People Operations Director

Position: Director, People Operations

RNGD is a rapidly scaling organization emerging as a nationally recognized leader in construction through our unique Renegade mindset focused on innovation, creativity, and culture. The team is made up of a highly engaged group of seasoned professionals and leaders. We are creators who believe that what we build drives the growth of our cities and that to fulfill our mission, we must constantly challenge the old way of doing things. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, we thrive on building communities, building teams, building leaders, and growing the business throughout the Southeast region with offices in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Purpose of the role:

We are seeking a Director of People Operations who brings something to the table that traditional HR does not. This is not a policy desk, and it is not a role that runs on a calendar of annual cycles. It is a seat for a visible, approachable leader who treats people strategy as a business discipline, who is known by name on every floor, and who removes the stigma that keeps employees from walking through the HR door in the first place.

The compliance work is part of this job and will be handled with precision and on time, but it is the floor of the role rather than the ceiling. We are prioritizing candidates who demonstrate a long-term interest in building something here, and who want their energy spent on what makes people want to stay and do their best work.

This role acts as the owner of employment administration while partnering with other leaders in Safety & Risk, Benefits & Wellness, Talent Attraction, Employee Experience, Employee Resource, and Renegade Academy.

Above all, we need a doer. Someone who gets in the weeds, sees around the corner, and figures it out before it becomes a problem. If your instinct when you spot a pattern is to build the fix rather than escalate the issue, this role will fit you.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Culture, Engagement, and Leadership

• Keep regular floor time and open office hours so that People Operations is where employees go early, not where they are sent as a last resort.
• Be a resource, coach, and trusted confidant for the entire People Ops Team.
• Support leaders through difficult employee conversations, providing coaching and guidance while helping them build confidence in managing their teams.
• Connect the dots across the organization, identifying recurring themes that individual leaders or business units may not see on their own.
• Challenge leadership when necessary. Bring forward difficult feedback, advocate for employees appropriately, and help leaders understand the People impact of business decisions.
• Close the loop. Employees and leaders should know what happened after they raised an issue, asked a question, or provided feedback.
• Coach managers in the moment on real situations, and hold a consistent bar for how people are led here
• Leads through challenges with a solutions-first mindset and takes the difficult conversation early.

Total Rewards, Systems, and People Data

• Own compensation structure: market benchmarking, salary bands, offer guidelines, the annual review cycle, and periodic pay equity analysis.
• Own HRIS data integrity, workflow automation, and audit-ready records.
• Prepare accurate and timely analysis that capture and communicate headcount, voluntary and involuntary turnover, time-to-fill, cost per hire, absenteeism, and engagement trends, delivered monthly with the risk and the recommendation, not just the numbers.

Compliance and Risk Management (non-negotiable)

• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local employment law, including FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, EEO, USERRA, and OSHA obligations
• Own I-9 and E-Verify administration, personnel and confidential medical file integrity, records retention, required postings, and EEO-1 and other mandated reporting
• Administer leaves of absence, ADA accommodations, employee grievances, and unemployment claims end to end
• Conduct prompt, impartial workplace investigations with clean documentation, and partner with counsel when a matter warrants it
• Keep the data current; job descriptions, and policies, and deliver required HR training on schedule.
• Ensure payroll practices, employee classifications, and wage and hour records hold up to audit

Getting Ahead of Problems

• Sit inside the business: attend operations meetings, walk the floor, and know what each team is actually dealing with
• Watch the early indicators, absenteeism, exit interview themes, complaint patterns, and manager churn, and act on them while they are still small
• Bring leadership the issue, the root cause, and a recommendation before it becomes an escalation, a resignation, or a claim

Preferred Qualifications:

• Progressive People Operations or HR leadership experience, including time spent building programs rather than only administering them
• Working command of employment law and compliance obligations, with the judgment to apply them without defaulting to no
• Experience in scaling regionally and across the miles to build a trusted people team
• A proven track record of measurably improving retention, engagement, or hiring outcomes, with the story of how it was done
• Fluency with HRIS platforms and people data, and the ability to turn analysis into a clear recommendation
• SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, SPHR, or PHR certification preferred
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, innovative, and self-directed
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including familiarity with digital communication and engagement strategies
• A long-term interest in building something here, rather than a stop between roles