Senior People Business Partner

TEKION - Senior People Business Partner 

• Pleasanton, CA 
• 5 Days In-Office Required 
• Full-Time 

ABOUT TEKION 

Tekion is a cloud-native, AI-powered platform transforming the automotive retail industry — one of the largest and most complex commerce ecosystems in the world. We are building everything from the ground up: our technology, our culture, our processes, and our people practices. This is not a company that is optimizing what already exists. We are creating what doesn't yet exist — and we're doing it fast. 

If you are drawn to environments where you can make a real and lasting impact, where no two days look the same, and where the work you do today shapes how thousands of people experience work tomorrow — this role was built for you. 

THE ROLE 

The Senior People Business Partner is one of the most important roles on our People team. You are the bridge between our business and our People strategy — and you are far more than a resource the business calls when something goes wrong. You are a proactive, strategic thought partner who helps business leaders build teams people are proud to be part of. 

This role requires someone who is equally invested in the success of their client groups and the success of the People team itself. You will carry a portfolio of business units and be expected to know them deeply — their goals, their challenges, their people, and what it will take to make them perform at their best. 

You will operate in an environment that is still being built. Systems will be imperfect. Processes will evolve. Ambiguity will be a daily companion. We need someone who sees this not as a liability but as the opportunity it is — to build something great, in real time, that will outlast you. 

This is a full-time in office role in our beautiful Pleasanton, CA office. 

WHAT YOU'LL OWN 

• Strategic Partnership: Build deep, trusted, long-term relationships with business unit leaders and their teams. Serve as a genuine thought partner — not just a service provider — on organizational health, talent strategy, and team effectiveness. 
• Business Acumen: Develop a thorough understanding of each client group's business model, goals, and pressures. Use that knowledge to anticipate needs, shape people strategies proactively, and connect People initiatives directly to business outcomes. 
• Organizational & Talent Development: Partner with leaders to build high-performing, engaged teams. Drive org design, succession planning, performance management, and leadership development with rigor and intentionality. 
• Employee Relations: Navigate complex employee situations with sound judgment, empathy, and legal awareness. Provide thoughtful guidance that protects the business and the individual simultaneously. 
• Change Leadership: Champion people-related transformation initiatives. Communicate change with clarity and conviction, build alignment across stakeholders, and help leaders bring their teams through transitions effectively. 
• People Team Investment: Actively contribute to the strength, culture, and continuous improvement of the People team itself. Share knowledge, collaborate across COEs, and show up as a champion for the function — not just your portfolio. 
• Program Execution: Drive the end-to-end execution of People programs across your client groups — performance cycles, engagement actions, compensation planning, and more — with precision and follow-through. 
• Builder Mindset: Identify gaps, design solutions, and build People infrastructure where it doesn't yet exist. Leave every client group — and the People team itself — better than you found it. 
• Consultative Expertise: Apply advanced analytical skills and deep People knowledge to diagnose business needs, recommend strategic solutions, and navigate complex people-related challenges. You don't just respond to what leaders ask — you help them see what they haven't asked yet. 
• Continuous Learning: Stay current on emerging HR trends, tools, and best practices. Actively seek new ways to improve how we operate and add value — to your client groups, to the People team, and to the organization as a whole. 

WHO YOU ARE 

Skills can be taught. Experience is transferable. Culture fit is not. This section matters more than any other in this posting — please read it carefully. 

You have a growth mindset — and you mean it. 

You walk into Tekion knowing there is a lot you don't yet know, and that excites you. You are not here to demonstrate that you already have all the answers; you are here to learn a new company, a complex industry, and a rapidly evolving environment. You ask questions. You absorb context. You adapt. You understand that being excellent at HR elsewhere doesn't automatically mean you're excellent at HR here — and that gap is not a threat to you. It's a starting point. 

You are genuinely, sustainably positive. 

Not performatively positive. Not "positive on Mondays" positive. Your natural orientation is glass half full — and it holds up under pressure, in hard conversations, and on difficult days. You are the person on the team who raises the energy in the room, not the person who quietly drains it. You coach leaders and employees toward higher engagement and performance — which means you have to model it every single day. The People team sets the bar for what a great culture looks and feels like. That starts with you. 

You are fiercely loyal to the People team. 

You love your client groups. And you love your People team. These are not in competition. You invest in People team relationships and the collective success of the function with the same energy you bring to your business unit portfolio. You do not share frustrations about the People team with leaders or employees. You do not position yourself as "different from the rest of HR." You are a champion for the function — publicly, consistently, and without exception. When the team succeeds, you succeed. 

You thrive in a full build — and you don't romanticize it or resent it. 

Tekion is building. Processes exist in some places and not others. Systems are evolving. Some things that should be documented aren't. Some things that should be consistent aren't yet. You see this as a canvas, not a complaint. You are the person who identifies a gap and says "let me fix that" — not the person who says "that shouldn't be my job." You build things with positivity and enthusiasm because you understand that what you build today will matter for years. 

You are a strategic owner, not an order taker. 

You understand the difference between doing tasks for a leader and owning the people health of their organization. You are not waiting to be told what to do. You are showing up with a point of view, an agenda, and a plan. You do the administrative work that sometimes comes with the role — and you do it without complaint — but it is not where you live. You are in the business, knowing it deeply, anticipating what it needs, and driving outcomes that make your client group measurably more successful. 

WHAT YOU BRING 

• Education:  BS/BA degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience:  8–10 years of HRBP or People Business Partner experience, preferably in a fast-growth SaaS or technology company. 
• Strategic Influence:  Demonstrated ability to build trusted advisory relationships with senior and C-suite leaders — not just execute requests but shape thinking.
• Business Fluency:  Ability to learn a business quickly, connect People initiatives to business outcomes, and speak the language of the leaders you support. 
• ER Expertise:  Sound judgment and experience handling complex employee relations situations with care, consistency, and appropriate urgency. 
• Communication:  Exceptional written and verbal communication — clear, direct, and compelling across audiences from ICs to executives.
• Organizational Agility:  Comfortable managing a broad portfolio of priorities in a fast-moving environment without losing precision or follow-through.
• Resilience:  Able to absorb feedback, adapt quickly, and maintain composure and positivity when things don't go as planned — because sometimes they won't. 
• Drive to Make Others Successful:  You measure your own success by how much better the people and teams around you are performing. Seeing others grow, succeed, and thrive because of your partnership is what fuels you. 

Preferred 

• Experience in a high-growth startup or company scaling through significant organizational change.
• Track record of building or rebuilding People programs from scratch.
• Experience supporting global or international business units.
• Workday proficiency (HCM, Recruiting, Talent).
• Exposure to M&A, rapid headcount scaling, or organizational redesign.
• Demonstrated ability to gain energy from — not be depleted by — highly complex organizational problems.
• High consultative experience influencing senior leaders through insight and data, not authority. 

WORK STYLE REQUIREMENTS 

We are intentional about these requirements because our environment demands them. Please read carefully before applying. 

In-Office Requirement 

• This role is based in our Pleasanton, CA office and requires  5 days per week in office.
• We are a collaborative, high-energy team that does its best work together. In-office presence is not optional and is not negotiable.
• Please apply only if you are currently located in or are prepared to relocate to the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area, and can commit to this schedule without exception. 

Global Work Hours 

• Tekion operates globally. Our teams span North America, India, and other international locations.
• You should expect occasional early mornings or late evenings to support global partners and leaders.
• Flexibility and a 'no-drama' approach to shifting schedules is part of how this role operates. 

Pace & Workload 

• This is a demanding, high-ownership role in a company that is growing fast and building constantly.
• We do not expect perfection. We do expect full engagement, strong judgment, and a bias toward action.
• If you are energized by a lot to do, the ability to make a real impact, and an environment where great work is noticed — this is the right place. 

PERKS & BENEFITS 

• Competitive compensation and generous stock options
• 100% employer-paid top-of-the-line medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Unlimited PTO, parental leave, and free snacks and beverages
• The opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds from Silicon Valley's most successful companies
• Early-stage, hyper-growth startup with significant career growth opportunity
• Home-grown, ground-up technology — everything we build, we own
• A dynamic, collaborative work environment with a strong sense of community
• Open, transparent culture that rewards performance and encourages innovation 

If this description energizes you rather than intimidates you, you're probably exactly who we're looking for. 

Tekion is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.