Location: Chicago, IL (three required in-office days each week)
Salary: $90,000–$110,000, based on experience
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
About Mainland
Mainland is an integrated marketing and communications company serving franchise brands and growth-minded businesses. We are building a high-performance organization centered on accountability, urgency, strong communication and a genuine commitment to doing great work.
We are growing and evolving quickly. That requires more than an HR administrator. We need an experienced people leader who can help managers lead, address difficult situations directly and ensure our expectations are clear, documented and consistently enforced.
The Opportunity
Mainland is hiring an Employee Relations & People Operations Manager to own the day-to-day people function across the company.
This is a hands-on management role for someone who is comfortable stepping into challenging conversations—not someone who only advises from the sidelines.
You will partner with our COO, CEO and department leaders to address performance issues, coach managers, improve accountability, manage recruiting and onboarding, and build people systems that support a high-performing culture.
The right person will combine sound judgment with strong execution. You will know when to listen, when to coach, when to document and when a direct conversation needs to happen immediately.
What You Will OwnEmployee Relations and Performance Management
- Lead difficult employee conversations involving performance, conduct, attendance, communication and workplace expectations
- Coach managers before, during and after performance conversations
- Prepare and deliver written warnings, performance improvement plans and other formal documentation
- Manage employee investigations and recommend appropriate next steps
- Support and participate in terminations when necessary
- Ensure employee concerns are addressed promptly, fairly and consistently
- Identify recurring people or leadership issues before they become larger organizational problems
Manager Coaching and Accountability
- Help managers become stronger, more confident people leaders
- Coach leaders on providing direct feedback, setting expectations and holding employees accountable
- Ensure managers consistently follow company policies and people processes
- Challenge avoidance, inconsistency and weak documentation
- Serve as a trusted but direct partner to leadership
- Help translate company expectations into clear behaviors and measurable standards
Recruiting and Onboarding
- Own recruiting for open positions from job posting through accepted offer
- Improve candidate screening and interview processes
- Help leaders evaluate talent beyond resumes and rehearsed answers
- Manage offer preparation, reference checks and pre-employment processes
- Build an onboarding experience that creates clarity, accountability and connection from day one
- Track new-hire performance and identify early concerns
People Operations and Compliance
- Manage employee records, policies, documentation and HR systems
- Oversee employee onboarding, offboarding, PTO administration and benefits coordination
- Maintain accurate information within Gusto and related systems
- Support multi-state employment compliance
- Review and strengthen company policies and employee communications
- Partner with outside employment counsel when appropriate
- Maintain confidentiality and sound judgment when handling sensitive matters
Culture and Employee Experience
- Help reinforce Mainland’s standards, values and expectations
- Support employee engagement and communication initiatives
- Identify where leadership behavior or company processes are creating friction
- Help build a workplace where strong employees can succeed and poor performance is addressed
- Balance employee advocacy with the needs and standards of the business
What We Are Looking For
- 6–10 years of progressive human resources or people operations experience
- At least three years of direct employee-relations experience
- Proven experience personally handling difficult conversations, investigations, written warnings and terminations
- Experience coaching managers through performance and behavior issues
- Strong understanding of employment practices and multi-state compliance
- Experience working in a founder-led, entrepreneurial or fast-moving organization
- Excellent written documentation and verbal communication skills
- Confidence working with senior leaders and challenging them when necessary
- Ability to move quickly without sacrificing judgment or consistency
- Strong organizational skills and follow-through
- Comfort working in an environment with high expectations and direct feedback
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in an agency, professional-services company or organization with approximately 30–150 employees
- SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR or SPHR certification
- Experience using Gusto or a comparable HRIS
- Experience building or improving performance-management systems
- Experience recruiting across entry-level, managerial and leadership roles
What Success Looks Like
Within the first six months, the successful candidate will have:
- Established a consistent process for addressing and documenting performance issues
- Built credibility with employees, managers and senior leadership
- Improved the quality and confidence of manager-led conversations
- Strengthened recruiting, screening and onboarding
- Reduced delays and ambiguity around employee issues
- Improved the consistency of policies and people operations
- Created clearer visibility into performance, culture and organizational risk
Who Will Thrive Here
You will thrive at Mainland if you are direct, practical and comfortable taking ownership. You do not avoid hard conversations, hide behind policy language or wait for someone else to act.
You care about employees, but you also understand that accountability is part of a healthy culture.
You know that great HR work is not simply keeping records or planning engagement activities. It is helping the right people succeed, helping managers lead effectively and addressing problems before they damage the company.
- Mainland is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic.
