Title: Vice President of Human Resources (CPO Track)

Location: Onsite | NYC

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer

About the Company

Our client is a high-growth, founder-led, multi-unit restaurant platform with a distinctive cultural identity and expanding national footprint. Operating both full-service and fast-casual concepts, the company currently manages 20+ corporate-owned locations across multiple states, with aggressive plans to nearly double its unit count over the next 24 months.

With projected revenue approaching $80M+ and a team scaling toward 2,000 employees, the organization is entering its next phase of disciplined growth and infrastructure development. As expansion accelerates across new markets, the company is investing in executive leadership to ensure operational excellence, compliance integrity, and scalable people systems.

The Opportunity

The Vice President of Human Resources will serve as the strategic architect and operational leader of the company’s people function during a period of rapid multi-state expansion.

This role represents a critical evolution from administrative HR to a growth-oriented, risk-managed, and performance-aligned people strategy. The VP of HR will design and implement scalable infrastructure across talent acquisition, compliance, leadership development, succession planning, and organizational design.

Reporting directly to the CEO and partnering closely with Finance, Operations, and Marketing leadership, this executive will play a foundational role in preparing the organization for national brand status.

This position is on a long-term trajectory toward Chief People Officer as the platform scales.

Bilingual fluency in English and Chinese is required.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Strategy & Infrastructure

• Design scalable HR systems to support growth from 20+ to 35+ units
• Partner with executive leadership on workforce planning and org design
• Build succession planning frameworks across store and corporate levels
• Establish structured performance management systems aligned to financial KPIs

Compliance & Risk Management

• Oversee multi-state labor law compliance and wage & hour practices
• Strengthen policies, procedures, and employee relations frameworks
• Proactively mitigate risk as geographic footprint expands
• Ensure operational labor practices align with regulatory requirements

Talent & Leadership Development

• Lead talent acquisition strategy across corporate and restaurant leadership roles
• Develop store-level leadership identification and promotion pathways
• Implement training and development programs to strengthen management bench
• Improve internal promotion rates and retention of high-performing managers

People Operations & Culture

• Oversee HRIS, payroll, benefits, and people systems
• Build engagement strategies to support a multicultural workforce
• Preserve the company’s culturally rooted identity during rapid expansion
• Serve as a visible and trusted executive partner to operational leadership

Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive HR leadership experience
• Multi-unit restaurant, hospitality, or retail chain experience required
• Demonstrated success building HR infrastructure during rapid expansion
• Deep knowledge of multi-state labor compliance and risk management (Northeast region)
• Experience advising founder-led or investor-backed growth companies
• Proven ability to scale teams and systems from regional to national platforms
• Strong financial acumen and alignment with operational metrics
• Bilingual fluency in English and Chinese required
• Ability to work in the United States for any employer (no visa sponsorship offered at this time).

Benefits

• Salary range: $150k - $200k, DOE
• Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
• Life and Disability insurance
• PTO
• 401k