Senior Manager / Associate Director, People Operations

Position Summary

ADARx Pharmaceuticals is seeking a hands-on, service-oriented People Operations leader to own day-to-day employee lifecycle administration, HR systems support, employee inquiry management, compliance reporting, and operational process improvement. This role will serve as a central point of contact for employees and managers, ensuring questions and requests are resolved accurately, consistently, and with a high level of care.

Essential Responsibilities

People Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Own accurate and timely HRIS processing for new hires, onboarding, transfers, promotions, compensation changes, reporting-line and organizational changes, leaves of absence, and separations.
• Maintain complete and accurate employee records, supporting documentation, approvals, and audit trails in accordance with company requirements and applicable law.
• Coordinate employee lifecycle activities across People, Payroll, Information Technology, Facilities, and hiring managers.
• Develop, document, and maintain standard operating procedures, checklists, templates, knowledge articles, and service standards for recurring People processes.
• Identify process gaps and implement practical improvements that increase accuracy, consistency, scalability, and employee experience.

Employee Service

• Serve as a primary point of contact for general employee and manager questions regarding People policies, programs, and processes.
• Administer the People service platform, ticketing system, or shared inbox; triage requests, assign ownership, track status, escalate risk-sensitive matters, and close the loop with requestors.
• Establish and monitor request categories, response quality, recurring issues, and opportunities for self-service or process clarification.
• Handle employee information with discretion and maintain confidentiality appropriate to the sensitivity of each matter.

HRIS & Data Integrity

• Act as a functional administrator and subject matter resource for the HRIS and related People technology, including workflows, data fields, and testing.
• Perform regular data audits and reconciliations to identify and correct incomplete, inconsistent, or inaccurate employee information.
• Support system implementations, upgrades, testing, change communication, and user adoption.

Compliance, Policies & Required Reporting

• Apply working knowledge of federal, California, and applicable state and local employment requirements to People Operations processes and employee support.
• Maintain calendars and controls for required employment notices, postings, records, audits, and recurring governmental or regulatory reporting.
• Prepare and submit assigned compliance reports accurately and by required deadlines, with appropriate review and approvals.
• Support audits, policy updates, records requests, and employment-related reviews in partnership with cross functional partners.

People Business Partnership Support

• Provide support to designated functions or leaders, as assigned, and serve as operational backup when broader coverage is needed.
• Support employees and managers with performance management, policy interpretation, team changes, and organizational transitions.
• Partner on workforce planning, headcount tracking, job description review, role changes, organizational design, talent reviews, and restructuring activities.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Team Contribution

• Build trusted working relationships with employees, managers, executives, and cross-functional partners while balancing service, compliance, and business needs.
• Contribute to People team priorities, annual programs, communications, projects, and change initiatives.
• Train and support employees, managers, and People team members on systems, processes, and service practices.
• Perform other duties as assigned.