[Hiring] Manager, People and Talent Operations @Ascend Partner Services

Role Description

Ascend Together is seeking a Manager, People & Talent Operations to serve as the operational backbone of the People & Talent Operations pillar. This role owns the day-to-day generalist HR function alongside the organization's regulatory, immigration, and employee relations programs, plus a dedicated body of talent and recruiting operations work. Specialty functions — immigration, employee relations, and leave administration — delivered through best-in-class vendors; this Manager owns oversight, process, and accountability to internal clients across all of them.

This person will keep Ascend and its partner firms compliant in a multi-state, M&A-active environment, govern external specialty vendors, support payroll accuracy, and ensure employee relations matters are resolved with sound judgment. On the talent side, this role owns Greenhouse ATS administration, recruiting compliance, pay transparency, and the reporting infrastructure that keeps the talent function running cleanly.

An AI-focused development mindset is core to how the People & Talent Operations team works — the Manager is expected to continuously streamline, automate, and embed self-service tooling to scale capacity rather than headcount as the network grows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressive HR/People Operations experience with demonstrated ownership of compliance, ER, or immigration programs.
• Working knowledge of I-9/E-Verify requirements, multi-state employment law, and federal reporting obligations (EEO-1, ACA).
• Experience managing third-party HR vendors with accountability for SLAs and service quality.
• Hands-on experience with an ATS (Greenhouse preferred); familiarity with recruiting compliance and EEO/OFCCP requirements.
• Workday HRIS proficiency; comfort with data validation, reporting, and system workflows.
• Prior experience in a PE-backed, multi-entity, or professional services environment preferred.
• SHRM-CP/SCP or PHR/SPHR certification a plus.

Requirements

• Strong judgment in employee relations situations; ability to advise managers, apply policy consistently, and escalate appropriately.
• Deep working knowledge of multi-state employment law, I-9/E-Verify compliance, and federal HR reporting obligations.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex vendor relationships and compliance workstreams simultaneously without gaps.
• Familiarity with ATS administration and recruiting compliance — EEO/OFCCP data integrity, pay transparency requirements, and defensible hiring records.
• Exceptional organizational discipline — able to track cases, deadlines, and escalations across immigration, ER, compliance, and talent operations.
• Clear, confident communicator with internal clients and vendor partners; comfortable advising managers and Heads of People on sensitive matters.
• Proactive compliance orientation — stays current on regulatory changes and updates processes before issues arise.
• Collaborative and adaptable in a fast-growing, multi-entity environment where the playbook continues to evolve.
• Comfortable leveraging AI tools and automation to improve HR processes and reduce manual effort.

Benefits

• Highly competitive cash and equity bonus compensation package, including attractive benefits.
• Start date is as soon as practicable.

Company Description

Ascend empowers entrepreneurial CPAs to reach their goals with an innovative growth model that brings their firms into the new age. Backed by PeopleFirst private equity firm Alpine Investors (~$20B AUM), Ascend is the leading aggregator of regional accounting firms in the U.S., with ~2,800 employees globally and approaching $1B in revenue. Ascend has built a modern platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent in their brand, approach to client service, and cultural autonomy, while benefiting from the strategic support and resources of a large CPA firm.

Founded in January 2023, Ascend has experienced rapid growth both organically and through M&A, having completed ~45 acquisitions to date, placing it in the Top 25 largest accounting firms in the U.S.