Head of People and Recruitment (Hybrid)

We’re hiring a Head of People and Recruitment to build the systems and culture that will let us double our team to 30+ staff over the next two years.

Tarbell’s work depends entirely on the people we hire and how well we support them. You’ll own the people function end-to-end: running hiring processes for 10+ new staff and 25+ new fellows annually, building the onboarding systems and policies that retain them, and shaping the culture of a rapidly growing organization. There’s significant scope to define how the role develops through this period of rapid growth.

You’ll own people and recruitment at Tarbell, reporting to the Operations Director. The role splits into four areas:

Recruitment support

You’ll partner closely with hiring managers across the organization to run rigorous, effective hiring processes. That means:

• Helping managers specify criteria, write job descriptions, and design application questions
• Designing and administering work tests and interviews, and supporting managers in evaluating them
• Managing candidate communications throughout the process, making sure every applicant has a positive experience with Tarbell, whether or not they’re hired
• Proactively identifying and reaching out to potential candidates for open roles, either directly or through hiring managers
• Co-leading fellow recruitment and selection with the Fellowship team, helping design and run processes that attract top emerging journalists and AI talent globally

People operations

You’ll own the day-to-day systems that keep Tarbell running

• Drafting, negotiating, and communicating contracts and offer letters
• Onboarding new staff and fellows
• Developing and maintaining staff policies and making sure staff understand them
• Managing payroll, taxes, and government reporting across multiple jurisdictions
• Onboarding 25+ fellows annually, including contracts, onboarding, and continuing support throughout their placement

Culture

You’ll work with the leadership team to translate high-level principles into the day-to-day reality of working at Tarbell:

• Developing and reinforcing organizational culture
• Planning staff retreats and other events
• Building and managing the wider Tarbell community of fellows and grantees
• Monitoring job satisfaction and identifying ways to improve it

General operations

As the second operations hire for a small but growing organization, you’ll work across programs to solve problems and increase impact:

• Deploying and maintaining software tools
• Helping program leads to manage complex projects and fix problems before they happen
• Being someone that staff, fellows, grantees, and partners can always turn to with a question or problem, whatever it is.

Who we’re looking for

We expect

• Operations experience. 3–5 years in HR, recruiting, or related operations, ideally at a small-to medium-sized organization where you’ve worn multiple hats. You don’t need to have done every part of this role before, but you should have meaningful experience across at least some of the areas above.
• Excellent written and verbal communication. Whether writing a job description, organizing community events, or mediating staff disputes, your communication is clear, professional, and supportive. People like talking with you.
• Strong project management. You build systems that scale, maintain standards under pressure, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. You’re detail-oriented and people trust you to follow through.
• Good judgment about people. You can quickly assess candidates, give hiring managers useful pushback, and navigate sensitive situations with discretion.
• Generalist mindset. You’re willing and able to take on tasks outside of your core areas of responsibility. Whether that’s setting up budgets in Ramp, troubleshooting a coworker’s software issue, or correcting spelling errors on the website, no task is too big or too small for you.

Bonus points for

• Skill in other areas of operations like accounting, budgeting, or IT
• A background that includes active sourcing or headhunting, not just inbound recruitment
• Experience building HR functions from the ground up at a growing organization

While we’re most excited to hire an experienced professional who can own the role from day one, we’ll also consider strong candidates earlier in their careers for a Senior Operations Associate variant of the role. This role would have the same scope but would involve more support from the Operations Director as you grow into ownership over the first 12 months.