Job Description

HR Manager / HR Business Partner

Location: San Diego, CA (preferred) | Orange County considered
Type: Full-time
Compensation: DOE

This is a high-trust, high-impact HR leadership role for a growing commercial bank and its affiliated private entities. It is a make-or-break hire for leadership.

This position is hands-on and focused heavily on:

• Employee relations

• Performance management

• Terminations and separations

• HR compliance and infrastructure

• Manager coaching and accountability

This is not a recruiting-heavy role and not an “HR admin” position.

The bank is entrepreneurial, direct, and fast-moving. Leadership is looking for an HR partner who works for the business, understands risk, and can guide managers through difficult decisions the right way — and at the right speed

Scope of Support

This role supports two related business units:

• The commercial bank (on-bank P&L)

• An affiliated private lending / family office entity (~20 employees)

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations & Risk Management

• Serve as the primary advisor to executives and managers on employee issues, performance management, and terminations

• Lead employee separations and displacement processes — ensuring decisions are handled legally, professionally, and efficiently

• Partner with outside employment counsel as needed to manage risk and complex cases

• Prevent issues from dragging out — leadership expects timely, decisive action and clean execution

Compliance & HR Infrastructure

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws (with heavy California emphasis)

• Maintain and update employee handbook, HR policies, and procedures

• Oversee documentation practices, timekeeping processes, training compliance, and required notifications

• Ensure performance review cycles are completed on time and executed with substance (not check-the-box)

Manager Support & Accountability

• Coach managers on how to address performance and conduct issues consistently and appropriately

• Help leaders navigate gray areas without overcomplicating straightforward situations

• Provide practical guidance rooted in real business needs — not theoretical HR responses

• Develop and deliver manager training as needed (documentation, performance conversations, leadership communication)

Shared Services Responsibility

• Serve as the HR partner for both the bank and affiliated private entities

• Create consistency across business lines while understanding differing needs and risk profiles

• Build trust across leadership teams without creating bureaucracy

What This Role Is — and Is Not

This role IS:

• Heavy on employee relations, terminations, and compliance

• A trusted advisor position with direct access to senior leadership

• A seat where judgment, discretion, and backbone matter

• A role for someone who can handle difficult conversations cleanly and professionally

This role is NOT:

• A recruiting-heavy position (minimal hiring responsibility)

• A transactional HR administrator role

• A culture-policing function or complaint-escalation-only seat

• A fit for someone who avoids conflict or difficult conversations

Qualifications

This role requires someone experienced, grounded, and credible — someone leadership can trust implicitly.

You’re likely a fit if you have:

• Significant HR experience in banking or another regulated financial environment

• Deep experience handling employee relations, terminations, and compliance matters

• Strong comfort working directly with executives and senior leadership

• The ability to balance legal risk with business realities

• Excellent judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence

• A practical, no-drama approach to HR

Preferred Background

• 8+ years in HR leadership, HR Business Partner, or HR Manager roles

• Banking or financial services experience strongly preferred

• Experience navigating change, restructures, mergers, or organizational cleanup a plus

• Strong working knowledge of California employment law required

Why This Role

• High-impact position shaping the direction of the organization

• Direct influence with senior leadership

• Opportunity to modernize and strengthen HR practices

• Stable organization with strong leadership and clear expectations

Bottom Line

This role is about trust, judgment, and execution

If you’re the kind of HR leader who can sit at the table with executives, manage difficult situations cleanly, and keep the business moving forward — this is a rare opportunity.