Senior Manager, HR Operations

Who we are Semafor is a global news platform for an increasingly complex world in which consumers are overwhelmed by too many news sources and unsure what to trust. We are building Semafor to enable world-class journalists to deliver reporting and insights with rigor in journalistic forms that ensure a new level of transparency. Our editors and reporters distill the most important stories from all over in formats that uncover the forces shaping the stories, explain the interests behind polarizing narratives, and replenish the stock of shared facts. As a global platform, Semafor recognizes that smart people can disagree and that informed readers need to understand alternative points of view from competing centers of power and culture in a multi-polar world. Want to join us? Read on. About this Role We're looking for a Senior Manager of HR Operations who combines strong people-operations expertise with hands-on office management skills and sharp project management instincts. This is a hybrid role: part of your time will be spent running the systems, processes, and compliance work that keep our employee lifecycle running smoothly, and part will be spent as the operational backbone of our physical workspace — including leading our upcoming office move from planning through execution. You'll report directly to the CFO and work closely with Finance, HR, IT, and department leaders across the company to ensure our people operations are efficient, accurate, and aligned with broader business systems. What You'll Do HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle Own the end-to-end onboarding and offboarding process, ensuring a smooth, compliant, and well-documented experience for new hires and departing employees Manage and maintain our HR systems and technology stack — including Rippling (HRIS), ChartHop (people analytics/org data), and Greenhouse (ATS) — ensuring data integrity and system optimization Identify opportunities to optimize workflows, automate manual processes, and improve the employee and manager experience through HR technology. Maintain and update personnel files in accordance with legal and company recordkeeping requirements Own the employee handbook and policy documents, keeping them current with employment law and company practice Manage the PTO approval process and ensure accurate tracking and reporting of time off Produce regular HR reporting and analytics for leadership, including headcount, turnover, and compliance metrics Provide operational support across key People initiatives, including talent management, annual performance reviews, compensation planning, promotions, organizational changes. Develop, document and continuously improve People Operations processes and standard operating procedures to support scalability. Cross-Functional & Systems Alignment Partner with Finance to align Rippling/ChartHop data, tagging conventions, and terminology with the Finance ERP system, ensuring consistency across systems Coordinate with IT on device inventory management and equipment provisioning/deprovisioning tied to employee onboarding and offboarding in Rippling Design and configure workflows in Rippling, ChartHop, and Greenhouse to support key people initiatives, including annual performance reviews and employee engagement/feedback surveys Serve as a key point of contact across departments for people-related process questions and improvements Workplace Operations& Project Leadership Lead the planning and execution of the company's upcoming NYC office move, partnering with Finance, IT, building management, and external vendors to deliver the project on time and within budget. Responsibilities include project planning, timeline management, vendor and building coordination, budget tracking, furniture/equipment logistics, risk management, and employee communications to ensure a seamless transition with minimal business disruption. Act as the day-to-day office manager for a fast-paced, open office environment, overseeing supplies, vend…