Vice President of People

Coast hired its first people operations lead two years ago to stand up the basics: benefits, onboarding, policies, and the day-to-day experience of the Coast officesSince then, Coast has grown its total funding to $135 million and its team to about 130 people across two offices: our New York City headquarters, home to roughly two thirds of the team, and our sales and operations office in Utah. The People function now needs to grow with the companyYou'll be Coast's first VP, People, the company's senior people leader, building and running the function end to end: People Operations, Total Rewards, Talent (recruiting, performance, and career development), and CultureYou'll partner directly with the executive team on org design, leadership development, and the people decisions that shape how Coast scales, while making sure the fundamentals (comp, performance, compliance, onboarding) are run wellThis is a build role: you'll inherit a foundation and turn it into a people strategy that keeps pace with the business. You'll report to Stephen Rosen, Coast's SVP of Operations, and lead a team that includes our Head of Talent, People Ops Lead and a growing people teamTake People Operations from a foundational function to a full People org: design the team, the roadmap, and the systems (HRIS, payroll, benefits administration) that scale with headcountOwn the People budget and the tooling decisions that come with itHire, develop, and lead the People team as it growsPartner with the executive team and managersWork with leadership and the CEO on organizational design, headcount planning, and the People implications of major business decisionsCoach managers through hiring, performance, promotions, and difficult conversations, and build the manager enablement program Coast doesn't have yetBe the person leaders and teammates trust with hard people problemsOwn recruiting, performance, and career developmentDesign and run the performance review and promotion cycles, and the career frameworks that make "what good looks like" clear at every levelBuild the systems that catch performance and engagement issues early, while there is still time to address themLead recruiting through our Head of Talent, owning hiring plans, process, and the candidate experience for both offices, including sales and operations hiring in UtahPartner with hiring managers to keep the hiring bar high as Coast growsDesign Coast's compensation philosophy and pay bands, and partner with Finance on the equity strategy that keeps offers competitiveSource and manage the benefits, perks, and platforms that make Coast a place people want to build their careersRun comp cycles with the rigor and fairness a growing company needsPartner with Finance, Sales, and Revenue Operations leadership on sales compensation plans for account executives, BDRs, and other commissioned rolesKeep Coast's culture intact as headcount grows past the size where culture happens by accidentLead team events, office experience, and company traditions in both New York and Utah, so the Utah team has the same access to leadership, information, and career paths as the headquarters teamRun engagement surveys and other feedback loops, and turn what you hear into actionMake sure Coast's policies, records, and practices comply with employment law in New York, Utah, and anywhere else Coast employs peopleBuild the HR infrastructure (records, policies, and processes) that holds up under scrutiny as Coast scales and potentially expands into new states or geographiesOwn worker classification and wage-and-hour compliance, including timekeeping and overtime for salaried non-exempt roles such as customer service representatives and BDRs, and written commission agreements for commissioned sales rolesWhat Success Looks Like: By 90 days: You've met every person at Coast, including time on the ground with the Utah team, and you have a clear read on where the People function is strong and where it's thinYour review of the current comp, benefits, and performance processes has produced a prioritized plan to fix what's brokenManagers know who you are and have brought you at least one real problemYou and leadership have agreed on the three People priorities that matter most this yearBy 6 months: Coast has a documented compensation philosophy and pay bands, and hiring managers use themAt least one performance review cycle has run under your design, and managers and employees trust the processThe People team, including recruiting, has clear ownership of onboarding, benefits, hiring, and employee support, and a plan for the roles it needs nextCoast's HR policies and records are compliant and audit-ready across every state and location Coast operates inBy 12 months: Coast's people strategy is a direct input to the company's growth and headcount plansEngagement and retention are measurably better, and you can point to what you changedThe People function runs on infrastructure and playbooks, and the team handles day-to-day issues without you in the roomLeaders in both New York and Utah bring the People team into major decisions earlyBenefitsMedical, dental, and vision coverageMeaningful stock optionsFlexible vacation policyRecruiting leadership: you've managed a recruiting team and built hiring processes that hold the bar as hiring volume grows 10+ years in People/HR roles, including experience leading a People function at a high-growth startup that has successfully scaled beyond Coast's current stage of maturityExperience coaching managers through performance, promotion, and org design decisions, and building manager enablement programs where none existedTrack record designing compensation philosophy, pay bands, and equity strategy, and running comp cycles that scale with headcountNew York City based; able to be in-office 3–4 days per week and to travel to our Utah office at least once a quarterDeep knowledge of employment law and HR compliance across multiple U.S. states, including New YorkExperience supporting a multi-site workforce that includes non-exempt and commissioned sales and operations teams based outside headquarters, including sales compensation designComfortable operating at the executive table: strong judgment, discretion, and the ability to influence without formal authorityExperience in fintech, payments, or B2B SaaS preferredStrong analytical instincts: comfortable working in HRIS and comp data and turning it into a recommendationHigh ownership mindset: when a process doesn't exist yet, you build it