Senior People Operations Manager

Blue J is growing fast, and we're building the People infrastructure to enable our team to do their best work in a best in class work environment! We recently closed our $122M Series D, we're scaling from 150 to 300+ employees over the next two years, and we want every part of our employee journey to feel as intentional and human as it does today. That's where you come in.

As Senior, People Operations Manager, you'll own the systems, workflows, and operational backbone that make our People team run. This is a role for someone who is energized by building efficient, scalable infrastructure, and who will use design thinking to create best-in-class experiences and systems for our amazing team. You’ll report to the Director, People & Culture, and work closely with our Manager, People Operations to make sure the operational systems enabling Blue J's team are scalable and user-friendly.

A Note on Location We are excited to meet with qualified candidates and are grateful for everyone’s interest. Please note that this is a hybrid position requiring applicants to be within driving distance of Toronto. What You'll Do Build and Scale People Operations Infrastructure Apply design thinking to build scalable workflows, processes, and systems—starting with the employee and manager experience.

Own the full employee lifecycle (preboarding through offboarding), maintain the employee handbook, and create the documentation and SOPs that let Blue J scale to 300+ employees without losing its humanity. Own People Systems & Technology Serve as the strategic owner of Blue J’s People tech ecosystem (BambooHR, Lattice, Enboarder, Deel, and future tools). Lead system selection, implementation, and migrations.

Actively explore AI tools that reduce admin burden and expand self‑service so employees get what they need quickly and without friction. Drive Process Improvement & Automation Use AI and automation to eliminate manual work and reduce friction across the employee lifecycle. Build repeatable, well‑documented operational frameworks—designed once, executed consistently, and scalable from day one.

Own People Data, Reporting & Analytics Build and maintain accurate People data infrastructure. Develop dashboards that surface meaningful insights on workforce trends, engagement, retention, and org health—and use that data to drive continuous improvement. Lead Employee Lifecycle Operations Strategy Own the strategy behind all lifecycle events—onboarding, offboarding, promotions, transfers, and leaves.

Hold a high bar for every employee and manager touchpoint, and build processes that are scalable, resilient, and feel premium. Own Compliance & Operational Risk Management Ensure compliance with employment laws and HR best practices across Canada and the US. Oversee benefits and compensation administration, maintain accurate documentation, and build controls that reduce risk while keeping the employee experience front and center.

What Success Looks Like After 12 months: Core People processes are documented, consistently executed, and designed to function independently of any single person's knowledge or presence. AI tools are actively reducing administrative work and surfacing meaningful insights for the People team. The employee lifecycle feels premium: polished, intuitive, and reflective of Blue J's values at every touchpoint.

The People tech stack is optimized, well‑integrated, and positioned to scale. People reporting is reliable, accessible, and trusted across the organization. The People team spends significantly less time on administration and more time on strategic work.

Blue J's operational foundation is ready to support 300+ employees. What You Offer Blue J 7+ years of progressive experience in People Operations, HR Operations, Business Operations, or a similarly systems‑oriented function. Demonstrated success building scalable operational infrastructure in a high‑growth environment.

Solid understanding of Canadian employment law and HR best practices; US experience is a valuable asset. Global experience is an asset. Deep experience with HRIS systems, workflow design, process automation, and systems selection and implementation.

Familiarity with HR tools such as BambooHR, Lattice, Pave, or similar. Familiarity with AI tools such as Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT, or similar. Enthusiasm for AI and a track record of using emerging tools to improve how work gets done.

Proven analytical capability and comfort working with People data, reporting, and operational metrics. Proven ability to identify inefficiencies, design practical and well‑considered solutions, and direct others on execution. Proven project management capability with the ability to manage multiple operational priorities simultaneously.

Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail. A builder mindset with a bias toward simplification, efficiency, and scale and a high bar for quality. A design thinking mindset—you start with the human experience and work backward to the system, not the other way around.

What We Offer You We are flexible! A lot of the time, you’ll be able to work remotely, however, during onboarding sessions, we’d like you on site likely a couple times a month. We have an office in downtown Toronto.

We’re well‑funded and offer competitive base salaries and stock options. You’ll play a crucial role in our growth, and it’s important to us that you share in our long‑term success. We care about you as a whole person.

You’ll have a healthy work/life balance and colleagues who respect it. We’ve mindfully put together a great benefits package that covers you and your family. We’ve got an amazing team.

We’re mission‑driven and motivated by success, but we’re friendly, we’re collaborative, and we care about each other. We’ve got all the start‑up perks you’d expect, and are intentionally building a culture where you can pickleball if you want, feel safe to be yourself at work, and watch your career grow because your team has invested in you. The Core Values that Define Our Culture We are customer‑focused We put the team interest before self‑interest We are pleasant and playful We are open to better ideas We solve the toughest problems What to Expect in the Interview Process We anticipate a high volume of applicants for this role and are excited to grow our team.

A human will review each application and get back to you as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience and look forward to connecting with you! Interview Process Chat with Bailey, our Talent Acquisition Manager.

Meet with Lauren, Director of People and Culture. Meet with Inez, Interim CPO, and Rose, VP of People. Present your case study to Lauren, Director of People and Culture, Inez, Interim CPO, and Rose, VP of People.

Wrap up with Ben, our CEO. We believe our strength is built on diversity of thought, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. We value inclusiveness and are an equal opportunity employer.

We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know in your application.

Our team is dedicated to providing the necessary support and making reasonable adjustments to ensure a smooth process for everyone. How We Use AI in Our Hiring Process To ensure transparency, we want candidates to know that Blue J uses AI‑enabled tools within our applicant tracking system to help organize applications and highlight profiles that match the key requirements for each role. AI does not make hiring decisions.

Every application is reviewed by a member of our Talent team, and all decisions throughout the process are made by humans. We use these tools to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgment and we’re committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate. Compensation The base pay range for this role is CA$125,000-$150,000 per year.

This is a Level 5 in Blue J’s career level framework. We use levels to define the expected scope, autonomy, impact, decision‑making, and experience for each role. Final compensation will be set fairly and thoughtfully based on experience, expertise, and alignment with the role’s responsibilities.

While all candidates are expected to bring directly relevant experience, the top of the range is typically reserved for individuals who demonstrate exceptional depth in the role’s core competencies, a strong track record of impact in similar environments, and the ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy from day one. #J-18808-Ljbffr