Head of People Central

About the Role

As Gusto scales in size and complexity, we're seeking a Head of People Central to lead the operational engine of our People function. This leader will own five teams — Employee Relations, People Governance, People Solutions, Shared Services and Experience, and Invite Operations — and the systems, processes, and services that 3,000+ Gusties rely on every day.

People Central is where policy meets practice. It's the function that ensures Gusto stays compliant as we grow, that Gusties can get what they need without picking up the phone, and that our People team can focus on high-value, human work because the operational infrastructure underneath it actually works. We're in the middle of an AI-native transformation, and this leader will be central to it — building toward a world where 70% of Gustie interactions with the People team are self-serve.This is not a maintenance role. We're looking for someone who leads through their managers, sets strategy in partnership with senior People leadership, and makes final calls on implementation across a broad and complex portfolio. The decisions made here have multi-year consequences for how Gusto operates — and that's the point.

What You'll Do

• Own and evolve the strategic direction of People Central. Participate with senior People leadership to establish direction across five functions, translate that strategy into operational plans, and be accountable for execution. Anticipate factors that could disrupt People Central's operations or Gusto's compliance posture, and build ahead of those risks. Lead through your managers — set direction, develop leaders, and hold teams accountable without doing the work for them.
• Build a best-in-class Employee Relations function. Empower the ER team to handle complex escalations and investigations with sound, independent judgment — reducing the need to loop in Legal on routine decisions. Build a prevention-first ER program that identifies patterns, intervenes early, and reduces issues over time. Own the ER function's return from Legal and establish it as a capable, trusted resource for managers and Gusties alike.
• Drive compliance across the employee lifecycle. Own Gusto's compliance posture across contractors, immigration, global operations, and extended workforce. Partner with the People Governance lead to expand and deepen the compliance remit as Gusto's footprint grows — including active M&A integration work.
• Own the People Tech roadmap. Partner with People Solutions to drive the HR systems strategy — HRIS, ATS, case management, data integrity, and 3rd party integrations. You don't need to be an engineer, but you know how these tools connect, where the gaps are, and what great looks like. Make build vs. buy vs. integrate decisions with confidence.
• Transform Shared Services into a world-class shared services function. Set the vision for SSE as the front door for Gustie support — building the knowledge base, self-serve tooling, and service delivery model that lets Gusties get answers without always needing a human. Drive the operational and AI-native process improvements that move the needle on self-serve rates.
• Empower Invite Operations. Set the direction for recruiting operations — ensuring the team is focused on automation and scale so that human attention stays where it matters most: candidates and future Gusties.
• Influence Gusto-wide People policy. Reconcile multiple stakeholder views to drive policy decisions that work for the whole company. Implement Gusto-wide People practices and ensure operational effectiveness across the function. Partner with Legal on sensitive employee situations, M&A integrations, and governance matters.
• Be accountable for department financial results. Ensure People Central's investments and headcount are deployed effectively. Partner with Finance and the Head of People on annual planning and in-year trade-offs.
• Build and develop your team. Lead through five managers (what Gusto calls “People Empowerers”) who have direct ownership of their functions. Develop leadership capability across People Central, create clear career paths, and build a culture where craft and accountability coexist. You are a force multiplier — not the person doing the work.

Here's What We're Looking For

• ER and compliance depth. You've led an Employee Relations function with genuine independence — managing complex investigations, high-stakes escalations, and sensitive situations without defaulting to Legal for judgment calls. You have a strong foundation in employment law, HR compliance, and risk management, and you've built or improved the policies and frameworks that give managers the clarity to handle situations confidently.
• Operational execution at scale. You've built and run tight operations across a large, complex HR function. You define clear processes, hold teams to standards, and have a policy-based, automation-first mindset. You don't offer white-glove bespoke solutions when a scalable process will do — and you know the difference.
• People Tech and systems fluency. You're comfortable driving an HR systems roadmap — HRIS, ATS, case management, integrations. You understand how these tools connect to create seamless employee experiences and you've made consequential decisions about what to build, buy, or integrate.
• Shared services leadership. You've run or transformed a shared services or employee support function. You have a clear POV on what should be self-serve versus human-handled, and you've built toward that vision — not just described it.
• Process and AI automation capability. You've actually redesigned HR operational workflows using automation and AI — not just talked about it. You have a point of view on what HR work should be automated and how to get there responsibly, and you've demonstrated results.
• Leadership at scale, through managers. 12+ years of progressive HR experience with 5+ years leading HR Operations at scale (1,000+ employees) in high-growth tech. You lead through PEs, not around them — developing managers who own their teams' results. Your decisions have had multi-year consequences, and you've been accountable for them.
• Strategic execution. Proven ability to translate business strategy into multi-functional operational plans and guide execution across complex, ambiguous environments. You participate in shaping strategy, not just receiving it — and you bring the organizational influence to make decisions stick.

Experience

• Industry: Tech or high-growth company experience required. Familiarity with a late-stage private or public company preferred.
• Role: Head or Senior Director of Shared Services (HR Operations / People Operations) or equivalent, with broad ownership across employee relations, HR systems, shared services, and compliance.
• Experience: 12+ years in HR, with 5+ years in a senior people management role leading multiple functions. Demonstrated track record of running complex HR operations at scale across a multi-state or global workforce.
• Critical: ER and compliance depth is the non-negotiable for us. Candidates with strong ops and AI backgrounds but without genuine ER experience should have a compelling story for how they'd lead that function.
• Bonus signal: M&A integration experience, immigration tooling ownership, and hands-on AI/automation implementation.

Our cash compensation amount for this role is $188,510 to $225,000 in Denver & most major metro locations, and $221,000 to $265,000 for San Francisco & New York. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.