3 Steps to Building a People Operations Job Posting (With Customizable Template)

If you’re looking to hire a People Operations manager, you’ll need to put together a great job posting that will attract top candidates. A strong job posting will pique your talent’s attention while also providing an honest and open description of the job.

Since People Operations leadership demonstrates a shift in how to manage the department, where focus should lie, and what the mission of the team has become, you’ll need someone who demonstrates strong leadership skills while also being able to think and operate analytically.

So how do you create a job posting that will attract that perfect fit? Here are 3 steps you’ll need to take when building a People Operations job posting.

1. Decide who you’re looking for

The first thing you should do is get clarity on what exactly you’re looking for. This will help make sure you’re attracting the right kind of applicants. To do this, meet with your key stakeholders and discuss the following:

Job responsibilities: Knowing what you need from the role will give you a good idea of the type of person you’re looking for and help you structure your posting accordingly. To start defining this, ask yourself the following questions:

• Will the new People Operations hire be working independently, or with an existing Human Resources team?
• How many employees will they be responsible for?
• Will they need a specific background (like statistics or data science) to handle the job?
• What will their day to day activities look like?

Knowing what you need from the role will give you a good idea of the type of person you’re looking for and help you structure your posting accordingly.

Company culture: Being able to clearly define and articulate the culture will ensure that you’re choosing someone with the right skillset and interest. For example, you may be looking for someone who can and is interested in working with an entrepreneurial team.

Once you’ve nailed this down, discuss:

• What kind of language should be used to reflect the culture?
• How would the culture impact this role?
• How will this role impact the culture?

Salary: Before writing your post, decide on a salary range. If you’re looking for an exec but can only afford to pay a coordinator, consider how that might be communicated in your job posting and be realistic about what you can offer.

While you may not find someone who ticks all your boxes, having an ideal candidate in mind can help you target the right profile candidate.

2. Start drafting

Since People Operations is a relatively new field, you’ll need to create a posting that is honest about the job functions, company culture, and what you as an organization need. The posting should include:

• A job title: Be as specific as possible.
• Summary of the role: 3-5 sentences describing what the job is and what you expect. What is your new hire doing, and how are they working with the team? This should catch the job seeker’s attention and show them what makes the role unique.
• Job function: A clear description of the day-to-day aspects of the job, including any relevant software systems, leadership duties, or data analysis required. Some examples of People Operations leader’s duties could include:
  • Leverage HR data to uncover employee patterns and trends; make adjustments and strategic plans
  • Utilize employee experience tools to gauge staff satisfaction
  • Create systems to help promote team and individual development

• Skills: Your must-have skills (both hard and soft), including technical proficiencies, leadership experience, and educational requirements.
• Location: Be clear on where the candidate will be working from — if the position is remote, say so.
• Salary: While you don’t have to include the salary as a part of the application, 61% of applicants think this is the most important part of the posting. Posting a salary range can mean transparency and give you access to a larger pool of talent.

While you don’t have to include the salary as a part of the application, 61% of applicants think this is the most important part of the posting.

3. Edit and make it engaging

Once you’ve drafted your job posting, edit to make sure it’s engaging, relevant, and readable — this could mean paring down your copy, changing the language to better reflect your company culture, or refining the job responsibilities. Keep in mind that you should:

Keep it short: Edit your posting once you’ve finished and take out any unnecessary information. LinkedIn’s behavioral data indicates short postings (150 words or less) have a higher response rate than long ones, but you’ll need to strike the right balance between keeping it simple and giving applicants the info they need.

Use bullet points: Making your job posting readable can help you avoid a pile of resumes from candidates who didn’t read the job description. Since the same LinkedIn behavioral data suggests that 50% of applicants will be reading your posting on their mobile phone, it’s best to keep it as readable as possible.

Avoid limiting language: Packing your posting full of slang could turn off potential applicants, and so can making the language overly gendered or careless (e.g. saying ‘career driven’ could discourage someone who needs to work from home, even if the position is remote). Giving your posting a skim for bias — or better yet, running it through tools like Textio — can help you avoid these traps.

Our template

Download this sample people operations job posting template that you can customize and use for your workplace.

Now that you’ve finished creating the perfect People Operations job posting, you’re ready to meet your next great candidate. Happy hiring!