Director of HR & Training
Location: Huntington Beach, CA Compensation: $140,000 base salary Schedule: Full-time, exempt, onsite Travel: Up to 10–15%
We are seeking a strategic, hands-on Director of HR & Training to lead enterprise people strategy, HR operations, compliance, talent development, and training across a multi-unit, multi-state organization. This leader will partner closely with executive leadership to build scalable people systems, strengthen organizational capability, and support continued growth.
Most important: this candidate must bring significant experience leading both Human Resources and Training/Learning & Development functions in a retail, hospitality, food & beverage, or other high-volume, multi-location environment. This is not a traditional HR-only leadership role. The ideal candidate must have a proven track record in an HR training-focused role, including designing, scaling, and leading training programs that support frontline teams, managers, and field leadership.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a long-term people strategy aligned to business growth and operational goals.
- Lead all HR and Training functions across a multi-state, multi-unit organization.
- Partner with executive leadership on workforce planning, succession planning, organizational design, and change management.
- Build, lead, and scale training programs and leadership development frameworks for supervisors, managers, district managers, and emerging leaders.
- Oversee onboarding, performance management, engagement, retention, and internal mobility programs.
- Provide executive oversight for employee relations, investigations, compliance, wage and hour matters, ADA/FEHA, workers' compensation, and policy development.
- Lead total rewards strategy including compensation structure, incentive planning, benefits oversight, and broker management.
- Use HRIS, LMS, analytics, dashboards, and automation tools to improve reporting, workforce planning, and operational efficiency.
- Partner cross-functionally with operations, finance, and other business leaders to align people initiatives with company performance.
What Success Looks Like
- Scalable HR and training infrastructure that supports growth.
- Stronger leadership bench strength and internal promotion rates.
- Improved engagement, retention, and team member experience.
- Reduced compliance risk and strong audit readiness.
- High trust and credibility with executive and field leadership.
Required Background
- 8–10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including senior-level ownership in a multi-unit or multi-state organization.
- Must have significant experience in an HR Training role, with direct responsibility for training strategy, leadership development, and learning programs.
- Must have led both HR and Training/L&D in a retail or similar field-based, multi-location environment.
- Proven success building and scaling HR infrastructure in a growing company.
- Strong experience developing frontline and field leadership training programs is required.
- Deep knowledge of California labor law; Nevada and Arizona experience is a plus.
- Experience with workforce planning, succession planning, organizational design, and talent strategy.
- Strong analytical capability with experience using HRIS and workforce data to drive decisions.
- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
- SHRM-SCP or SPHR preferred.
Ideal Candidate Profile
A strategic HR leader who can operate at both executive and hands-on levels, with a strong track record of building people infrastructure and owning training and leadership development strategy in retail or other high-volume, customer-facing environments. This person should be equally credible in compliance, talent strategy, leadership development, and field training execution. Candidates without meaningful HR training leadership experience should not be considered.