What are the responsibilities and job description for the Fractional Head of HR position at Elysian HR Consulting?
Company Description
Elysian HR is a boutique HR consulting firm serving early and mid-stage biotech, health-tech, and medical device companies exclusively. Over the past seven years, Elysian HR has partnered with life science companies across the U.S., building an impressive roster of more than 80 life science clients. We pair embedded HR Advisory with a dedicated Learning & Development practice, a combination that sets us apart from most of our competitors. Our team consists of seasoned HR professionals who value the variety and autonomy of consulting, thrive as trusted extensions of our clients' leadership teams, and are energized by working alongside mission-driven scientists in a fast-paced, intellectually rich industry.
Role Summary
The Fractional Head of HR (San Diego) will deliver embedded, senior HR leadership as a part-time member of a client's leadership team — the core delivery role in Elysian's HR Advisory practice. Consultants may serve one or more clients concurrently and will be backed by Elysian's extended specialist team — recruiting, HR operations, benefits, compensation, and HRIS — enabling full-service HR support for every client.
Key Responsibilities
• Serve as a client's part-time Head of HR / People function, typically reporting into the client's CEO or COO
• When assuming an existing engagement, lead a structured transition — rapidly absorbing client history, priorities, and in-flight work while maintaining continuity and client trust
• Build and run HR infrastructure, including: culture and engagement, policies, talent frameworks, performance management, employee relations, etc.
• Manage compliance and HR risk for the client across applicable state and federal requirements
• Identify when a client engagement would benefit from Elysian's L&D offerings and flag to the Regional Practice Lead
• Represent Elysian at the highest standard in every client interaction
• Serve as an ambassador for Elysian in the San Diego life sciences community
Ideal Candidate Profile
• 15 years of progressive HR leadership experience
• Based in the greater San Diego area, with the ability to be on-site with clients at least 1 day/week
• Prior in-house experience in biotech, life science, or medtech industry required
• Prior consulting experience highly preferred
• Experience working with executives, senior leaders and individual contributors alike
• Comfortable operating with significant autonomy in a part-time, embedded capacity
• Able to ramp quickly into an in-flight engagement and establish credibility with client stakeholders early
• Strong judgment on when to escalate versus when to resolve independently
• Credentialed (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR) strongly preferred but not required if experience is strong