Strategic People Partner

Location: While this position is posted in a specific location, all of Oyster’s positions are fully remote, and you can work from home. Forever. To create the best experience for our new hire, and to ensure you can support both our US and EMEA-based stakeholder group, this role requires applicants to be based in a time zone between UTC+1 and UTC-5.

We believe that good leaders create a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration, leading to higher engagement and retention. Strong leadership is essential for Oyster’s success across a diverse and complex landscape, and we’re looking for a Strategic People Partner to join our team to work closely with leadership across the organization.

In this role, you will work closely with senior leaders across Oyster to identify, develop, and enhance key leadership capabilities so that they can best support their teams. You will work with people of all skill levels, from first-time managers to those more seasoned, and help people managers around the world build a consistent culture of enablement, trust, and togetherness. A big part of this role will be coaching and advising Leaders and managers to be the best they can be at People Leadership. You will also be responsible for advising Managers on intricate and complex HR and employee relations issues, including PIPs, investigations, etc. This role requires strong executive presence and comfort in leading and influencing at all levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic People Leadership: As the main point of contact for senior leaders at Oyster, you will hold a position of significant influence within our organization. You will independently streamline People interactions and drive consistent People messaging across the entirety of our organization. You will guide strategic business decisions and be accountable for the execution of decisions and changes.

• Organizational Design: Work closely with Department Heads and cross-functional teams to assess and provide guidance on optimizing the team and the company’s organizational structure, with a focus on strategic goal alignment and improving operational efficiency.

• Employee Relations Leadership: As the key driver of employee relations, you will autonomously handle and resolve employee relations matters with a balanced and fair approach, maintaining a harmonious working environment. This includes conducting investigations and partnering with our Legal team to minimize potential risks.

• Leadership Development and Enablement: You will guide, support, and train managers on leadership principles, employee programs, and internal processes, as well as tools to drive efficient and empathetic management. In addition, you will partner with L&D to develop training programs to enable and enhance our Manager’s capabilities.

• Develop and Manage Performance Process: You will refine our current performance processes and offer independent guidance and support to leaders across the business on increasing performance within their teams. You will also work closely with Managers to oversee the effective execution of PIPs and Development Plans, with a strong emphasis on compliance, fairness, clarity, and the human element. This includes advising and influencing Managers on country-specific performance requirements and obligations.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You will partner with various teams within Oyster, including People Experience, People Services, Talent Acquisition, and Legal, to ensure a consistent and aligned approach to People processes and policies.

• People Programs and Strategic Initiatives: In partnership with the People Programs Team and through consistent feedback loops from the business, you will support developing, leading, and implementing strategic people programs.

Core Requirements

• Minimum of 7 years of People and Business Partner experience in dynamic, fast-paced organizations.

• Organizational design expertise including experience partnering with leaders through significant org design changes.

• Deep knowledge of HR programs and practices, coaching and facilitation, and performance management and employee relations.

• Significant experience partnering with globally distributed teams across time zones. Required experience across both the Americas and EMEA.

• Proven success at developing strong trusting relationships to gain support and achieve results.

• Easily builds trust with stakeholders by being open and transparent, and always following through.

• Comfortable navigating a fast-changing environment and managing change in an entrepreneurial environment.

• Strong communication skills and executive presence. Able to clearly communicate complex topics both verbally and in writing.

• A track record of designing and running people programs that are strategic tools built to support People Partnering goals. You lead with research and a "product mindset" to ensure every program is culturally relevant and solves business problems.

• You embed AI into your work by constantly researching and implementing AI tools to automate the administrative side of people partnering, freeing up time to focus on high-touch, human-centric and strategic support.

• [BONUS] Experience supporting organizations through rapid growth, scaling, or transformation (e.g. hypergrowth, post-funding, or restructuring phases)

• [BONUS] Experience building or supporting remote-first or async-first cultures across globally distributed teams

You'll also need

• A reliable home internet connection and fluency in both written and spoken English

• Fluent English language skills

How YOU work

With diverse locations, cultures, and needs, we created How YOU Work; a program supporting your whole human experience at Oyster:

• Work from anywhere: Oyster has no borders or HQ. As long as work is timely, your team is supported, and you're authorized to work where you live, you can work from anywhere.

• Paid time off: Enjoy 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation), or more if required by your country.

• Mental health support: Access Plumm, our mental well-being service.

• Wellbeing allowance: Each month, receive a wellbeing allowance in your ThanksBen wallet. Spend it on a wide range of options; see the benefits catalogue for ideas.

• Flexible parental leave: All new parents are eligible for at least three months’ paid leave, with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally.

• WFH stipend: Receive a stipend for your laptop and home office equipment to get you set up quickly.