Head of People
Sage
Head of People
Sage is on a mission to improve care and quality of life for older adults, starting with those residing in senior living facilities. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults over 65. And yet, fall prevention and emergency response systems for older adults are archaic and ineffective. At Sage we've built a more modern way of understanding when older adults need help, including methods for residents to alert caregivers when in need of help, and corresponding software for caregivers to triage response. Our company mission is to create a product that our client counterparts love, and this role is a key part of that objective.
Sage is a small, tight team of ambitious, multi-disciplinary entrepreneurs. We are a software-enabled, mission-driven company, and are focused only on the problems that are central to achieving that mission. At Sage, we work hard and fast but also know that to build a truly important company, we need to treat our work as a marathon, and not a sprint. The journey matters.
About This Role
As Head of People at Sage, you will play a critical role in shaping the growth and culture of our organization. You will lead the development and execution of our People strategy and programs, ensuring that we continue to build a high-performing, inclusive, and engaging workplace as we scale. Partnering closely with the Founders and leadership team, you will help to refine and promote our company ethos, creating programs and systems that align with our values and foster an environment where our people can thrive.
You will lead all aspects of the People function, from overseeing recruitment and onboarding to supporting employees in their growth. We’re currently a team of 45 and intend to roughly double next year. As we continue to grow, your work will directly impact both the experience of our employees and the success of our business. You will also bring a data-driven approach to understanding team dynamics, identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring that feedback is heard and acted upon.
You’ll lead the development of policies, systems, and processes that keep our teams aligned, motivated, and supported. You will also work closely with other leaders to ensure that we’re building a culture that’s consistent, transparent, and scalable. You will report directly to the Co-Founder and CTO, working closely with all three Founders.
Some examples of the work you’ll be doing on any given day include:
- Leading the development and execution of Sage’s People strategy, ensuring alignment with company values and goals
- Partnering with leadership to manage organizational growth, identifying key talent, and fostering a culture of growth, accountability, and feedback
- Building the Recruiting function by hiring a Head of Talent, and partnering with them to build a talent strategy, and growing the team from about 45 to ~100 in the next year
- Driving employee engagement through fun initiatives, including team offsites and events
- Leading the People Ops function, including onboarding, benefits, compensation and compliance
- Hiring an Office Manager and ensuring our New York City office is a motivating, welcoming, and productive place to work
- Building a compensation philosophy and performance management framework, ensuring fairness and transparency
- Serving as a strategic partner to the Founders, advising on team dynamics, culture initiatives, and key decisions impacting the workforce
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications:
- At least 8 years of experience in the People or Talent functions, with at least 5 years of experience leading and scaling a team
- Bachelor’s degree
- Previous experience in a leadership role within a startup or high-growth environment
- Hands-on hybrid experience with both Recruiting and HR
Preferred Qualifications:
- A track record of building, implementing, and scaling compensation and performance management systems
- Proven ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution, ensuring People and Talent programs deliver results and meet business needs
- A natural leader who is approachable, inspirational, and capable of building strong relationships across teams
- Familiarity with data-driven decision making, including using metrics and feedback to inform people strategy
- Ability to think strategically about leadership development, team health, and culture at scale
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to tailor your approach to different audiences
- Familiarity with Justworks PEO and Greenhouse ATS
Benefits and Pay
Our headquarters are located in New York City's Union Square. We believe in cross team collaboration. We think good ideas can come from anyone, and we've designed our processes to encourage participation from all. While we take our mission seriously, we don't take ourselves too seriously. We like to host offsites, outings, and team meals where we can connect as people, not just as colleagues. We offer office lunch and a fully stocked snack bar. While we are an in office culture, we allow up to 2 remote days per week.
Our benefits package for employees includes competitive base compensation along with stock options. The expected annual salary range for this role is $175,000-225,000 USD, depending upon the job level, which will depend on your level of expertise, your experience, and your qualifications. We also provide fully-paid health and dental insurance coverage for all of our employees, along with other health benefits including vision insurance, membership to premium primary and urgent care, and online medical health providers. We also have a take as you need time off policy, in addition to 7 paid holidays and a company wide winter break during the holidays.
EEO Statement
Sage is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Sage makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.