People Operations Lead

PEOPLE OPERATIONS LEAD

Thresh Consulting - Strategy in Action for the AI Era

Salary:$130,000 - $150,000 + up to 20% annual bonus

Location: Chicago or NYC Area Preferred Open to Hybrid w/Travel

ABOUT THRESH

Thresh Consulting is a modern digital consulting firm built for the AI era-where strategy, execution, and craft come together to deliver real outcomes with speed. Our specialty is helping organizations design, build, and scale digital products that create exceptional customer experiences and drive measurable value.

At Thresh, we believe our people are our product. This role exists because talent operations should be about human experience, not processing paperwork. We value clarity over complexity, quality over shortcuts, and using technology to empower our team.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The People Operations Lead is a strategic and hands-on leader responsible for building, scaling, and running a modern People Operations function capable of moving at the pace of the AI era. You will partner directly with Thresh's founding team to drive talent strategy, scale people operations, and own all HR functions.

This is a builder-operator role. You will set the strategy, stand up the systems, advise leadership, and help ensure the right balance as we rapidly grow. We believe deeply in creating a positive human experience for Thresh team members amidst the AI wave and you will be at the center.

Experience and Skills:

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Build and Run People Operations

• Own People Ops End-to-End: Define the vision, strategy, and roadmap for all people-related initiatives in lockstep with Partners and Directors. Ensure alignment with Thresh's growth objectives and AI-era ethos.
• Catalyze HR Innovation: Select, implement, and manage a modern stack across areas such as HRIS, payroll, and ATS. Use AI and automation to streamline administrative work (onboarding workflows, expense approvals, compliance checks, data entry), optimizing how talent at Thresh can focus on high-value client efforts.
• Champion Governance & Compliance: Establish, maintain, and evolve best practices fit for the AI era, spanning HR, recruiting, legal compliance, and internal governance across all operational areas.

Lead Talent Strategy

• Define and Execute Talent Strategy: Collaborate with leadership to attract exceptional talent across strategy, product, engineering, and design - from early-career practitioners to senior leaders.
• Build the Recruiting Engine: Own strategy, implementation, and optimization of recruiting systems, tools, and processes (ATS, interview scheduling, pipeline analytics).
• Shape Compensation Philosophy: Advise on compensation bands, total rewards, and market-based hiring strategies. The goal is to be the firm that sets the market, not the one reacting to it.

Create a Premier Employee Experience

• Manage Performance & Career Growth: Develop a fair, transparent performance management process focused on coaching, growth, and continuous feedback.
• Oversee & Scale Benefit Offerings: Oversee Thresh vendors across the end-to-end administration of all employee benefits (health, dental, 401k/match) and payroll processing to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Continuously evaluate vendor fit for emerging needs at scale.
• Facilitate Learning & Development: Architect and deliver firm-wide training programs, including leadership development, professional skill-building, and ongoing fluency with AI tools and modern craft.
• Own Employee Relations: Serve as the primary, trusted point of contact for employee relations, conflict resolution, and workplace investigations.

WHAT YOU BRING

• 5-8+ yearsof progressive experience in Talent, People Operations, or Human Resources, ideally in a fast-paced consulting or technology environment.
• Strategic & Execution Discipline: You can zoom out to define high-level strategy, then zoom in to manage a vendor or troubleshoot a compliance issue.
• AI/Automation Fluency: You have a bias toward using technology to make processes better, faster, and more human. Bonus if you've actually implemented AI tooling in a People Ops context.
• Builder Mindset: You've stood up systems before (or are hungry to). You're energized by the opportunity to build, not intimidated by it.
• Compliance Knowledge: Experience navigating employment law and HR compliance across key operating states (e.g., NY, IL, CO preferred).
• Exceptional Communication: Proven ability to coach, advise, and drive alignment with senior leaders and Partners.

WHY THRESH

• Competitive compensation with performance bonus upside
• Healthcare benefits and 401(k) with company match.
• A culture that is builder-first, low-ego, and hyper-focused on craft and measurable client outcomes.
• The opportunity to shape the foundation of a rapidly growing firm focused on premier talent.
• A front-row seat to how AI is reshaping professional services and the chance to build the people function that proves a better model exists.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Individual salaries that are offered to a candidate are determined after consideration of numerous factors including internal equity, market data, the candidate's qualifications- including but not limited to specialty skills, prior relevant industry experience, relevant degrees or certifications. The salary range estimate below is inclusive of all departments, and offered salaries may vary within the given range between departments. A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this level is $130,000 to $150,000 annualized and other competitive benefits.
From: Miller Cooper