Director of HR & Training

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 proven HR leadership experience combined with training/L&D leadership in a retail, multi-location environment. Experience in retail, hospitality, food & beverage, or other high-volume consumer-facing businesses is strongly preferred. 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 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 leading HR along with training/learning & development 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. • 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 training capability 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.