis Edibles

Kiva’s weed edibles use natural ingredients and precise THC, CBD, & CBN dosing in a delicious variety of marijuana gummies, mints, bites, chews and chocolates.

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