Head of People & Talent (HR, Recruiting & Performance) — NYC

Head of People & Talent (HR, Recruiting & Performance) — NYC NextGen Coding Company | New York City Metropolitan Area (Hybrid) Location: New York City (Hybrid — in-person required for candidate interviews) Compensation: $30 per hour + performance bonuses Engagement Type: Contract | Fractional (20–40 hours per week) NextGen Coding Company is a U.S.-based software engineering firm delivering custom platforms, AI systems, automation tools, and enterprise software solutions across financial services, healthcare, compliance technology, and operational infrastructure. Role Overview The company is seeking a Head of People & Talent to own recruiting, employee operations, performance management, and internal workforce discipline. The role is responsible for ensuring a high-performance, accountable, and efficient team across engineering, QA, design, and operations. The position operates internally as the owner of all people-related functions and requires in-person presence in New York City to meet, screen, and evaluate candidates directly. Responsibilities Recruiting & Hiring Own end-to-end recruiting across engineering, QA, design, and operations roles Screen and interview candidates (virtual and in-person in NYC) Coordinate with technical leads for final evaluations Build and maintain a strong candidate pipeline Standardize interview process, scorecards, and evaluation criteria Improve hiring speed and candidate quality Employee Operations Manage onboarding and offboarding processes Maintain employee records, contracts, and documentation Track PTO / OOO (vacation, sick leave, holidays) Ensure compliance with internal processes and policies Serve as the primary point of contact for employee-related matters Performance Management Design and execute quarterly performance reviews Define KPIs across roles in partnership with leadership Identify top performers, underperformers, and promotion candidates Ensure accountability across delivery and internal teams Compensation & Growth Track compensation changes (raises, promotions, adjustments) Support leadership in compensation planning and decisions Maintain structured promotion frameworks Align compensation with performance and output Training & Development Build onboarding programs for new hires Coordinate ongoing technical and soft-skill training Identify skill gaps across teams Improve overall team productivity and output quality Timesheet Compliance & Workforce Efficiency Enforce structured timesheet submission across all team members Ensure all time entries are tied to tasks and deliverables Partner with finance and delivery to flag inconsistencies Identify inefficiencies, over-allocation, and underperformance patterns Culture & Retention Conduct regular employee check-ins Identify and resolve issues early Maintain a professional, high-performance work environment Support leadership in scaling the team effectively Cross-Functional Collaboration Works closely with: CEO → hiring priorities, performance visibility, compensation approvals CFO → timesheet accuracy, utilization, cost efficiency Delivery Manager → output validation, performance tracking, team productivity Required Experience 4+ years in HR, People Operations, or Talent Management Experience recruiting technical roles (engineering, QA, product) Strong understanding of performance management systems Experience in fast-paced startup, consulting, or technology environments Ability to conduct in-person interviews and candidate evaluations in NYC Strong operational discipline and attention to detail Ideal Candidate Profile Strong operator who can build structure and enforce accountability Comfortable managing both recruiting and internal people operations Ability to balance employee relationships with performance standards Experience working closely with leadership and finance teams Able to operate independently and own a full function Performance Metrics Hiring speed and candidate quality Timesheet compliance and data accuracy Team performance visibility and accountability Retention of high-performing employees Reduction in inefficiencies across delivery teams Compensation Structure Base $40 per hour Performance Bonuses Hiring targets met (roles filled, quality benchmarks) Full timesheet compliance across team Successful implementation of quarterly review system Measurable improvement in team efficiency and utilization Application Requirements Candidates should provide: Resume or LinkedIn profile Examples of recruiting experience (roles filled, timelines) Experience managing performance reviews or HR systems Summary of experience in people operations, recruiting, and team management