The posting
ABOUT BETTERUP
Let’s face it, a company whose mission is human transformation better have some fresh thinking about the employer/employee relationship.
We do. We can’t cram it all in here, but you’ll start noticing it from the first interview.
Even our candidate experience is different. And when you get an offer from us (and accept it), you get way more than a paycheck. You get a personal BetterUp Coach, a development plan, a trained and coached manager, the most amazing team you’ve ever met, and most importantly, work that matters.
This makes for a remarkably focused and fulfilling work experience. Frankly, it’s not for everyone. But for people with fire in their belly, it’s a game-changing, career-defining, soul-lifting move.
Join us and we promise you the most intense and fulfilling years of your career, doing life-changing work in a fun, inventive, soulful culture.
We are a hybrid company with a focus on in-person collaboration when necessary. Employees are expected to be available to work from one of our office hubs at least two days per week, or eight days per month. Our US hub locations include: Austin, TX; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and the Washington, DC metro area. Please ensure you can realistically commit to this structure before applying.
ROLE OVERVIEW
We're looking for an HR Operations & AI Enablement Manager to reimagine how HR Operations works at BetterUp. You'll own the operational backbone of the HR function (the processes, systems partnership, and compliance work that make every employee interaction reliable, fast, and consistent) and you'll use AI and automation to remove as much manual work from it as possible.
You'll lead and develop a team of three to five, act as the escalation point for complex employee issues, and be the connective tissue between HR Ops, Legal, Payroll, IT, Recruiting, Total Rewards, and our Workday and AI Automation engineers. You'll also pilot lightweight fixes yourself and partner with engineers when something needs real build work.
This is a high-impact role for someone who has run and scaled HR operations before, thinks in systems, measures what they ship, and wants to bring that judgment to a team that is still building its playbook.
This role reports to the VP of Total Rewards and HR Operations, and manages a team of 3-5.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
AI & AUTOMATION ENABLEMENT
- Bring an AI-first lens to HR Ops: identify manual, repetitive, or error-prone work and either fix it directly with lightweight tools or scope it for the AI Automation Engineer
- Redesign end-to-end HR Ops workflows (such as onboarding and offboarding) with automation and AI embedded where they create real leverage, not novelty for its own sake
- Pilot and evaluate emerging AI tools relevant to HR Ops (for example AI-assisted case triage, employee-facing Q&A, and agents), and build the case for what is worth scaling
- Define and report the impact of what we ship: hours saved, cycle time reduced, errors prevented, employee experience improved
- Act as HR Ops' go-to resource for "can we automate this," partnering with the AI Automation Engineer for anything that needs custom code
- Coach the team to adopt AI tools and build their own automation habits
- Establish practical governance and best practices for responsible AI use in HR Ops, including data privacy and employee information
HR OPERATIONS & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
- Lead and continuously improve end-to-end HR processes (onboarding, offboarding, benefits administration, leave management, and employee records) with clear SLAs and consistent execution
- Solve problems at the root cause and across the whole People function, so fixes work for Recruiting, HR Business Partners, Compensation, and Benefits, not just for HR Ops
- Own HR case management and employee support processes, serving as the escalation point for complex or ambiguous issues
- Ensure HR policies and procedures are clearly documented, consistently applied, and aligned with compliance requirements
- Administer and oversee benefits operations, working with the VP of Total Rewards and HR Operations on strategy
SYSTEMS PARTNERSHIP & DATA
- Represent HR Ops' needs in the Workday and People Technology roadmap: define requirements, test changes, and drive adoption, without owning system configuration directly
- Own HR data integrity and reporting accuracy within HR Ops' processes, and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations
- Partner with the Workday Engineer, AI Automation Engineer, and IT to troubleshoot process-level issues and scope enhancements
- Help build BetterUp's HR analytics capability, turning HR Ops data into insight and not just process exhaust
COMPLIANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT
- Ensure HR Ops practices comply with employment laws, data privacy regulations, and HR best practices across the jurisdictions BetterUp operates in
- Maintain HR documentation and records to legal and company standards
- Lead or support HR audits, compliance reporting, and policy updates, and stay proactive rather than reactive
PEOPLE LEADERSHIP & CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION
- Manage and develop the HR Ops team: let them run their domains, hold them accountable for outcomes, and push their thinking toward end-to-end process design
- Serve as a thought partner to senior HR, Legal, Payroll, and IT stakeholders, keeping HR Ops aligned with business objectives
- Partner with the HRBP team on complex employee inquiries involving payroll, benefits, or policy interpretation
- Own vendor and third-party relationships for HR Ops tools and services: contract accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and strategic fit
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
- Manual, repetitive HR Ops work is measurably reduced through automation and AI, and we can show the numbers
- HR Ops processes run against clear, documented SLAs with consistent execution across onboarding, off-boarding, and case management
- Recurring problems are solved at the root instead of resolved ticket by ticket
- The HR Ops team is well-managed, growing, and able to handle complex employee situations independently
- Compliance and audit readiness are maintained proactively
- HR Ops requirements are well represented in the Workday and People Technology roadmap
- Early HR analytics capability exists where none did before
- HR Ops is seen across the company as a credible, reliable partner
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
You must bring the following to be considered for this role:
- 6+ years of experience in HR operations, HRIS, or related HR leadership, including proven experience scaling HR processes, systems, and compliance in a fast-growing company
- Hands-on experience using AI and automation to improve HR operations (for example automating workflows, improving reporting, or enhancing employee experience), with specific examples of measured impact, and the ability to coach a team to adopt these tools
- Experience administering or managing benefits, with a working understanding of compliance requirements
- Direct experience with Workday and connecting it to other systems (for example Pave, Ashby, HC 365, Athena). You understand how the tools fit together even if you don't configure them yourself
- A track record of running HR operations work end to end: solving ambiguous, cross-functional problems at the root rather than escalating them away
- Experience managing a team and building a high-performance culture, including coaching team members at different stages of their development, ideally a team that is still developing its skills and needs active coaching
- Experience with global HR operations and compliance across multiple jurisdictions
- A data-driven mindset, with experience in HR reporting and analytics and in defining and tracking success metrics
IF YOU HAVE SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING, PLEASE APPLY
HR OPS & SYSTEMS FLUENCY
- Experience having led systems integration or new-system rollouts within an organization
- Experience designing shared-services thinking — defining what HR information should be self-service vs. accessible to which parts of the business
- Comfort partnering with engineers (rather than owning the build yourself) to translate HR Ops needs into system requirements
AI & AUTOMATION
- Experience piloting or leading AI tooling adoption for an HR or operations team (e.g., AI-assisted case triage, employee Q&A bots)
- A builder mentality: you ship small, instrument what you build, and iterate based on real usage
SCALE & LEADERSHIP
- Experience in a larger or more mature HR organization than BetterUp’s current size, with a track record of helping a function scale and operationalize
- Background in tech or high-growth startups
- Benefits administration experience
- HR certifications (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP) are a nice to have
Benefits:
At BetterUp, we are committed to living out our mission every day and that starts with providing benefits that allow our employees to care for themselves, support their families, and give back to their community.
- Access to BetterUp coaching; one for you and one for a friend or family member
- A competitive compensation plan with opportunity for advancement
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Flexible paid time off
- Per year:
- All federal/statutory holidays observed
- 4 BetterUp Inner Workdays (https://www.betterup.co/inner-work)
- 5 Volunteer Days to give back
- Company wide Summer & Winter breaks
- Year-round charitable contribution of your choice on behalf of BetterUp
- 401(k) self contribution
This role is open to candidates across the US. Please review the above carefully and ensure the applicable model works for your situation before applying.
The base salary range for this role is as follows:
$168,000 – $250,00 USD: New York City and San Francisco
$151,000 – $226,000 USD: All other US locations
AI AT BETTERUP
Our team thrives at the intersection of human expertise and AI capability. As an AI-forward company, adaptation and continuous learning are part of our daily work. We’re looking for teammates who are excited to evolve alongside technology — people who experiment boldly, share their discoveries openly, and help define best practices for AI-augmented work.
As an HR Operations & AI Enablement Manager, you’ll be expected to:
- Anticipate industry-shifting AI capabilities and position BetterUp’s HR Operation function to leverage them ahead of competitors
- Lead enterprise-wide AI transformation initiatives within Total Rewards and HR Operation and the broader People and Community team
- Drive functional strategy for AI adoption, identifying transformational opportunities that create competitive advantage in how we manage the employee lifecycle
- Build scalable AI-powered systems that fundamentally change how work gets done across multiple teams
- Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership on AI capabilities, limitations, and strategic implications for the People function
- Establish governance frameworks and best practices for responsible AI usage across recruiting workflows at scale
During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact.
This role is open to candidates across the US. Please review the above carefully and ensure the applicable model works for your situation before applying.
