Senior People Business Partner

About Tekion:

Positively disrupting an industry that has not seen any innovation in over 50 years, Tekion has challenged the paradigm with the first and fastest cloud-native automotive platform that includes the revolutionary Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) for retailers, Automotive Enterprise Cloud (AEC) for manufacturers and other large automotive enterprises and Automotive Partner Cloud (APC) for technology and industry partners. Tekion connects the entire spectrum of the automotive retail ecosystem through one seamless platform. The transformative platform uses cutting-edge technology, big data, machine learning, and AI to seamlessly bring together OEMs, retailers/dealers and consumers. With its highly configurable integration and greater customer engagement capabilities, Tekion is enabling the best automotive retail experiences ever. Tekion employs close to 3,000 people across North America, Asia and Europe.

Job Introduction

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.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

• 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.

Basic Qualifications

• 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 Qualifications

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

Current Tekion Employees: Please apply via the Internal Job Board in Ashby.

Note: Tekion recently transitioned to a new recruiting tool and we appreciate your patience and feedback as we adjust to our new system!

Tekion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, victim of violence or having a family member who is a victim of violence, the intersectionality of two or more protected categories, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

For more information on our privacy practices, please refer to our Applicant Privacy Notice here.

Important: Tekion will only contact candidates from an @tekion.com email address or through our applicant tracking system (no-reply@ashbyhq.com). We may also work with authorized recruiting partners from time to time. Tekion and its recruiting partners will never ask you to pay fees or send money for applications, interviews, training, or onboarding. If you receive a message that seems suspicious, please do not respond or share personal or financial information.