HR Associate

Location: Remote
Employment Type: Full-Time
Salary: Starting at $60,000 annually
Experience: 2–3 years of People Operations, Human Resources, or related experience

About Yay

Yay is rethinking K–12 school dining from the ground up. We partner with schools to deliver fresh, student-loved food through a modern operating model that combines on-site kitchens, regional production, and technology-enabled service — all designed to make lunch better for kids and easier for schools.

Founded in 2018, Yay has grown into a multi-market operation serving schools across the country with a proven, scalable model. What began as a marketplace has evolved into a full-service dining platform built to meet the real operational and customer service needs of school communities.

Our culture is grounded in ownership, resilience, and a strong can-do mindset. We value people who take initiative, solve problems, stay positive under pressure, and take pride in serving schools and families well. As we continue to grow, we are building the team, systems, and processes that will carry Yay into its next phase.

About the Role

Yay is seeking a hands-on, highly organized HR Associate to own and strengthen the day-to-day employee experience across the organization.

This role will manage key People Operations functions across the employee lifecycle, from recruiting and onboarding through employee support, compliance, benefits administration, and offboarding. The HR Associate will serve as a trusted resource for employees and managers while maintaining the systems, processes, and documentation that keep our People function running smoothly.

This is a highly collaborative role that requires someone who can work independently, take ownership, solve problems, and build structure in a fast-moving environment. The ideal candidate is both people-focused and operationally minded and is comfortable balancing immediate employee needs with longer-term process improvement.

Key Responsibilities

People Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Manage day-to-day People Operations processes from recruiting and onboarding through employee offboarding.
• Maintain accurate employee records, documentation, and HR systems.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for employee HR questions and requests.
• Coordinate employee changes, transfers, status updates, and offboarding processes.
• Maintain and improve HR procedures, SOPs, templates, and internal resources.
• Identify opportunities to make People Operations more efficient, consistent, and scalable.
• Ensure employees have a clear and positive experience throughout their employment lifecycle.

Recruiting & Onboarding

• Partner with leadership and hiring managers to support hiring needs across the organization.
• Manage recruiting processes including job postings, candidate communication, screening, interview coordination, offers, and pre-employment requirements.
• Support proactive sourcing and pipeline development for recurring and high-volume roles.
• Maintain recruiting workflows and candidate information within the ATS.
• Coordinate background checks, employment verification, I-9/E-Verify, driving record checks, and other role-specific requirements.
• Manage onboarding workflows and ensure new hires complete required documentation before beginning work.
• Maintain accurate hiring and onboarding records.
• Help ensure a consistent and positive candidate experience from first contact through hire.

HR Compliance

• Help ensure People practices and processes are aligned with applicable federal, state, and local employment requirements.
• Maintain employee documentation and compliance records.
• Manage I-9 and employment eligibility processes.
• Coordinate background checks, driving record checks, certifications, and other role-specific requirements.
• Stay informed about changes in employment regulations and recommend updates to processes or policies as needed.
• Partner with leadership when employee situations require additional HR or legal guidance.

Benefits Administration

• Administer employee benefit programs and serve as a resource for employee benefit questions.
• Coordinate benefit enrollment, eligibility, changes, and employee communications.
• Maintain accurate benefit records and coordinate with benefit providers.
• Support annual enrollment and other benefit-related initiatives.
• Help employees understand available benefits and navigate benefit-related processes.

Employee Relations & Manager Support

• Partner with managers on employee questions, concerns, performance issues, and workplace situations.
• Provide guidance to managers on HR processes, policies, documentation, and employee communications.
• Help ensure policies and processes are applied consistently across the organization.
• Support performance management and employee development processes.
• Facilitate clear communication between employees, managers, and leadership.
• Handle sensitive and confidential employee information with discretion and professionalism.

HR Systems & Process Improvement

• Own and administer People Operations systems, including the HRIS and ATS.
• Maintain accurate employee and recruiting data.
• Build, maintain, and improve HR workflows and processes.
• Create documentation and training resources for managers and employees.
• Identify opportunities to reduce administrative burden and improve efficiency.
• Use HR data and reporting to identify trends and support organizational needs.
• Continuously look for ways to make People Operations more organized, scalable, and effective.

Employee Experience & Engagement

• Help create a positive, consistent employee experience across the organization.
• Develop and maintain clear employee communications and HR resources.
• Support employee engagement, recognition, and culture initiatives.
• Help foster a culture of clear communication, accountability, ownership, and respect.
• Support People initiatives that strengthen the employee experience as Yay continues to grow.

Required Qualifications

Experience

• 2–3 years of experience in People Operations, Human Resources, HR Operations, or a related field.
• Experience supporting the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, compliance, benefits, and employee support.
• Experience working with an HRIS or similar HR technology.
• Experience supporting recruiting or talent acquisition processes.
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Skills & Competencies

• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent time management and ability to prioritize competing needs.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a bias toward action.
• Comfortable working independently with minimal oversight.
• Able to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
• Strong relationship-building skills and ability to work effectively with employees, managers, and leadership.
• Comfortable operating in an environment where priorities can change quickly.
• Ability to identify problems, develop solutions, and improve processes rather than simply maintaining the status quo.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with BambooHR or a comparable HRIS.
• Experience with BreezyHR or a similar ATS.
• Background supporting high-volume or operations-based hiring.
• Experience in a startup or growth-stage company.
• Familiarity with operations, logistics, foodservice, or multi-location organizations.

We're Excited About You Because You:

• Take ownership and don't wait to be told what needs to be done.
• Enjoy solving problems and figuring things out.
• Thrive in ambiguity and are comfortable building processes from the ground up.
• Can balance employee experience with business needs and urgency.
• Communicate clearly, proactively, and professionally.
• Stay organized even when priorities are moving quickly.
• Care about doing things correctly while also finding ways to work more efficiently.
• Are resilient, adaptable, and positive when things get busy.
• Want to make a meaningful impact at a growing company with a real mission.

Compensation & Details

• Starting salary: $60,000 annually
• Employment: Full-time
• Location: Fully remote
• Benefits and additional compensation details will be discussed during the interview process.

Work Environment

This is a fully remote role within a fast-paced, growing organization. Success in this position requires strong independent work habits, proactive communication, excellent organization, and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and follow-through.