District Partners has partnered with a rapidly growing food service company to identify an HR & Talent Acquisition Manager to lead and scale the organization’s people operations. This organization operates a multi-unit restaurant platform alongside a packaged food production facility, creating a unique opportunity for an HR leader who thrives in dynamic, frontline environments and enjoys building structure where it matters most.

This is a highly visible role responsible for end-to-end recruiting, onboarding, HR operations, and compliance, while also partnering closely with leadership to design and implement scalable systems, processes, and infrastructure to support continued growth.

What you’ll Do:

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Lead full-cycle recruiting for hourly and salaried roles across restaurant operations and food manufacturing/production, including managers, supervisors, and corporate support roles
• Partner with operations and plant leadership to anticipate hiring needs, reduce turnover, and improve workforce planning
• Develop recruiting strategies, sourcing channels, and referral programs tailored to high-volume and specialized roles
• Manage employer branding efforts and improve the candidate experience from first touch through onboarding

HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Own employee onboarding, orientation, and offboarding processes to ensure consistency and compliance
• Serve as a trusted HR resource for managers and employees on policies, employee relations, performance management, and workplace concerns
• Oversee benefits administration, including health insurance, time-off policies, and coordination with external brokers and vendors
• Maintain accurate employee records and HR documentation

Systems, Processes & Infrastructure

• Evaluate current HR and recruiting processes; identify gaps and design scalable, repeatable systems
• Implement or optimize HRIS, ATS, onboarding tools, and reporting processes
• Create policies, handbooks, and SOPs that support both restaurant and manufacturing environments
• Establish metrics and dashboards related to hiring, retention, compliance, and workforce trends

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws (including wage & hour, FMLA, OSHA, EEO, and food manufacturing workforce regulations)
• Support audits, inspections, and regulatory inquiries as needed
• Partner with leadership to proactively mitigate employee-related risk

What you’ll Have:

• 5+ years of progressive experience in HR and/or Talent Acquisition, ideally within restaurants, hospitality, food manufacturing, retail, or other high-volume labor environments
• Proven experience building or improving HR and recruiting systems and processes
• Strong working knowledge of employment law and HR best practices
• Experience managing benefits administration and employee onboarding at scale
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred
• Hands-on, adaptable leader who can operate strategically while staying close to day-to-day execution

Why This Role:

• Opportunity to build the HR function within a growing, entrepreneurial organization
• High visibility and direct partnership with ownership and senior leadership
• Exposure to both restaurant operations and food manufacturing, offering a uniquely broad HR scope
• Ability to make a meaningful impact on culture, retention, and long-term scalability