People Operations Specialist

About Branch

Branch is shaking up the $46B office products industry to create the best work experience for the 21st century: easy, affordable and adaptable so you can sit down (or stand) and get to work.

Most people spend eight hours a day at their workspace. Our mission is creating accessible and inspiring products to help people and teams feel their best at work, wherever that happens.

We're based in NYC and Toronto, and backed by the investors behind Quip, Caraway, Eight Sleep and Peloton. Our culture combines strategic clarity with scrappy execution; we think and plan rigorously but ship fast and have fun doing it. We're looking for entrepreneurial teammates who do the same.

We're looking for a People Operations Specialist to support day-to-day HR operations at Branch. This is a rare opportunity to play a central role in the People Ops function, supporting multiple geographies and team types—HQ, retail, and warehouse—at a scaling company, with meaningful ownership and exposure across the business.

You’ll own core functions—payroll, recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, and frontline HR support—while contributing across compliance, benefits, performance management, and employee engagement. Reporting to the Director of People Operations, you’ll build across the full HR spectrum—the kind of role that sharpens your generalist foundation and accelerates your career.

You’re not just a self-starter—you’re the kind of person who hits the ground running, unafraid to tackle obstacles and navigate ambiguity with confidence and sound judgment. You bring resourcefulness, speed, and a sharp eye for detail, pairing analytical thinking with creative problem-solving to find the best path forward.

You ask questions, challenge the status quo, and operate with the discretion that comes from being trusted across an organization. You care deeply about the people around you and the quality of your work. Always looking for smarter ways to get there, you’re curious, driven by learning, and comfortable leveraging AI tools to eliminate repetitive work so you can focus on what actually moves the needle.

Day-To-Day

• Manage payroll for US and Canada
• Oversee onboarding and offboarding processes
• Ensure compliance with labor regulations across all jurisdictions
• Administer employee engagement surveys and performance review cycles
• Drive recruitment efforts across the organization
• Assist in learning & development initiatives
• Promote HR programs that enhance employee experience
• Provide employee support and respond to general questions regarding company policies, systems, leaves, benefits, and more
• Support employee relations matters, providing guidance on performance issues, conflict resolution, and team dynamics — escalating to the Director of People Operations as needed
• Partner with our insurance broker to manage benefit programs, open enrollment, and benefits data audits
• Work closely with the Director of People Operations and senior leadership to keep a pulse on organizational health
• Maintain and update all employee and contractor data across systems
• Use AI tools (including Claude) to automate repetitive administrative tasks, improve workflows, and support HR operations more efficiently

What We’re Looking For

• 2+ years of experience in Human Resources or People Operations, ideally in a fast paced startup
• Knowledge of payroll and benefits administration across US and Canada
• Experience running end-to-end review cycles and performance management programs
• Experience designing and rolling out engagement surveys and conducting data analysis
• Keen attention to detail and ability to maintain data integrity
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, coupled with discretion in maintaining confidentiality
• A willingness to collaborate and take on miscellaneous tasks and projects, as needed
• Experience designing and implementing policies and processes across all HR functions
• Experience with HR compliance, including familiarity with employment laws, regulations, state registrations, and tax filings
• Bonus: Experience with administering the following HR systems: Rippling, TriNet, Lattice and Humi