Director of Human Resources & Compliance

Location: Watsonville, California

Type: In-office

Pay Range: $135,000-$175,000

Job Overview (Onsite)

We are seeking a highly skilled and strategic Director of Human Resources & Compliance for our growing client in Watsonville!

Position Summary

The Director of Human Resources & Compliance is a newly created position responsible for leading the company’s people, labor, and employment compliance functions, with a strong focus on California labor law, agricultural workforce compliance, and risk management. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, this role serves as the organization’s primary authority on employment practices, labor compliance, employee relations, benefits governance, and HR systems and operations. This role is responsible for establishing HR governance and compliance frameworks, ensuring consistent execution across the organization, and protecting the company from employment and labor‑related risk, while supporting a productive, compliant, and engaged workforce.

Key Accountability Areas / Responsibilities

HR Strategy, Governance & Leadership

• Establish and lead the company’s HR & labor compliance strategy
• Define HR operating models, decision rights, escalation paths, and service standards
• Serve as the senior internal advisor to executive leadership on labor risk, workforce strategy, and employment compliance
• Lay out clear plans for a potential buildout & leadership of a high-performing HR team

Employment & Labor Compliance

• Own and oversee compliance with California employment law, including wage and hour laws (overtime, meal/rest periods, waiting time rules), leave laws (CFRA, FMLA, PFL, ADA, accommodations), employee classifications, and pay practices
• Establish policies, procedures, and training to ensure consistent and compliant execution by supervisors and managers
• Serve as the company’s primary point of accountability for labor audits, inspections, and agency inquiries
• Partner with legal counsel on high-risk employment matters and regulatory interpretations

Agricultural Workforce & H-2A Program Oversight

• Provide governance and oversight for all agricultural workforce compliance, including seasonal and H-2A labor
• Designate and oversee an internal H-2A Program Lead (field-based) responsible for day-to-day execution
• Ensure compliance with all H-2A requirements, including program administration & documentation, wage requirements (AEWR and guarantees), worker orientation and policy communication, vendor and agent oversight
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and processes supporting H-2A and seasonal labor programs

Employee Relations & Investigations

• Establish and oversee the company’s employee relations framework
• Ensure consistent, fair, defensible handling of performance & conduct issues, discipline & terminations, harassment, discrimination & retaliation complaints
• Oversee workplace investigations, documentation standards, and corrective actions
• Train managers and supervisors on documentation, coaching, and compliance decision-making

Benefits, Total Rewards & Leaves Governance

• Help lead the company’s benefit programs, including health & welfare, leaves of absence, etc.
• Oversee benefits strategy, plan design, and renewal processes
• Ensure compliance with ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and related regulations
• Partner with Finance on benefits cost modeling, budgeting, and payroll integration
• Ensure accurate benefits administration through HR operations, systems, and partnership with the Payroll team
• Help define strategy on competitive benefits for company hiring & retention plans

HR Operations, Systems, Data Integrity

• Ensure data accuracy, security, and reporting integrity
• Ensure compliant onboarding, I-9 processing, records retention, and personnel file management
• Define HR metrics and dashboards to monitor compliance risk, turnover, workforce trends, and policy adherence
• Ensure training compliance and documentation across all employee populations

Cross-Functional Partnership with Finance, Operations, Corporate Services

• Partner closely with Finance (including Payroll team) on labor cost governance, payroll policy oversight (processing remains in Finance), and audit readiness
• Collaborate with Operations to ensure policies are executable, understood, and enforced in the field
• Coordinate with Corporate Operations on issues impacting workforce compliance (housing, transportation, safety, insurance intersections)

Qualifications

• 10 years of progressive HR leadership experience
• Deep expertise in California employment law
• Experience managing benefits and HR operations in a regulated environment
• Demonstrated leadership in employee relations, investigations, and labor compliance
• Experience supporting agricultural, field-based, or seasonal workforces strongly preferred
• Degree and/or certifications in HR
• Fluent in English; Spanish fluency strongly preferred.