Human Resources Manager

We're hiring an HR Manager to help us empower food people to become better people.

Our people are everything. You'll be their champion.

At Food People Restaurant Group, the team behind Carolina Ale House and TakoSushi, we believe a restaurant is only as good as the people in it. We've got a growing family of locations across Georgia and South Carolina, roughly 800 team members, and a motto we mean with our whole hearts: We empower food people by providing them with opportunities to become better people. Everything we do runs on three core values: hospitality, integrity, and teamwork.

We're looking for an HR Manager who leads with heart, someone who sees HR as a promise to every team member that they'll be treated fairly, supported fully, and genuinely cared for. This is also a rare chance to build: as we grow, you'll shape how our HR function takes form, with the flexibility and trust to bring your own ideas to life. Most of all, you'll spend real time in our restaurants, learning names, building trust, and showing up for our people every day.

What you'll do

• Be present at our locations as the approachable, trusted HR partner, our managers and teams are glad to have in their corner.
• Mentor and develop our HR Generalist, helping them keep growing into the best version of their professional self.
• Partner with leadership on the people side of scaling a multi-brand, multi-state business, shaping the structure, systems, and culture that let us grow without losing what makes us, us.
• Own recruiting end-to-end, bringing in people who fit our culture and make our teams stronger.
• Handle employee relations and investigations with care, empathy, and sound judgment.
• Keep us compliant with employment and labor law, and manage/oversee unemployment and workers' comp claims from start to finish.
• Write clear, practical, human policies, because here, policies are made for people, not people made for policies.
• Own benefits administration and serve as our subject-matter expert and administrator for BambooHR.

What you'll bring

• A real passion for people. This is the non-negotiable.
• HR experience, ideally in a multi-unit, fast-paced, or hospitality/restaurant setting.
• A builder's mindset and a love for coaching and developing others.
• Solid knowledge of employment and labor law (GA and SC experience is a big plus).
• Experience across the HR lifecycle: employee relations, investigations, benefits, compliance, recruiting, and policy.
• Comfort owning an HRIS (BambooHR a plus), plus the discretion and warm communication to earn trust with everyone from a line cook to an executive.
• A bachelor's degree and/or SHRM-CP / PHR certification preferred (relevant experience speaks just as loudly).

The logistics

• Primarily on-site, out with our teams, with flexible remote days when you're not. This is a be-with-people job at heart.
• Based in South Carolina, the Columbia area is preferred.
• You'll directly manage and develop one HR Generalist in a flexible company that trusts its people to do their best work.
• Approximately 35% travel

What we offer

• A highly energetic work environment that buzzes with excitement!
• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits, because we value your health and well-being.
• Paid Time Off and paid holidays to recharge and refresh!
• Flexible remote workdays for balance when you're not out with our teams.
• 401k to help you plan for your future.
• A meal program that lets you taste the deliciousness across our brands!
• Employee Assistance Program.
• A supportive and engaging work environment where your ideas are valued.

Why you'll want this one

You'll get to live our motto every day: empowering food people to become better people. You'll have a genuine hand in building an organization, a team member to grow, and the freedom to do it your way. You won't be a cog. You'll be the advocate who makes 800 people feel seen and supported.

If hospitality, integrity, and teamwork are values you live by, we'd love to meet you.

Food People Restaurant Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.