Director of Human Resources

Director of Human Resources Oakland, California People / Full Time / Hybrid About Us Dutch Vet is transforming veterinary care by making expert treatment accessible anytime, anywhere. Our mission is simple: help every pet live their happiest, healthiest life by connecting pet parents with licensed veterinarians through seamless virtual visits. We’re the only veterinary telemedicine service that can diagnose, prescribe, and ship medications directly to customers in most states. For less than $100 per year, Dutch offers real relief and convenience for pets and their families. As one customer put it: “Dutch was the only site that would diagnose and prescribe meds as well as ship the meds.” Here’s what other customers have said about Dutch Vet: “The easiest vet visit you'll ever have.” “More thorough than my in-person vet.” “No nonsense, quick, easy and friendly veterinarian. Much cheaper than our regular local vet that couldn’t get us in. So glad I found Dutch!” Backed by world-class investors including Forerunner Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, and Bling Capital, our team is made up of successful startup founders from companies including Hims, PlushCare, and Nasty Gal, with experience scaling businesses such as Tripadvisor, Walmart, and BARK. Featured in TechCrunch, Forbes, Wired, and Axios, Dutch is setting the standard for quality, accessibility, and compassion in pet care. The Role We’re looking for a Director of Human Resources to build the people infrastructure, management practices, and employee experience required to support Dutch through its next stage of growth. Reporting to the CEO, you will serve as a trusted advisor to Dutch’s executive team and managers while remaining close to the day-to-day needs of our employees. You will own the full employee lifecycle, including workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation, benefits, employee relations, compliance, organizational development, and offboarding. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can think strategically while also executing the work. You should be equally comfortable advising the CEO on organizational design, coaching a first-time manager, resolving a sensitive employee issue, analyzing compensation data, and improving an HR process yourself. The right candidate will help Dutch preserve the speed, accountability, and entrepreneurial energy of a startup while building increasingly sophisticated and scalable people practices. You will create an environment in which high-performing employees understand what is expected of them, receive direct feedback, are rewarded for results, and can do the best work of their careers. WHAT YOU’LL DO: Own Dutch’s people strategy and HR operations across the entire employee lifecycle Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive team, and people managers on organizational design, workforce planning, performance, compensation, employee relations, and leadership development Develop compensation philosophies, salary bands, leveling frameworks, promotion criteria, equity practices, and incentive programs that are competitive, equitable, and aligned with company performance Design and lead Dutch’s performance-management process, including goal setting, employee feedback, performance reviews, promotions, development plans, and performance improvement Manage employee benefits, payroll partnerships, HR systems, policies, employment documentation, and other core people operations Partner with legal counsel when necessary on investigations, accommodations, leaves, terminations, policy decisions, and other employment matters Strengthen internal communication, employee recognition, team connection, and engagement across a distributed workforce WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: 8+ years of progressive experience in human resources, people operations, or organizational leadership 3+ years leading the HR or People function, ideally within a venture-backed, high-growth, or rapidly changing company Experien…