Position Summary

The Senior Director / VP, Head of Human Resources will own the HR function at Audiochuck, a roughly 100-person media company headquartered in Indianapolis. This leader is responsible for the full scope of the function: employee relations, performance management, benefits + compensation architecture, talent acquisition, HR systems and compliance, workplace experience, and leadership development.

Audiochuck has grown quickly and is investing in durable HR infrastructure, including a comprehensive compensation framework, impactful HR technology, performance management practices, and leadership development programming. We're looking for a leader who can continue building a strong foundation for the Human Resources function.

This is a seasoned operator's role and built intentionally to grow along with Audiochuck. As Audiochuck evolves, so does the scope of this position, and we’re looking for a leader whose own ambitions match that trajectory. The person who thrives here will see this as a long arc, not a landing spot, with room to expand their scope and develop as the function matures.

The right candidate brings executive maturity, sound judgment on legally sensitive matters, adaptability and nimbleness in a rapidly evolving environment, and the confidence to offer candid counsel to senior leaders, including respectful pushback when the situation calls for it. They are equally comfortable advising the CEO on a sensitive personnel decision and rolling up their sleeves on an HRIS workflow. They bring structure and operating discipline to an environment that enables the organization to continue moving quickly with creative energy, and they do so without flattening the culture that makes the company work.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

- Executive Partnership: Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team on organizational design, talent strategy, and sensitive personnel matters. Bring an independent point of view, surface risk early, and hold a clear position with senior leaders even when it is unpopular.

- Employee Relations: Own employee relations matters end to end, including performance interventions, workplace accommodations, and separations. Partner closely with outside employment counsel, ensuring compliance and legal review precedes action on sensitive matters, and maintain documentation discipline so that written records, conversations, and decisions align.

- Performance Management: Run the company's performance management cycle, including mid-year and year-end reviews, 360 feedback, calibration, and performance improvement processes. Coach managers to deliver direct, well-documented feedback.

- Compensation: Steward the company's compensation architecture, including leveling, career ladders, compensation bands, and the annual review cycle. Maintain band integrity, evaluate promotion and adjustment requests against precedent, and present clear, well-reasoned recommendations to leadership.

- Project Management: Operate as both a strategist and hands-on builder. Scope, build, and personally execute new people initiatives end to end, from initial concept design through adoption.

- Talent Acquisition: Own the recruiting process and hiring manager enablement. Maintain the requisition approval chain, keep hiring practices consistent and compliant, and support managers who own their own searches with strong structural guidance.

- HR Operations, Systems & Compliance: Oversee HRIS administration and data integrity, benefits and leave administration (delivered through the HR Generalist), policy maintenance, and compliance with federal, state, and local employment law across a multi-state footprint.

- Culture & Engagement: Lead engagement measurement and action planning, company training programs, leadership development initiatives, and recognition practices that support retention and a healthy, high-standards culture.

- Team Leadership: Directly manage and develop the HR Generalist, and scale the Human Resources function thoughtfully as the company grows.

- Structure & Process: Continue converting informal, founder-era practices into durable, documented but agile processes that managers actually use. Design for adoption, build accountability into process mechanics, and know when lightweight is better than comprehensive.

Qualifications

- 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including 5+ years leading an HR function or serving as a senior HR business partner to executive teams.

- Demonstrated success operating in