Director, People & Talent

Zeus Jones is looking for a full-time, Minneapolis-based Director, People & Talent to help shape how our organization grows.

This role sits at the intersection of people, staffing, culture, operations, and organizational development. You will help build the systems, conversations, and structures that support how people grow, how teams work together, and how the company evolves over time.

This is both a strategic and deeply hands-on role. At our size, we need someone who can think about the bigger picture while also jumping directly into the work — facilitating complex conversations, helping leaders navigate team dynamics, building staffing plans, improving feedback systems, and ensuring the operational side of the people function runs smoothly.

We are not looking for a traditional HR administrator. We are looking for someone who can serve as a trusted thought partner to leadership while helping create a culture that is intentional, accountable, growth-oriented, and human.

This description should serve as a guidepost, not a tightly defined specification. We care as much about how you think and operate as we do about your resume.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

Talent Growth & Organizational Development

• Design and evolve systems for performance reviews, growth conversations, feedback, and leveling.
• Facilitate performance and development conversations alongside project leads and leadership. You are not just coordinating the process — you are actively in the room.
• Help leaders navigate coaching, accountability, team dynamics, and difficult conversations.
• Identify organizational and capability gaps and help leadership think proactively about team growth and structure.
• Ensure people understand how they are doing, where they are headed, and what growth looks like at Zeus Jones.

Staffing & Workforce Planning

• Partner with leadership and project leads to align talent to projects based on expertise, business needs, and growth opportunities.
• Help balance staffing across full-time employees, freelance partners, and future hiring needs.
• Maintain visibility into team capacity, workload, and upcoming resource needs.
• Build and maintain relationships with freelance and permalancer talent as well as external recruiting and academic partners.

Recruiting & Hiring

• Partner with leadership on role scoping, hiring priorities, and candidate evaluation.
• Design and guide the candidate experience from first conversation through onboarding.
• Help ensure hiring reflects both the evolving needs of the business and our commitment to building a diverse team.

HR Compliance & Operations

• Maintain and evolve core people operations systems, policies, and documentation.
• Help ensure the company stays compliant with employment practices and evolving regulations.
• Partner with Finance and external advisors on compensation, benefits, and people-related planning.
• Support implementation and evolution of tools and systems.

Culture & Community

• Help shape and reinforce a culture that feels intentional rather than accidental.
• Evolve programs, rituals, and practices that support learning, mentorship, inclusion, and collaboration.
• Build trust across teams and functions as a thoughtful, approachable, and principled partner.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• People receive clear, timely, and actionable feedback.
• Leaders feel supported navigating people challenges.
• Staffing decisions feel thoughtful and balanced.
• The organization becomes more intentional as it grows, not more chaotic.
• Compliance and people operations run smoothly without becoming overly bureaucratic.
• Employees trust the systems and conversations surrounding growth and development.

IDEAL BACKGROUND

• 8+ years in people operations, HR, organizational development, talent management, staffing, or related leadership roles.
• Experience working within creative agencies, consultancies, studios, or other fast-moving, collaborative environments.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, and communication skills.
• Experience navigating employee relations, performance management, and organizational change.
• Experience supporting employees across multiple states and administering HR operational processes in a distributed workforce environment is strongly preferred.
• Comfort building systems and structure where ambiguity exists.
• Ability to balance empathy, accountability, business needs, and organizational health.
• Familiarity with modern HR and operational systems.

MINDSET & TRAITS

Strategic and Hands-On

• You can think long-term while still jumping into the details when needed.

Facilitative

• You know how to create productive conversations, navigate tension thoughtfully, and help people feel heard while still moving things forward.

Nimble

• You are comfortable with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and evolving structures.

Connector

• You naturally build relationships and trust across different personalities, disciplines, and levels of seniority.

Principled

• You operate with integrity, discretion, and sound judgement, especially when situations become difficult or nuanced.

Systems-Oriented

• You create clarity and structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

Salary is 125k+ based on experience. Candidates must be able to be on site 3 days per week, including Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Zeus Jones is a creative workplace that values diversity and inclusion. We encourage applicants from any personal or professional background, even if you do not meet every requirement listed here.

About Zeus Jones

Zeus Jones is an independent strategy, creative, and design agency that helps brands imagine better futures and build toward them with conviction. We offer a strong culture, the chance to work on genuinely hard business problems, and the opportunity to grow alongside industry-leading colleagues.

Benefits & Perks

We believe in supporting our employees both at work and beyond. Our benefits package includes health, dental, vision, and disability coverage, as well as generous paid time off so you can rest, recharge, and take care of what matters most.