People Partner

 

About Us

Circle is building the world’s leading all-in-one platform for online communities. We make it possible for creators, coaches, educators, and businesses to bring together their audience with engaging discussions, live streams, events, chat, courses, and payments — all in one place, all under their own brand.

We’re proud to be a fully remote company of around 200 (and growing!) team members from 30+ countries around the world. We seek exceptional individuals around the world, set them up to do the best work of their lives, and in turn, create a meaningful impact in their own lives. We don't track hours, but we do manage for high expectations very closely. We collaborate across time zones, are highly async, and like to document a lot.

Twice a year, we bring the whole company together in beautiful places around the world for our company offsites. So far, we’ve hosted offsites in Turkey, Portugal, Mexico, Thailand, Colombia, Italy, Ireland, and more, with still more to come!

Check out our Careers page for more about working at Circle.

 

About the role

As a People Partner at Circle, you will play a hands-on and increasingly strategic role in supporting our R&D functions (Engineering and Design) as the company continues to scale. Reporting into the Head of People and working directly with a People Partner (GTM) counterpart, this role serves as a critical bridge between People Operations and business leadership — translating people strategy into practical, day-to-day support for managers and teams.

This role is designed for someone with a strong People Ops or Generalist foundation into a true people partnership. You’ll support managers through performance, engagement, and employee relations needs while building the business acumen, judgment, and influence required to operate as a trusted advisor. You’ll be deeply involved in execution while gradually expanding into more strategic ownership over people initiatives and insights.

The People Partner role is highly collaborative and high trust. You’ll work closely with People Ops, Finance, Legal, and all R&D teams to ensure consistent, compliant, and thoughtful people practices — while exercising discretion and empathy across sensitive employee matters.

How we think about People Ops at Circle

At Circle, People Partners help leaders do their best work by ensuring teams are supported, engaged, and set up to perform well — especially during periods of growth and change.

Our approach is grounded in:

• Care and trust: Employees are not just headcount; they’re people.
• Judgment over process: We build structure where it adds value, not friction.
• Data-informed, human-centered decisions: Trends and insights guide action, but empathy drives execution.

This role reflects the evolution of our People function — shifting from primarily operational execution to strategic partnership with leaders, while remaining close enough to the work to understand what teams actually need.

What you’ll be doing

People Partnership & Manager Support

• Act as a People Partner for R&D leaders and managers, with a strong focus on supporting new and developing managers
• Provide guidance on performance management, feedback, development conversations, and team health
• Serve as a trusted point of contact for managers navigating people decisions, escalations, or uncertainty
• Build strong relationships with leaders to understand team goals, challenges, and talent needs

Employee Relations & Coaching

• Support employee relations matters with fairness, discretion, and sound judgment, escalating to Head of People as needed
• Coach managers through performance concerns, difficult conversations, and corrective action
• Partner on investigations, documentation, and follow-up actions in collaboration with Legal and People Ops
• Act as an employee advocate while balancing business needs and risk considerations

Performance, Engagement & Talent Programs

• Support and co-lead performance management cycles, including goal setting, reviews, calibration, and manager enablement
• Help deliver engagement surveys, analyze results, and support managers in building action plans
• Partner on career development conversations, talent reviews, and retention efforts within R&D
• Strengthen manager capability through frameworks, coaching, and training support

People Insights & Data

• Analyze people data (engagement, turnover, performance trends) to identify risks and opportunities
• Share insights and recommendations with People Partner (GTM) counterpart and business leaders to drive proactive action
• Contribute to the development of dashboards, reporting, and people reviews for supported teams

Change Management & Culture

• Support teams through organizational changes, growth, and evolving team structures
• Act as a steward of Circle’s culture by reinforcing values and inclusive, high-performing behaviors
• Partner on initiatives that strengthen belonging, collaboration, and clarity within R&D teams

Collaboration & Scaling

• Work closely with People Partner (GTM) counterpart to plan, prioritize, and deliver HRBP-level initiatives
• Partner with People Ops on the execution and scaling of People programs and processes
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Talent, Finance, and Legal to ensure alignment and compliance
• Take on expanding scope and ownership as experience and tenure in the HRBP role grows

What will help you succeed

• Strong foundations in People Ops, HR Generalist work, or employee relations
• Ability to think strategically while remaining comfortable with hands-on execution
• Confidence coaching managers and navigating sensitive employee situations
• Curiosity about the business and desire to understand how R&D teams operate
• Ability to use people data and insights to inform decisions and recommendations
• Excellent judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence
• Clear, thoughtful written and verbal communication skills
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and evolving scope

Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in HR, People Operations, or a Generalist/Associate HRBP role
• Demonstrated experience supporting managers with performance management and employee relations
• Exposure to engagement surveys, performance cycles, or talent programs
• Working knowledge of employment law fundamentals and compliance best practices
• Experience partnering cross-functionally in a scaling organization
• Ability to collaborate effectively with People Partner counterpart and grow into increased ownership over time

 

$110,000 - $120,000 USD per year

The cash compensation range shown is a starting point. In addition to equity, benefits and perks, your cash compensation is subject to an annual review and increase on a once per year basis.

 

The fun stuff

• Fully remote: work from anywhere in the world!
• Autonomy and trust to do your job: we care about outcomes over everything else.
• Paid time away: all employees are given 35 days of PTO annually. We also offer a paid sabbatical after 5 years.
• Generous U.S. benchmarked compensation and startup equity no matter where you are in the world.*
• Awesome medical coverage with 100% coverage for you and your family, or medical reimbursement options where applicable!*
• Parental leave for parents expanding their family, or just starting one.
• Home office stipend to help you get up and running.
• Learning & development stipend to help you level up your professional skills.
• Annual bonus potential for roles that don't already receive variable income or commission.
• Company retreats: Twice a year, the Circle team gets together for a fully paid company retreat in incredible places around the world! We’ve had past retreats in Colombia, Portugal, and Mexico, with more planned on the horizon.
• Check out our Careers page for more.

*Your role, location and unique circumstance may affect this.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

As a fully-remote international company, diversity is baked into our DNA. Here’s how our CEO, Sid Yadav, frames our hiring mission: “let’s find talent in underserved and under-represented corners of the world, set them up to do the best work of their lives, and in turn, change their life.” To achieve this hiring mission, we offer competitive U.S. benchmarked compensation no matter where someone’s located in the world, and we proactively seek candidates who expand representation of backgrounds, cultures and lived experiences in our teams.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Circle is an equal opportunity employer and as such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.