Director of HR Launch

At Bowery Farming, we dream of a world where agriculture gives back to the people and the planet more than it takes. But to achieve this, we need more than incremental change. We need to reimagine farming from the ground up. Every day, Bowery’s purpose-driven team works toward this mission. Right outside of cities, we build indoor farms that grow wildly flavorful produce that’s defiantly free from pollutants, all while using less finite resources like space and water. Our smart farms are powered by our proprietary farm operating system, BoweryOS, creating a simplified, agile food system that’s focused on flavor, freshness, and safety. At Bowery, we’re farming efficiently so we can feed effectively, democratizing access to fresh, local food in our communities.

About The Role

We’re looking for a leader to oversee all of our HR launch activities as we build and scale farms across the U.S. This role is both strategic and hands-on, as you’ll develop and implement the HR plans, tools and programs to ensure we successfully launch each Farm and provide the best employee experience on Farm launch day and beyond.

What You’ll Do

• • Project manage all HR activities related to Farm launch, including the development (and iteration) of the HR plans and playbooks to launch concurrent Farms
  • Hire and lead a team of HR launch professionals
  • Identify launch gaps across key areas and mitigate both systemic and site-specific risks with a significant focus on: high volume hiring, onboarding, training and employee experience, as well as systems and processes like time and attendance and payroll
  • In partnership with the Head of HR for Ops, devise a talent strategy to ensure we are fully staffed with top talent in both our salaried and hourly roles pre-launch
  • Define and track HR KPIs and measures for success at all build and launch stages
  • Work cross functionally with teams across Operations and other functions, as well as with key partners on the People team within HR Partnering, Talent Acquisition, People Systems and Employee Experience
  • Partner with HR and Ops colleagues to identify best practices that can be documented and leveraged across our network of farms

Who You Are

• • An experienced HR professional who ideally has worked with large, dispersed hourly populations (i.e. manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, etc.)
  • A leader – you have managed, developed and engaged teams, and you love it
  • A business partner – with strong business and financial acumen – you find the intersections between business & people strategy
  • An program manager – able to juggle multiple projects with competing priorities and tight timelines
  • A doer – you don’t wait, you go
  • A collaborator – you enjoy working collaboratively and cross functionally to achieve goals
  • An influencer – you are a credible expert in your space
  • A clear and succinct communicator
  • Process-focused – you enjoys creating and standardizing processes
  • Excited to travel (this role will eventually involve >50% travel between HQ and various farms)

Bowery’s headquarters is based in Manhattan. We have two farms in Kearny, New Jersey. One farm is focused on Research & Development, the other services retailers and community partners in the Tri-State area. Our third farm is located in Nottingham, Maryland, feeding the Mid-Atlantic region. Bowery Farming products are sold at hundreds of retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Giant Food, Stop & Shop, Walmart and specialty grocers, along with online partners like Amazon Fresh, Hungryroot, Peapod and restaurants, including Sweetgreen. Based in New York City, the company has raised over $172.5 million from leading investors, including Temasek, GV (formerly Google Ventures), General Catalyst, GGV Capital, First Round Capital, and Henry Kravis, as well as some of the foremost thought leaders in food, including David Barber of Blue Hill, Tom Colicchio, and José Andres.