Director of People Operations at Cohere in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Who are we? Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. We’re training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation, semantic search, RAG, and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI. We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. We like to work hard and move fast to do what’s best for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do. We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products. Join us on our mission and shape the future! We’re hiring a Director of People Operations to help build the operational backbone of the People function at Cohere during a period of intense global scale. This is not a “keep the lights on” People Ops role. This is a high-ownership, systems-building role with huge scope and greenfield opportunity. Cohere is one of the leading AI companies in the world, with real enterprise traction, rapid product growth, and a huge amount of momentum. We’re scaling quickly and need someone who can help architect the infrastructure that allows the People organization to scale with it across a globally distributed workforce with both remote employees and physical office locations. This is one of the highest-leverage hires on the People team and will be a key leadership role within the function. We’re incredibly excited about the opportunity for someone to come in and help design the operational foundation of the People organization during a major scaling moment. Right now, we have fragmented tooling, inconsistent workflows, weak operational infrastructure, and huge opportunity to rethink how a modern AI-native People function should operate. You’ll own: - People systems and workflows - HRIS and operational tooling - shared services/helpdesk infrastructure - onboarding and employee lifecycle operations - operational analytics and reporting - operational process design and scalability This role will also build and lead a People Operations team underneath it. We’re looking for someone who: - has deep hypergrowth and scaling experience - has experience scaling People Ops in globally distributed tech environments - loves systems thinking and operational design - is highly automation and AI-minded - enjoys solving messy operational problems - can build from zero-to-one - scales through systems and leverage, not just headcount There are very few sacred cows here. This is a rare opportunity to redesign and modernize the operational foundation of the People function at scale. If some of the above doesn’t line up perfectly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply! We value and celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive work environment for all. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12a6IrLdF3kI2nonKSr4tiFuz18rLQbaeYV-JM9L4o9Q/edit, and we will work together to meet your needs. Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks: 🤝 An open and inclusive culture and work environment 🧑‍💻 Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research 🍽 Weekly lunch stipend, in-office lunches & snacks 🦷 Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health 🐣 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months 🎨 Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture, fitness and well-being, quality time, and workspace improvement 🏙 Remote-flexible, offices in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, as well as a co-working stipend ✈️ 6 weeks of vacation (30 working days!)