People Ops/HR Specialist

About Bloom

Our mission is to advance access and equity through human-centered services. We partner with governments and like-minded organizations to design and build digital services that improve people’s lives. We help our partners build internal, sustainable capacity to transform how they do business.   

We partner with state, local, and federal governments, nonprofit organizations, and other companies delivering critical services to help research and design how to improve technology improvements. Current projects include: reforming government hiring processes, empowering internal teams to diagnose and respond to agency challenges, better unemployment service delivery, improving access to behavioral health services, and improving services for youth in foster care…just to name a few.

We’re a fully remote team, and we’re deliberate about building a team culture in a distributed context. We also place a lot of value in in-person meet ups — to conduct research, collaborate with partners, and meet others on the team.

You will be instrumental in helping to align our people strategy with our organizational goals. An ideal candidate has experience in an agency or consultancy, a solid background in HR, and an understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within a project-based environment. Reporting to the Director of People Operations, you will engage with all of Bloom’s stakeholders (managers, ICs, contractors, and vendors) and provide them with high quality HR services.

In this role, you will play a crucial part in:

• Creating and sending offer letters/contracts to new employees and new/existing contractors, as appropriate.
• Helping to onboard new team members (employees and contractors) to Bloom
• Developing, planning, strategizing, and communicating Bloom’s People Ops related programming (this includes training and skill development plans and company offsites)
• Provide empathetic and knowledgeable support to Bloom’s employees and contractors, as necessary
• Supporting and maintaining values across the organization, including continuous effort to make Bloom a more nourishing environment 

The primary areas this role will engage are:

• Hiring and onboarding
• People management operations and strategy
• Benefits administration and employee assistance

Hiring and onboarding

Bloom’s hiring/onboarding infrastructure needs thought, attention, and realignment. While processes and candidate interactions are thoughtful and kind, it has been difficult to ensure consistency as we scale without a more defined process. Also, many critical team members are contractors, and their experience joining and working with Bloom deserves additional care and attention. 

This role will: 

• Manage individual role hiring processes (this does not include all candidate correspondence or scheduling, but it does include setting a consistent process for  hiring managers to follow, and guiding them through it).  Run or participate in interviews and support the creation of interview training materials.
• Assist with developing, creating, and improving an onboarding process for Bloom’s employees and contractors, and collaborate with leadership to determine how best to distribute future onboarding activities
• Onboard contractors and new hires, ensuring they have the the context and tools they need to be successful
• Assist with retrospectives after each hiring process, incorporate lessons learned, and gather feedback on the onboarding experience, with an eye toward improving the process
• Update and manage the iteration of policies and the documentation of practices in an accessible handbook
• Collaborate closely with Bloom leadership and team members to continuously prioritize diversity, increased equity, and an inclusive culture for employees. (Note: this is not a standalone DEI role; we know that work must be jointly owned and prioritized by all levels of Bloom.)
• Assist with the documentation of team norms so that Bloom’s values can be translated into repeatable practices for how we work together
• Configure and manage the tools (e.g. Harvest, Gusto, Greenhouse) and processes needed to ensure seamless hiring, onboarding, and offboarding

People management operations and strategy

This role will:

• Assist with the management and improvement of professional development programming and the utilization of available resources. Assist with piloting new programs as needs emerge
• Maintain an accurate database of our invaluable contractor team, documenting their skills and how best to support them
• Assist with managing Bloom programming - this includes monthly project share outs, social team events, workshops and trainings, and guest speakers, round table conversations, and getting and incorporating feedback from the team
• Configure and manage the tools and documentation that support people operations, including managing the org chart, maintaining an updated roster, and tracking professional development budgets
• Collaborate closely with Business/Finance Operations to provide seamless support for Bloomers and delivery on our projects

This role will also support existing efforts including:

• Provide exceptional customer service with regard to assisting employees with benefits related questions and/or issues
• Assist the Director of People Ops with setting up a new HRIS/Benefits administration platform (either PEO or Broker led) and assist with the maintenance and management of that platform
• Plan (with assistance) and run our annual retreat programming, goals, and planning
• Run payroll and manage reimbursement processing

Essential knowledge and skills

• Strong ethos for values-driven team building and deep understanding of DEI principles and practices.
• Gumption/curiosity for learning and navigating SAAS tools that relate to this role (Harvest, 15Five, Greenhouse, Airtable, etc) 
• Ability to build processes and systems that strengthen communication and culture
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities
• Ability to manage up, down, and across the organization.
• Superior interpersonal skills including courtesy, professionalism, and a cooperative attitude. Ability to manage challenging interpersonal situations, including employee and client relationships.
• Comfortable managing multiple projects, programs, and priorities at the same time, and openly communicating about capacity, priorities, and needs.
• An understanding of the importance of continuous learning, self-awareness, owning mistakes and continuous improvement. This includes being able to monitor the efficacy of actions and processes, and adapt future efforts to better meet outcomes.

Salary: 

$80-100k, depending on experience.

We’re excited about you because you have/are…

• Experience as a Specialist-level (or equivalent) managing day-to-day People Ops or HR teams, with appropriate progressive advancement
• Experience working with all aspects of people operations (or HR), including compensation and benefits, employee relations, retention, and workplace experience in a remote-only culture.
• Experience working with people analytics software to assist with providing insight into team and individual performance
• Experience working with distributed teams
• Experience with supporting DEIA efforts
• Verbal and written communication skills, including conversational, facilitation, and presentation skills
• Interpersonal and conflict resolution skills
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Able to prioritize tasks and to delegate, or ask for assistance, when appropriate
• Able to act with integrity and confidentiality
• Knowledge of employment-related laws and regulations
• Experience in both start-up and mid-sized organizations, with a demonstrated ability to successfully navigate and manage transitions as organizations scale from start-up to mid-size.
• Civic/public interest tech experience is a bonus

Benefits 

• An environment that empowers you to apply your skills and experience for the public good
• Remote-friendly work environment
• Health and wellness benefits (covered at 90% for employees and 50% for dependents) include:
• Medical
• Dental & vision
• Life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability 
• Equitable 401k contributions
• PTO, floating holidays, sick leave as well as a week off in the summer and closure at the end of December 
• Tech equipment stipend
• Professional Development stipend
• Annual 3k Cost of Living Adjustment

More about our team & our commitment to DEIA

We envision a world that is made more equitable through better digital public services. Our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibilty (DEIA) is woven into everything we do, from our company’s strategy to the makeup of our team, to the work we take on. As a public interest technology company, we see diversity and equity-building as integral to both our mission and our research practices. 

We are committed to disrupting power dynamics and equity barriers in our work. We recruit employees and partners who reflect the demographics of targeted end users, and we analyze, test, and iterate to make sure everyone can easily access and use the digital tools we build. As a public benefit company, we are compelled to generate social and public good, and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. 

If you thrive in a dynamic, mission-driven environment and are ready to make a lasting impact, we’d love to hear from you!