[Hiring] People Manager @Apothekary

Welcome to Apothékary™, where Nature is Medicine™. We harness the intelligence of nature by creating clean, effective herbal remedies that target the root cause of health imbalances like helping to ease stress, support the gut, strengthen immunity, boost energy, and sharpen mental focus. Our herbal formulas feature traditional herbs from several medicinal modalities including Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Japanese Kampo, and Western herbalism. We believe in getting to the root cause of health issues and herbs can be a great place to start your journey and promote wellness for the long-term. 

We were founded in early 2019 by Shizu Okusa, a serial entrepreneur in the wellness industry and named E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2021. After leaving an intense finance career, she became inspired to live a more balanced lifestyle and revisit her Japanese roots and passion for herbal medicine. Shizu set out to help others regain their holistic health using traditions she grew up with and ones she learned along the way.

1. You will get the chance to be an early team member at a fast-growth health & wellness startup disrupting the intersection of food and medicine – preventative healthcare rooted in herbal medicine
2. We are growing fast (100x growth in two years, over $16M in capital raised, and quadrupled the size of the team in the last 9 months)
3. We’re a tight-knit, passionate team, where you'll learn a ton and have ownership over your responsibilities.
4. Work with a seasoned second-time founder and executive team

We are looking for a strategic and hands-on People Manager. This is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to contribute to a dynamic, fast-paced and high-growth environment. This role is crucial in providing full cycle HR and executing the company’s people initiatives by providing great internal customer support and driving HR functional excellence and process improvements. This candidate will support the company as a whole as the first point-of-contact in answering HR-related questions, employee relations, HRIS maintenance, preparing reporting, and assisting in crafting policies. This role will report directly to the Founder/CEO.

People Operations

• Partner with the leadership team in support of various strategic initiatives, such as organizational design and needs, budgeting and payroll, succession planning, training and development to ensure short and long term business goals are met.
• Support the delivery of HR programs on time and in scope, such as annual performance management, recruitment strategies, annual compensation review, engagement action planning, organizational guidelines and procedures etc.
• Develop and grow the HR function on programs, policies, and procedures to continually improve people practices in support of the corporate strategy, productivity, and development of the company including benefits, disability, leaves of absence and rewards & recognition.
• Lead employee engagement initiatives and drive efforts to maintain high morale and job satisfaction.

Recruitment & Talent Acquisition

• Full cycle recruitment such as sourcing and recruitment of top talent, an acting partner and advisor to hiring managers and provide a great candidate experience. This will also include facilitation of contract negotiations, background checks and employee eligibility verifications.
• Collaborate with department heads to identify staffing needs and ensure timely hiring of top talent.
• Develop and maintain talent pipelines for key roles to ensure a proactive approach to recruiting.
• Partner with external recruitment agencies when necessary and manage vendor relationships.

Onboarding & Offboarding

• Design and implement comprehensive onboarding programs that align with company values and policies
• Ensure smooth transitions for new hires, including training, orientation,and culture integration
• Oversee exit interviews and manage offboarding processes to gain insights and continuously improve retention strategies

Administration & Compliance

• Comply with federal, state, and local legal requirements by studying existing and new legislation; anticipating legislation; enforcing adherence to requirements; advising management on needed actions
• Maintain and update employee records in HRIS, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality.
• Oversee payroll processing and benefits administration, collaborating with finance as needed.
• Develop and enforce company policies and procedures that comply with legal regulations and industry standards.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws, including but not limited to EEO, ADA, FMLA, and labor regulations.
• Handle sensitive employee relations issues, investigations, and disciplinary actions when necessary.

Policy Development & Implementation

• Lead the development, review, and implementation of HR policies and procedures.
• Ensure that policies are communicated effectively to employees and consistently enforced.
• Stay updated on changes in labor laws and HR best practices to ensure ongoing compliance.
• Develop and maintain the employee handbook, ensuring it reflects current laws, policies, and organizational changes.

Employee Relations & Conflict Resolution

• Provide coaching and mentoring to employees on employee engagement, employee relations, performance management, career development, retention, etc.
  

Talent Development & Training

• Identify learning and development needs and implement training programs to support employee growth and retention.
• Partner with department heads to develop leadership and professional development initiatives.
• Create succession plans for critical roles and support ongoing employee development.

HR Metrics & Reporting

• Track and analyze HR metrics, such as turnover, retention, and employee engagement, to inform HR strategies and business decisions.
• Prepare regular reports on HR activities, recruitment, and compliance for senior leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field is preferred.
• At least 5+ years of human resource management experience is preferred.
• Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Thorough knowledge of employment-related laws and regulations.
• Must be able to work effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, timeline focused team environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills with a strong attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and Google Suite or related software.
• Proficiency in HRIS and payroll systems.
• SHRM-CP, PHR, or other HR certifications are a plus.

• Previous experience at a high-growth, fast-paced startup
• Entrepreneurial mindset 
• Proficiency with or the ability to quickly learn our payroll system Gusto.

This is a full-time and fully remote W2 role. Our team primarily works off of Eastern Time between 9:00am-5:00pm. Flexibility will be allowed and needed between those hours, but this role will work closely in collaboration with the full time team and therefore would be expected to work between those regular daytime hours.  

This position is available to start immediately. Note that job responsibilities may change based on the company’s evolving needs.  

Benefits

• $80,000 - $90,000 base salary
• Eligibility for bonus
• Comprehensive health, dental and vision plans 
• Monthly paid Mental Health Days in addition to PTO
• Monthly Apothékary product stipend

Apothékary started with our founder, Shizu Okusa, and her family’s traditional Japanese approach to healing — using nature as medicine instead of over-the-counter fixes. In many Eastern cultures, traditional medicine in the form of plants and herb has been used for centuries to address the root cause of common ailments.

That’s exactly what we strive to do here at Apothékary - we’re here to not just treat the symptom, but get to the root cause of your wellness woes.

The demands of our modern life disconnect us from our inherent state of being. At times, we can forget what it feels like to live in harmony with the natural world. Ancient healing traditions take cues from nature to holistically support our mind, body, and spirit. With daily practice, we’re reminded of what harmony feels like and we wonder how we ever lived without it.

Apothékary is on a mission to give ancient, plant-based healing traditions new life—so that you can live a more balanced one. All of our Signature Formulas are thoughtfully formulated by our in-house Clinical Herbalists, pulling from traditional medicine modalities like Japanese Kampo, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and American herbalism. The result is simple yet effective herbal remedies with tradition and modern science in mind.

Each formula contains herbs from local and global farmers with ingredients that are non-GMO, gluten-free, and contain no added sugar, fillers, or additives. In essence, they’re nature’s best remedies—plain and simple. And the best part is, they actually work to address the root cause instead of masking the symptoms.

Come with us and reembark on your journey back to balance with Apothékary.