Head of HR

Tideworks was recently carved out of Carrix, a large marine port operator, as a standalone SaaS business. The Head of HR will be Tideworks' first and, initially, only HR hire — responsible for building and running the entire people function from the ground up while the business operates under a Transition Services Agreement with its former parent. This is a true solo generalist role to start: the same person who sets HR strategy also runs payroll, sources and interviews candidates, and answers an employee's benefits question. It is not a steady-state HR leadership role; it is a hands-on build-and-exit mandate that requires equal parts strategic judgment and personal execution, since there is no team to delegate to at launch.

The ideal candidate has done much of this before — stood up payroll, benefits, HRIS, and policy infrastructure for a newly separated entity or a startup and operated without a supporting team. They are comfortable being the lead HR voice in the room from day one, making judgment calls under ambiguity, and then rolling up their sleeves to execute the administrative and transactional work themselves — including full-cycle recruiting.

What You'll Own:

Carve-Out Build & TSA Exit

• Design and stand up: Build the company's standalone HR infrastructure from scratch: HRIS, time & attendance, leave administration, and core policies/handbook.
• Lead the transition: Collaborate with operating partners, the CFO, and the TMO to execute the HR workstream of the TSA exit plan — sequencing cutover of payroll, benefits, and systems away from the parent company well ahead of the 12-month deadline, with contingency planning for anything that risks running past it.
• Implement systems: Set up HiBob HRIS, payroll, and benefits vendors/brokers appropriate for a ~120-FTE, multi-country employer, balancing cost, compliance, and speed to independence.
• Own payroll & benefits administration: Lead end-to-end payroll and benefits operations across the U.S., Mexico, and Panama, including payroll processing and reconciliation, benefits administration, employee changes, and coordination with Finance. Manage PEO, EOR, payroll, and benefits partners during the transition period, and design and execute the eventual migration to standalone, in-house payroll and benefits administration as the company's infrastructure matures.

Multi-Country HR & Compliance

• Maintain compliance: Ensure compliant employment practices across the U.S. (WA and FL primarily), Mexico, and Panama, including local labor law, statutory benefits, contractor arrangements, and termination requirements — partnering with legal and finance on structural decisions (e.g., entity vs. EOR) as needed.
• Manage EOR/PEO relationships: Serve as the primary point of contact for Employer of Record or PEO partners, ensuring a smooth employee experience and clean handoffs as/if the company's own infrastructure comes online in those markets.

M&A Integration

• Lead people integration: Own the HR integration workstream for future tuck-in acquisitions, including harmonizing payroll, benefits, HRIS, and policies; mapping compliance requirements in newly added countries; and running clear, empathetic employee communications through the transition.

Foundational People Programs & HR Operations

• Employee data migration & records: Own the secure transition and validation of employee records, compensation/history data, payroll data, benefits elections, leave balances, personnel files, and other required HR records from the parent company's systems into the standalone environment.
• Stand up total rewards: Establish pragmatic compensation governance, market benchmarking practices and job/leveling principles appropriate for the company's size and growth stage.
• Build core programs: Implement onboarding, performance management, and career development practices suited to a lean, standalone SaaS organization.
• Manage employee relations & compliance operations: Handle day-to-day employee relations, workplace investigations, leave administration (e.g., FMLA and equivalents), workers' compensation, and required labor law postings/notices across all locations.
• Shape culture & communications: Own internal HR communications, employee handbook maintenance, and culture-building initiatives appropriate for a newly independent company finding its own identity.
• Partner with leadership: Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and leadership team on organizational design, workforce planning, and people strategy as a newly independent company.

Full-Cycle Talent Acquisition

• Run all recruiting: Own recruiting end-to-end for all open roles — writing job descriptions, sourcing, screening, coordinating interviews, managing offers, and running onboarding — across the U.S., Mexico, and Panama.
• Build hiring infrastructure: Stand up the basic infrastructure needed to hire efficiently as a standalone company (careers page, applicant tracking, offer templates) and manage relationships with any external recruiting agencies as needed.

HR Function Design

• Evaluate future team structure: Assess the company's evolving people needs and recommend the right shape, timing, and sequencing for any additional HR headcount, building the business case and operating model for leadership's approval.