Strategic People Partner

Job description

✨ ONE PLATFORM, A WHOLE WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY The best jobs have always clustered in a handful of the world's wealthiest cities. But talent is everywhere. Oyster set out to close that gap - building a global employment platform that lets companies hire, pay, and care for brilliant people anywhere. We're proof that a high-performing culture doesn't need an office. Distributed across 60+ countries since 2020, we've built something the industry keeps noticing: - Ranked #10 of 250 on TIME and Statista's 2026 list of America's Top WorkTech Companies https://www.oysterhr.com/library/oyster-hr-named-10-of-americas-top-worktech-companies-of-2026-by-time - Named one of America's Greatest Startup Workplaces 2026 https://www.oysterhr.com/library/oyster-2026-newsweek-award by Newsweek - A G2 Spring 2026 Leader https://www.oysterhr.com/library/oyster-named-best-roi-for-any-global-employment-platform-for-g2-spring-2026 across Employer of Record, Global Employment, Multi-country Payroll, and HR Compliance - The only B Corp-certified global employment platform ~ independently verified since 2023 Two of those rankings measured our business impact from the outside. One measured how our own people feel about working here. They landed in the same place ~ because at Oyster, culture and performance aren't separate conversations. They're the same one. And we're just getting started. If you want to do the best work of your career alongside people who care as much as you do, we'd love for you to apply. ROLE SUMMARY Location: While this position is posted in a specific location, all of Oyster’s positions are fully remote, and you can work from home. Forever. To create the best experience for our new hire, and to ensure you can support both our US and EMEA-based stakeholder group, this role requires applicants to be based in a time zone between UTC+1 and UTC-5. We believe that good leaders create a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration, leading to higher engagement and retention. Strong leadership is essential for Oyster’s success across a diverse and complex landscape, and we’re looking for a Strategic People Partner to join our team to work closely with leadership across the organization. In this role, you will work closely with senior leaders across Oyster to identify, develop, and enhance key leadership capabilities so that they can best support their teams. You will work with people of all skill levels, from first-time managers to those more seasoned, and help people managers around the world build a consistent culture of enablement, trust, and togetherness. A big part of this role will be coaching and advising Leaders and managers to be the best they can be at People Leadership. You will also be responsible for advising Managers on intricate and complex HR and employee relations issues, including PIPs, investigations, etc. This role requires strong executive presence and comfort in leading and influencing at all levels. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Strategic People Leadership: As the main point of contact for senior leaders at Oyster, you will hold a position of significant influence within our organization. You will independently streamline People interactions and drive consistent People messaging across the entirety of our organization. You will guide strategic business decisions and be accountable for the execution of decisions and changes. - Organizational Design: Work closely with Department Heads and cross-functional teams to assess and provide guidance on optimizing the team and the company’s organizational structure, with a focus on strategic goal alignment and improving operational efficiency. - Employee Relations Leadership: As the key driver of employee relations, you will autonomously handle and resolve employee relations matters with a balanced and fair approach, maintaining a harmonious working environment. This includes conducting investigations and partnering with our Legal team to minimize potential risks. - Leadership Development and Enablement: You will guide, support, and train managers on leadership principles, employee programs, and internal processes, as well as tools to drive efficient and empathetic management. In addition, you will partner with L&D to develop training programs to enable and enhance our Manager’s capabilities. - Develop and Manage Performance Process: You will refine our current performance processes and offer independent guidance and support to leaders across the business on increasing performance within their teams. You will also work closely with Managers to oversee the effective execution of PIPs and Development Plans, with a strong emphasis on compliance, fairness, clarity, and the human element. This includes advising and influencing Managers on country-specific performance requirements and obligations. - Cross-Functional Collaboration: You will partner with various teams within Oyster, including People Experience, People Services, Talent Acquisition, and Legal, to ensure a consistent and aligned approach to People processes and policies. - People Programs and Strategic Initiatives: In partnership with the People Programs Team and through consistent feedback loops from the business, you will support developing, leading, and implementing strategic people programs. CORE REQUIREMENTS - Minimum of 7 years of People and Business Partner experience in dynamic, fast-paced organizations. - Organizational design expertise including experience partnering with leaders through significant org design changes. - Deep knowledge of HR programs and practices, coaching and facilitation, and performance management and employee relations. - Significant experience partnering with globally distributed teams across time zones. Required experience across both the Americas and EMEA. - Proven success at developing strong trusting relationships to gain support and achieve results. - Easily builds trust with stakeholders by being open and transparent, and always following through. - Comfortable navigating a fast-changing environment and managing change in an entrepreneurial environment. - Strong communication skills and executive presence. Able to clearly communicate complex topics both verbally and in writing. - A track record of designing and running people programs that are strategic tools built to support People Partnering goals. You lead with research and a "product mindset" to ensure every program is culturally relevant and solves business problems. - You embed AI into your work by constantly researching and implementing AI tools to automate the administrative side of people partnering, freeing up time to focus on high-touch, human-centric and strategic support. - [BONUS] Experience supporting organizations through rapid growth, scaling, or transformation (e.g. hypergrowth, post-funding, or restructuring phases) - [BONUS] Experience building or supporting remote-first or async-first cultures across globally distributed teams YOU'LL ALSO NEED - A reliable home internet connection and fluency in both written and spoken English - Fluent English language skills HOW WE WORK TOGETHER AT OYSTER Our values guide the work we do, the decisions we make, and the culture that makes Oyster what it is. We make it happen—progress is our default setting. We drive change, we build and give trust, and we move as one united team. Our mission is to create a more equal world of work: helping companies everywhere hire, pay, and care for talent anywhere. Everything we do ladders up to our mission. We embrace asynchronous, collaborative work and share how we operate in the Oyster Public HQ https://oysterhr.notion.site/Welcome-to-The-Reef-Oyster-s-Open-Source-Employee-Guide-fc482e3f107c4afd8c85ed217f1d0c1d so other global teams can learn from us. HOW YOU WORK With diverse locations, cultures, and needs, we created How YOU Work; https://oysterhr.notion.site/How-YOU-work-ac16c1932e314ffd8cb693e332458395 a program supporting your whole human experience at Oyster: - Work from anywhere: Oyster has no borders or HQ. As long as work is timely, your team is supported, and you're authorized to work where you live, you can work from anywhere. - Paid time off: Enjoy 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation), or more if required by your country. - Mental health support: Access Plumm https://oysterhr.notion.site/Plumm-3b5e7e70dec6428e975f68f25972cfb7, our mental well-being service. - Wellbeing allowance: Each month, receive a wellbeing allowance in your ThanksBen wallet to spend on a wide range of options. - Flexible parental leave: All new parents are eligible for at least three months’ paid leave, with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally. - WFH stipend: Receive a stipend for your laptop and home office equipment to get you set up quickly. ✨ THE BEST JOBS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE We embrace diverse perspectives and intentionally build our product and company with an inclusive, global mindset. We encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet every criterion, and are committed to a trust-based, thriving environment. Oyster is committed to ensuring equal opportunity of employment for qualified persons with disabilities and actively fosters an inclusive work environment. If you require reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process, please email jobs@oysterhr.com with the subject line: Interview Accommodations. Our available positions are on our careers page. Our team will only contact you from an @oysterhr.com email, and we will never ask for money as part of an interview process or job offer. If you receive a suspicious email about Oyster jobs or are directed to a site other than www.oysterhr.com/careers http://www.oysterhr.com/careers, please report it via our Compliance and Ethics Helpline https://faceup.com/c/8tpzyyye.