Staff HR Business Partner, Fellow Program

San Francisco, CA (Hybrid) · San Francisco · USD 190,000-240,000 · 8+ years experience · Hybrid · Posted Sep 28, 2026

At a glance

The Staff HR Business Partner for the Fellow Program will own the people strategy and operating model for a critical new initiative designed to scale an expert workforce.
This role involves partnering with senior leadership to design the full employment lifecycle for Fellows, including hiring, onboarding, development, and performance management.
It is a 0-to-1 opportunity focused on building scalable programs and manager capabilities to support a workforce expected to grow into the thousands.

Own the people strategy and operating model for the Fellow Program.
Partner with leadership to operationalize performance philosophy, talent segmentation, and growth pathways.
Build core people programs for the Fellow experience from onboarding through exit.
Design a tailored performance management framework including evaluation criteria and manager tools.
Create and operationalize bespoke milestone programs to assess ramp, performance, and engagement.
Determine how performance data and quality signals inform talent and workforce decisions.
Define an approach to Fellow growth, mobility, and career pathways.
Lead cross-functional decisions on workforce design, organizational structure, and global employment strategy.
Serve as a strategic coach to program leaders and managers on talent tradeoffs and employee relations.
Partner with Recruiting, People Operations, Total Rewards, Legal, and Finance to deliver a cohesive program.

8+ years of progressive HR Business Partner or People Partner experience.
Experience leading people strategy for a complex business unit or major organizational initiative.
Deep performance management experience including designing review processes and coaching leaders.
Experience partnering on workforce planning, organizational design, and employee relations.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross-functional decisions.
Strong judgment and comfort operating in ambiguity.
Experience designing workforce and talent strategies for high-growth, complex, or global populations.
Strong business acumen connecting people decisions to operating goals and program economics.
Excellent project management skills for leading multiple interdependent workstreams.
Collaborative, low-ego approach with strong written and verbal communication skills.

Experience supporting a global, distributed, or employer-of-record workforce.
Experience supporting an hourly, operational, services, contractor-to-employee, or high-volume workforce model.
Experience building talent programs for technical or AI-adjacent employee populations.
Familiarity with using performance, quality, productivity, or project data to inform workforce decisions.