Human Resources Consultant — Startup Support

About the Role

We’re launching a new service company in Costa Rica and seek an experienced HR Consultant to design, implement, and operationalize all people processes from zero to steady state. You’ll work directly with executive leadership to ensure a compliant, scalable HR foundation aligned with Costa Rican regulations and global best practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Regulatory Setup & Compliance
• Guide employer registration and ongoing compliance with MTSS, CCSS (CAJA/SICERE), and INS (Riesgos del Trabajo).
• Define hiring types (empleado vs. servicios profesionales), probation terms, and termination practices per Código de Trabajo.
• Establish internal complaint/grievance, ethics, and data-privacy procedures.
• People Operations Build-Out
• Draft and implement the Employee Handbook (policies, benefits, code of conduct, time & attendance, remote/hybrid work).
• Design organizational structure, job families, and career levels.
• Set up payroll workflows (pay cycles, overtime, holiday pay, aguinaldo, vacaciones, preaviso/cesantía calculations) and coordinate with payroll providers.
• Define compensation & benefits (salary bands, market benchmarks, insurance/allowances).
• Talent Acquisition & Onboarding
• Build a lean recruiting process (requisitions, job descriptions, interview kits, offers).
• Set up background checks, medicals (as applicable), and onboarding plans (first 90 days).
• Systems & Metrics
• Recommend and implement basic HRIS/ATS (e.g., BambooHR, Personio, or similar).
• Establish HR KPIs (time-to-hire, quality of hire, turnover, absenteeism, payroll accuracy).
• Training & Culture
• Develop mandatory training matrix (e.g., health & safety, anti-harassment) and a light performance framework (goals/feedback).
• Advise on culture, engagement, and internal communications.

Deliverables

• Compliance checklist and registration confirmation (MTSS, CCSS, INS).
• Employee Handbook (ES; summary EN).
• Org chart, job descriptions, and salary bands.
• Hiring & onboarding playbooks and templates.
• Payroll process map and provider setup.
• HRIS/ATS selection and configuration baseline.
• 90-day and 180-day HR operating plan with KPIs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in HR generalist/HRBP roles with hands-on setup experience in Costa Rica.
• Proven track record launching or scaling HR operations for a new entity or business unit.
• Strong command of Costa Rican labor law and payroll/benefits practices.
• Experience selecting/implementing HRIS/ATS and working with external payroll providers.
• Excellent stakeholder management; capable of building processes and documentation from scratch.
• Bilingual Spanish/English (professional working proficiency).
• Nice to have: Services industry background, exposure to multinational environments, familiarity with ISO/GxP or regulated settings (plus).

Engagement & Timeline

• Start: ASAP
• Duration: 3–6 months (milestone-based; potential extension for steady-state support)
• Load: 20–40 hours/week (flexible based on milestones)