People Partner Lead, CX

About the role

This senior People Business Partner will support Gusto's Customer Experience organization, reporting to the Head of People. You will act as an embedded partner to the CX Leadership Team, providing advice and ensuring execution of talent strategies. This role combines senior partnership with team management, empowering two People Partners while directly engaging with CX Senior Leaders.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop strong relationships with the CX Senior Leadership Team, understanding organizational dynamics, identifying issues, and guiding decisions on talent strategy, workforce planning, and organizational design.
• Lead difficult conversations, providing direct feedback to senior leaders on their effectiveness, managing performance decisions for high-profile talent, and guiding significant organizational changes.
• Mentor and develop two People Partners, setting high standards, providing clear feedback, and ensuring they own their responsibilities for coaching managers and executing People programs across CX teams.
• Analyze People data, including attrition, engagement survey results, absenteeism, and employee relations cases, to provide clear, actionable insights to the CX Leadership Team proactively.
• Create simple, scalable People processes, operational frameworks, and repeatable guides, using AI for repetitive or data-intensive tasks.
• Support and implement core talent programs like performance reviews, calibration sessions, promotion processes, and senior leader development.
• Reinforce high standards for performance, accountability, and clear expectations, feedback, and growth at the leadership level.
• Act as a link between CX and the broader People team (Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, L&D, People Ops), adapting company-wide programs for CX and sharing CX context with central teams.
• Manage the complete execution of organizational changes, including transition planning, communication, Workday updates, leader enablement, and follow-up until all issues are resolved.

Requirements

• 10+ years of HRBP or People Partner experience, with significant time supporting large operational or customer-facing groups such as Customer Experience, contact centers, or non-exempt workforces.
• Experience at high-growth SaaS companies, ideally founder-led or recently public, supporting customer service or customer-facing organizations.
• A builder's mentality, ready to create and implement processes quickly, using AI for repetitive or data-heavy tasks.
• Ability to operate effectively at all levels, from frontline escalations to strategic organizational design discussions.
• Prior experience managing people is required, with a track record of developing and coaching a team of People Partners while maintaining senior client relationships.
• Proven ability to own programs from start to finish, including performance cycles, reductions in force, or leadership changes.
• A strong operational mindset, having executed complex People work end-to-end rather than just advising.
• A strong bias for action and high execution speed, preferring to move quickly and adjust rather than waiting for perfect solutions.
• Comfortable working with People data (attrition, engagement, ER trends) and translating it into clear insights for leaders without over-complication.
• Builds credibility through consistent follow-through.
• Ability to manage ambiguity, handle detailed information, and stay organized within a large, dynamic organization.
• Sound judgment that considers the broader company impact, not just the client group, and proactively builds relationships with Centers of Excellence.
• An AI-forward approach, actively using AI to improve work efficiency, gain insights, reduce administrative tasks, and enhance communication.

Practical notes

Employees in Scottsdale, Denver, San Francisco, and New York City are expected to work from the office 2-3 days per week, or more depending on the role. All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs). AI is a core part of how work is done at Gusto, and all team members are expected to engage with AI tools relevant to their role.