People Operations Lead (m/w/d)

Job Description

The People Operations Lead will build and own Haven's people function from the ground up. As our first dedicated hire on the People team, you will shape our talent strategy, strengthen company culture, and design a world-class employee experience.

You'll be responsible for end-to-end recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation structure development, team development, and people operations. This role partners closely with leadership across the company to ensure Haven is an exceptional place to work as we scale quickly.

This is a high-impact role for a builder who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments and wants to create the people foundation for a mission-driven company.

Key Responsibilities

• Talent Acquisition & Recruiting

  • Build and own Haven's recruiting process across all functions.
  • Partner with hiring managers to define role requirements, sourcing strategies, and interview processes.
  • Manage candidate pipelines, ensuring an exceptional and consistent candidate experience.
  • Develop recruiting analytics and insights to support hiring forecasts and decisions.

• Onboarding & Employee Experience

  • Design and continuously improve Haven's onboarding process to set new hires up for success from day one.
  • Implement systems and rituals that strengthen engagement, connection, and culture.
  • Design and run company-wide planning offsites.
  • Develop resources and processes to enable managers to effectively support their teams.

• Company Values

  • Take ownership of evangelizing company values across the organization through onboarding, internal communications, performance processes, and company rituals.
  • Ensure values are meaningfully embedded into hiring, performance management, recognition, and decision-making.

• Performance Management

  • Build and manage Haven's performance review structure and operating cadence.
  • Partner with leadership to develop clear goal-setting processes, competency frameworks, and feedback mechanisms.
  • Guide managers through performance conversations, coaching, and development planning.

• Compensation & People Operations

  • Work with leadership to design and update compensation strategies across teams.
  • Maintain structures for leveling, titling, benchmarking, and merit cycles.
  • Oversee core people operations, including compliance, documentation, HRIS management, and policy development.

• Learning & Development

  • Build scalable training programs focused on manager enablement, leadership development, and role-based skill growth.
  • Partner with leaders to create career pathways and growth frameworks.
  • Identify and implement tools that enhance employee learning, productivity, and alignment

Qualifications & Experience

• 5-10 years of experience in People Operations, Talent, HRBP, or a similar role at an early-stage startup.
• Experience building people programs, processes, and systems from scratch.
• Strong foundation in recruiting, performance management, compensation structures, and employee development.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and coaching skills.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to execute while thinking strategically.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and creating clarity for others.
• Experience with HRIS, ATS, and people analytics tools preferred.

Why Join Us?

At Haven Energy, you'll have the opportunity to lead a transformative business to build a more resilient energy infrastructure. You'll work with a passionate team, enjoy a collaborative work environment, and have opportunities to grow and shape the future of DER deployments. Haven offers competitive salaries, equity ownership, performance bonuses and a flexible work environment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Haven embraces diversity and is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.