People Partner

About us

Vow is a cultured meat company on a mission to feed billions and create food that’s good for your tastebuds, your health and your planet.

We’re bringing together cutting edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to create new meats that meat lovers can choose selfishly because it’s nutritious and delicious, and we’re doing so in a sustainable way.

The role:

(We are open to this role being full or part time)

We’re looking for a thoughtful but pragmatic People Partner to help to make sure Vow continues to be a place where high-performing teams thrive, people do work they are proud of and everyone that joins feels like they are in a safe space.

You’ll think ahead and build for scale, shaping and refining key people processes (like onboarding, performance and development) and be an active coach and guide for Vowzers, helping them navigate challenges, grow in their roles, and take ownership of their development

This role will sit at the heart of the Vow team and work closely with managers and leaders across the business, coaching them, supporting them, and helping them grow. This isn’t about organising game nights or Friday drinks (though you might help shape rituals that bring the team closer), it’s about cultivating the kind of culture that keeps people excited to show up.

This is a role for someone who can balance caring deeply and being kind with business outcomes and who’s excited to make meaningful impact at a fast-moving, values-led company.

The experience/skills you will bring:

• You’ve been in a people role in a startup or fast-growing company before. We are thinking ~2+ years experience in a role where you have been focussing on the below
• You’ve coached both new and experienced managers through things like feedback, growth, and tricky team dynamics
• You’ve built and improved core HR processes (e.g. performance reviews, onboarding, internal career paths)
• You know how to use data/metrics to track and show improvement in the People space
• You’re proactive in spotting potential issues early and skilled at resolving them fairly and with a mixture of empathy and business acumen and can provide examples of doing this before
• You know how to influence and challenge leaders in a way that builds trust
• You understand the balance between supporting people and holding the line on what’s needed for high performance
• You value authenticity over vibes and know how to build meaningful culture, not just events

You will:

Manager & Leadership Enablement

• Coach leaders (both new and experienced) on feedback, growth, and team dynamics
• Support org design and team planning
• Guide leaders through complex situations with empathy and clarity, including performance issues, conflict, and exits

Performance, Growth & Development

• Run and refine performance and feedback cycles (templates, timelines, manager comms)
• Build internal career pathways and capability frameworks (aka role charters)

Culture & Employee Experience

• Lead employee engagement and feedback cycles
• Support key team rituals and events that reinforce our values 
• Create magic moments that make Vow’s culture unique
• Be a safe, confidential go-to for employee concerns and feedback

People Operations & Admin

• Own HR systems and employee records (contracts, onboarding, visas, etc.)
• Optimise onboarding and offboarding processes
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, awards and policies
• Manage reporting (e.g. headcount, diversity, turnover)
• Maintain and evolve salary bands to stay aligned with market

What success looks like:

Within 3 months, you will:

• Have built trusted relationships with key leaders and team members
• Started coaching managers through tricky situations or growing pains
• Identified one or two high-impact improvements to our current people processes

Within 6 months, you will:

• Be a go-to partner for most people leaders across Vow
• Embedded improvements into our performance, onboarding or career development processes
• Be able to remember every Vowzers name in time for your 6 month probation review (only joking)

Within 12 months, you will:

• Have helped shape a stronger, more connected and higher-performing culture and have the data to back it up
• Upskilled leaders who are more confident and capable, and their teams are thriving
• Made our people processes feel more streamlined, scalable and uniquely Vow

Who we are and why join:

• We are building a diverse, mission-led dream team of “Vowzers.” Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that’s representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view - so we’re building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
• Work on cutting-edge technology. We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world’s most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, been called The Spaceship of the cultured meat industry by Forbes and launched our first product under the brand Forged in some of the hottest restaurants in Singapore. 
• Work with and learn from the best. Our team includes some of the world’s top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
• We’re fully funded and ready to go. We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC.

Vow perks and benefits:

• Everyone is an owner. In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every ‘Vowzer’ owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
• Generous paid parental leave. We offer 8 weeks of paid caregiver leave and an additional 8 weeks paid leave for the birth giver.
• Generous relocation budget & support. Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families.
• Unlimited personal leave. At Vow we recognise that sometimes sh*t happens. We don’t want you to stress about work when you need to deal with an emergency or are struggling with something truly difficult. We offer unlimited personal leave to empower you to truly bring your best self to work every single day.
• Heaps of tasty samples from our culinary centre. Our fantastic "food inventors" on the Vow team are always cooking up new product prototypes, and all Vowzers are given the opportunity to taste, give feedback, and learn from their culinary prowess.
• An awesome converted warehouse “campus” in Alexandria. Complete with a glass-walled lab, 2 factories, shower and towel service, bike rack, free snacks, a culinary centre and plenty of collaboration and chill zones. 
• Human and dog friendly office! An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly “Vowzer” dogs!
• A variety of social clubs. We encourage all our Vowzers to build the culture with us and share what you love by creating social clubs across the business. From book clubs to hiking groups, we’re always looking for ways to learn and engage with our team.