People Operations Manager

WHO WE ARE
Avant Gardner is New York City's premier event space and producer. Its flagship venue, The Brooklyn Mirage, is the crown jewel of New York City entertainment and one of the most iconic venues in the world. Avant Gardner’s 80,000 square foot complex occupies an entire city block of East Williamsburg, highlighted by the space’s unrivaled audiovisual features including a 200 foot wide, 15k resolution video wall. Voted North America's 'Best Large Club' in 2022 and 2023 and ranked top ten globally by DJ Mag, Avant Gardner has welcomed sold out shows featuring today's top acts and emerging global stars including Drake, Skrillex, Turnstile, Four Tet, John Summit, Glass Animals, Carl Cox, Keinemusik, Christina Aguilera, David Guetta, Marshmello, Reneé Rapp, Rina Sawayama, Rüfüs Du Sol, SOFI TUKKER, Tiësto, and many more. Avant Gardner’s portfolio includes event brands such as The Cityfox Experience along with programming across New York City. For more information, visit Avant-Gardner.com.

WHO YOU ARE

• Someone who is highly organized, able to juggle multiple projects at once and prioritize with accuracy.
• Someone who is reliable and has a “no task too small” attitude
• Someone who can keep calm under high pressure situations
• Adept at building strong relationships across different teams and levels.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a People Operations Manager to join our People team in East Williamsburg/Bushwick, supporting the overall HR functions at Avant Gardner with a primary focus on Employee Relations. Reporting to the Senior People Operations Manager, you will play a key role in fostering a positive workplace culture, ensuring compliance with labor laws, and driving HR initiatives that align with our mission and values. In this role, you will oversee employee relations, improve processes and policies, manage on/offboarding, administer benefits, ensure compliance, foster employee engagement, and assist with recruiting. The ideal candidate is a self-starter, innovative, empathetic, and a problem-solver, comfortable working on-site at either our headquarters or venue. This is an in-person role, requiring attendance on-site. 

ESSENTIAL ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Reports to Senior People Operations Manager
• Employee Relations:
• Address and resolve employee issues, grievances, and disputes in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, ensuring compliance with company policies and legal standards.
• Implement and manage effective communication programs to keep employees informed about company policies, procedures, and benefits updates.
• Provide training on personnel policy and procedure guidance to both employees and management.
• Conduct exit and stay interviews
• Support the Senior People Operations Manager in keeping the compensation strategy up to date and enhancing and implementing employee performance programs.
• Benefits Administration:
• Oversee the administration of employee benefits programs, including health insurance, 401(k), disability, and other voluntary benefits.
• Ensure compliance with all federal and state regulations related to benefits. Collaborate with the People Operations and Payroll Manager to ensure accurate payroll auditing for benefits eligibility.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for benefits-related inquiries, providing support to employees regarding benefits options and processes.
• Alongside the Senior Manager of People Operations, manage relationships with benefits vendors and brokers to optimize benefit offerings and negotiate contract terms.
• Talent Acquisition and Development:
• Lead recruitment efforts to attract and retain top talent, ensuring alignment with company objectives and diversity goals.
• Ensure job descriptions are current and compliant with all local, state, and federal regulations.
• Develop training and development programs to support employee growth and career advancement.
• Payroll, Compliance and Reporting:
• Primary backup for Payroll Processing
• Ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal labor laws, including OSHA, EEOC, FMLA, and other regulations.
•  Maintain accurate records and prepare necessary reports for compliance, audits, and senior management review.
• Serve as the primary contact for regulatory inspections, partnering with legal counsel and senior management as needed.
• Carry out ad-hoc projects as required.

DESIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS 

• Minimum 3 years of previous human resources experience.
• ADP experience preferred
• Experience managing a direct report or small team highly desired
• Demonstrated ability to forge meaningful interpersonal relationships across functions and levels and comfortable navigating a fast paced environment
• Working knowledge of federal and state labor law including workers compensation, workplace safety, EEOC, and FLSA
• Outstanding leadership skills with a high capacity for managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Must possess excellent oral, written, and listening communication skills as well as the ability to prioritize and execute in a deadline-oriented environment
• A strong commitment to delivering a high level of employee service with demonstrated initiative, leadership, and management skills
• Proficiency in Google Workspace (Drive, Shared Drives, Google Groups) for team collaboration and document management. Strong skills in Excel or Google Sheets, with a willingness to learn and optimize these tools if necessary. Ideally, you're comfortable working with pivot tables, v-lookups, and larger datasets.
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal
• SHRM or HRCI certification is preferred, but not required—if you don’t have these certifications, we still encourage you to apply.

BENEFITS & PERKS

• When available, complimentary or discounted tickets for live events at our music venue, guests included.
• Complimentary snacks and beverages available in office
• PTO Days + Specified Holidays Off
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• 401K with employer match
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that can be used for commuting expenses, dependent care and more!
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Opportunities for professional development and advancement within the company

COMPENSATION  The yearly salary for this position will range from $90,000- $100,000