People Operations & Talent Manager

About Us Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with farmers. Our mission wouldn’t be possible without a people-first culture that thrives on hard work, trust, and integrity. Many of our tenured team members stay for years because they feel invested, developed, and known. Our recruiting team has an unusually high bar: every hire shapes our long-term culture, so we look beyond bullet points on résumés to find individuals with both the technical and people skills to invest in our craft chocolate community for the long-term. About the Job This is not a typical recruiting or operations role. Reporting to the CXO, you’ll step into one of the most interesting People Operations apprenticeships – where your early exposure to sensitive and strategic information – including exit interviews, performance reviews, labor budgets, leadership planning – will accelerate your judgment far beyond traditional recruiting roles. The core of People Operations starts with talent and team building. You’ll champion our tradition of thoughtful hiring, long tenures, internal promotions, and investing in our people. Professional development starts with successful onboarding so team members know how to engage with our internal programs. Longevity comes from understanding each team member’s motivations and aligning their aspirations with Dandelion’s long-term goals. When the fit is right, our craft chocolate and chocolate experiences reflect that harmony. With your guidance, we’ll continue building one of the most celebrated companies in San Francisco that will endure for a hundred years or more – one thoughtful hire at a time. About You You’re not drawn to flashy funnels, quotas, or time-to-hire metrics – you’re motivated by crafting an organization that will be stronger a year from now because of the people you helped hire today. You’re steady, trustworthy, and quietly ambitious – the kind of person others look up to when things get complicated. Our ideal leader has the patience to invest in a multi-year craft; the intuition to spot non-traditional candidates (e.g. a florist for a chocolate maker role, a high school soccer coach for fulfillment); and the resilience to keep candidates, teammates, and managers aligned during high-stakes holiday seasons. You’re curious, kind, humble, and known for your work ethic. You show up when things get tough and set a tone of calm reliability. Whether you’re early in your career and curious to learn People Operations from first principles, or more experienced and ready to deepen your practice in an organization that values talent as a high-level strategic imperative, you’ll roll up your sleeves and lead by example. Every résumé you review and every reference call you make will shape our culture for years to come. Responsibilities Recruiting & Team Building – Our organizational successes and setbacks can always be traced back to how we hired and onboarded. Research sourcing strategies, schedule and conduct initial phone screens, maintain detailed notes for the hiring manager to review later to make sound hiring decisions. Schedule reference checks with candidate contacts so that we can hire our candidates with full confidence. It takes 18-24 months to see how the team you hired years ago is performing today. You’ll shadow the outgoing People Operations leader to see peak operations before taking on the reins in 2026. You will have confidential access to reviews, exit interviews, company all-hands surveys, and other performance information to develop your sensitivity and expertise for talent. You’ll co-host company-wide interview training sessions, work with managers to regularly update job descriptions, orchestrate first-day experiences, and build a world-class team that takes pride in their work, hits goals, and grows with Dandelion. Seasonal Staffing – Phone screen, hire, and onboard permanent and seasonal café, retail, fulfillment, and packaging roles; work with seasonal agencies to flex to holiday demand. Develop a strategy to double team size with agency, recruiting, and cross-team collaboration during holidays. Candidate Experience – Ensure interview times are confirmed, provide a guided factory tour, offer a welcoming interview environment, and respond within 7 days to candidates. A positive process encourages future applications. People Operations & Growth Opportunities – Support timeclocks, IT coordination for laptops, professional development, onboarding and All Hands events, annual surveys, morale activities, and long-term People Operations leadership development. People Operations scope – Recruiting, benefits and compliance, development, leveling, IT and facilities, community relations, and personnel matters. Work with CXO, legal, IT agencies, seasonal recruiters, and HR colleagues to build expertise and eventually specialize. Exposure to sensitive personnel conversations to develop judgment while maintaining boundaries and high-trust culture. Exec Relations – Report to the CXO and interface with CEO, CFO, and COO. Track turnover, candidate funnels, and team health. Coordinate with CFO and COO for staffing forecasts and peak operations; align onboarding with organizational values. Leadership Support – Partner with managers to understand desired traits, describe roles during interviews, support during staffing shortages, and help with 90-day plans. De-escalate and support managers with calm, fair problem-solving. Other tasks as necessary – Contribute to a kind, humble culture; assist with holiday workloads; demonstrate reliability and a willingness to learn. Requirements Professionalism – Maintain calm judgment in sensitive situations and avoid gossip or speculation. Commitment & discretion – Demonstrated follow-through and reliability; handle sensitive information with maturity; prior discretion or confidentiality experience is a plus. Organizational skills – Punctual, responsive, and able to manage résumés, cover letters, and interviewer notes; use Google Suite for candidate notes and personnel data. Writing & typing skills – Ensure grammatically correct, typo-free responses; proficient typing for live notes during screens. Fluent computer skills – Organize notes in Google Suite, use calendars, and basic formulas in spreadsheets for leveling. Team skills – Read interpersonal dynamics, neutralize politics, and align the team. You’ll have firsthand exposure to our most sensitive internal operations and the chance to help shape a culture from the inside out. We’re looking for someone who brings out the best in others and can grow with our scaling craft chocolate operations. Experience is valued but not more than heart, humility, and good judgment. Benefits We offer paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance subsidies through Kaiser, Blue Shield, and Guardian, a 30% discount on Dandelion products, a $150 annual product gift card, tasting opportunities, free beverages and snacks, FSA, commuter benefits, professional development, safety reimbursements, CPR and safety training, trips to origin, opportunities to travel to Japan locations, and time to contribute to internal committees. How to Apply Dandelion Chocolate is growing and we are invested in team members who take ownership of their role. Your résumé should be accompanied by a cover letter describing your greatest contribution to a team or culture. We look forward to hearing from you.

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