People Team Program Manager

South San Francisco, California, USAFull-TimeManagerProduct / Project

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This role sits at the intersection of strategy and execution. You’ll define the what and the how, manage multiple complex workstreams at once, and ensure that critical People programs run smoothly so teams across Zipline can stay focused on our mission.

Own and drive complex, cross-functional People initiatives end-to-end (e.g., annual compensation cycles, employee sentiment surveys, workforce planning, systems improvements, People Team operating rhythms).
Translate ambiguous goals and executive priorities into clear program roadmaps with defined milestones, success metrics, and risks.
Manage timelines, dependencies, and stakeholders across the People Team, Finance, Legal, and business leaders.
Support and continuously improve People team planning cycles, operational workstreams and program retrospectives.
Identify systemic inefficiencies and design process improvements that create long-term leverage.
Conduct deep discovery work, including stakeholder mapping, requirements gathering, and current-state assessments across interconnected systems.
Design solutions that address root causes, balance speed with sustainability, and anticipate second-order organizational impacts.
Lead initiatives from problem definition through pilot, iteration, and handoff to long-term owners.
Make thoughtful prioritization decisions across competing demands, ensuring the highest-impact work moves forward.
Navigate technical, operational, and organizational complexity with minimal direction, knowing when to escalate and when to push forward independently.
Create clear documentation, playbooks, and training materials that enable others to sustain and evolve programs over time.

Program & Project Management: 5+ years of experience, including at least 3 years leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs with tight deadlines. Experience in People/HR domains (e.g., compensation, org design, talent analytics, workforce planning) is strongly preferred.
People & Business Fluency: Exposure to or direct experience overseeing People or Talent programs. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in HR, Business, or a related field.
Systems Thinking: You naturally see how people, processes, tools, and incentives interact and design solutions that work across boundaries.
Strategic Ownership: Proven ability to define vision and strategy for program areas, not just execute predefined plans.
Communication & Influence: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create clear narratives for executive audiences and influence without authority.
Analytical Problem Solving: Strong ability to break down ambiguous problems, identify root causes, and develop practical, creative solutions.