Senior People Operations Manager

 About Heath 

Heath Ceramics is a California company making dinnerware and architectural tiles of good and enduring design for over 70 years. We are design-led, with the mission of creating products of beauty and integrity, while designing, manufacturing, and running our business in a way that's better for society and our planet. Our products are designed, manufactured, and sold in our two California factories and four showrooms, ensuring accountability in our process, from beginning to end. As a Certified B Corp, we maintain high standards of social responsibility, environmental performance, and transparency. We believe in the benefits of local manufacturing and support a community of people committed to and inspired by the process of designing, making, and sharing. We believe in providing a living wage, full health and welfare benefits, and a place for meaningful work. 

Position Summary

The Senior People Operations Manager owns the operational responsibility for our day-to-day people processes: policies, benefits, compensation, compliance, payroll, 401k administration, HRIS, union relations, workers’ compensation, and employee relations. We're looking for a decisive problem solver with a "get it done" attitude. Our People Team is committed to delivering excellence in systems, tools, day-to-day operations, and, most importantly, our employee experience. Speaking Spanish is an absolute must for this job!

Who Will Love This Position

• Someone who enjoys sitting at the intersection of people, processes, and company culture
• Someone with a drive for rolling out well-thought-out initiatives at a purpose-driven company
• Someone who enjoys being a hands-on manager and is willing to roll up their sleeves to get things done

Responsibilities

• Lead all People Operations functions, such as onboarding, benefit and compensation administration, compliance, payroll, time off, leave of absence, workers comp, employee relations, and performance management
• Maintain compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws and regulations
• Facilitate and lead employee relations activities, including conducting internal audits and disciplinary meetings
• Create programs, policies, processes, and workflows that are compliant, efficient, and reflect our values, culture, and design focus
• Serve as liaison to the Union and handle all labor relations matters
• Execute our annual Talent Card process and compensation cycles
• Oversee payroll processing for both hourly and salaried staff (4 payrolls per month)
• Liaise with benefit providers (401k, healthcare, workers comp) and oversee data transmissions
• Oversee the annual 401k and ESOP audits
• Own all of our HRIS systems including data integrity, data entry, reporting, hiring, training, 
• Actively support workers' compensation claims and other leave management
• Create consistent user-friendly and professional communication tools
• Provide leadership, mentorship, and professional development for People Team staff

This position is a key member of a small, dynamic team that interfaces and partners with all areas of the company, and includes a diverse group of internal customers. This role manages a People Partner and a Payroll and Benefits Admin. This position will be exposed to highly confidential HR and payroll items and must be able to exercise considerable tact and discretion. 

Required Skills

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of HR operations experience with expertise in payroll, 401k, and HR systems
• 3+ years of experience managing employees with the ability to build functional teams
• Fluent in Spanish (reading, writing, translation)
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving ability
• An incredible eye for detail and an exceptionally high bar for quality
• Ability to build solid relationships and expertly navigate through stakeholder discussions to successful outcomes
• Advanced verbal communication including the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of management and employees and speak effectively in front of groups 
• Excellent organizational and project management skills
• Experience working with a broad range of employees, from hourly employees with minimal job experience to salaried employees with specialized skill areas
• Knowledge of state and federal employment law
• Systems and tech-savvy
• Advanced spreadsheet skills including vlookup, index match, conditional formatting, pivot tables

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Prior manufacturing and retail industry experience 
• Familiarity with Google Docs, Zenefits, and JazzHR
• Union experience 
• PHR, or other HR certifications

Work Environment/ Hours / Compensation

This is a full-time, exempt position with benefits working Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm. As the future of work evolves, so do we. We have a hybrid work model for some roles. This role can work from home 3 days a week and is required to work onsite at our Sausalito location at least two days per week. This position pays $120,000 to $130,000, based on experience. The working hours for this position are Monday - Friday, 40 hours per week. 

Benefits

We are committed to your health and well-being. Heath offers a comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees that includes a choice of medical plans, dental, vision, acupuncture, and chiropractic, as well life insurance – premiums are 100% paid for employees. An annual 401(k) contribution that grows with job tenure. Our Employee Stock Ownership Plan provides an additional retirement benefit linked to the long-term performance of the company. We offer a generous time-off allocation and a great discount on all Heath Ceramics products.

Proud Equal Opportunity Employer

At Heath, we don’t just accept differences — we celebrate it, we support it. Heath is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce at all job levels. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, transgender status, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.