Office & People Operations Manager at Nectar Social in Palo Alto, CA

OFFICE & PEOPLE OPERATIONS MANAGER Location: Palo Alto ABOUT US We're living through a fundamental shift in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products. The next generation doesn't respond to traditional marketing, they build relationships with brands through authentic social interactions, seek recommendations from communities they trust, and expect personalized experiences that feel human, not corporate. At Nectar Social, we're building the AI-native social operating system that enables this new era of commerce. We believe every social interaction should deepen the relationship between brands and their communities while creating genuine value for both sides. Founded by ex-Meta product and engineering leaders, we've raised over $30M in total capital from investors including GV and True Ventures. We work with brands like Oura Health, Caraway, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Kosas, OLIPOP, and many more. We're building the future of social commerce, where community, conversation, and commerce converge. THE ROLE We're looking for an Office & People Operations Manager to keep Nectar running and to make every employee's experience seamless, from the day they sign an offer to their daily life on the team. You'll own two things at once: our Palo Alto office as a sharp, welcoming place to work, and the people operations backbone that supports a fast-growing team. Roughly half your time is office and events, the other half is people ops. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role for someone who notices what isn't working and fixes it before anyone asks. You'll report to the Head of Operations and work in our Palo Alto office five days a week. WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING • Own day-to-day operations of our Palo Alto office, front-of-house, supplies, kitchen, mail, equipment, and general upkeep, so the space always feels sharp and welcoming • Manage vendor and building relationships including cleaning, IT/AV, facilities, catering, and security/access, along with the associated contracts, invoices, and troubleshooting • Plan and run company events end-to-end, including our quarterly company onsites in Palo Alto, from venue and catering to agenda and logistics • Coordinate team travel and accommodations for onsites, offsites, and business travel • Own a best-in-class onboarding experience, with equipment and accounts ready before day one and a smooth first week that sets new hires up to succeed • Manage employee lifecycle logistics in partnership with our PEO and leadership, including onboarding, offboarding, HRIS and records upkeep, and benefits and PTO administration support • Support recruiting operations, including interview scheduling and candidate logistics through our ATS • Help maintain HR compliance and documentation, including I-9s, policies, and the employee handbook, in coordination with legal and our PEO • Serve as a warm, trusted first point of contact for employee questions on people, workplace, and logistics • Own workplace and events budgets and expense tracking • Contribute to culture and employee experience, from team traditions to celebrations and the small things that make Nectar a place people want to be WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR • 3+ years in office management, workplace operations, and/or people operations, ideally at a high-growth startup • Exceptional organization and attention to detail; you juggle many workstreams without dropping any • Genuine enthusiasm for events and people; you sweat the details that make an onsite or a first day feel great • Comfort with autonomy and ambiguity, you see gaps and fill them without waiting to be asked • Strong, warm communicator, professional with vendors and approachable with the team • Fluency with modern tools like Google Workspace, and quick to learn systems like an ATS, PEO platform, and Slack • Excited to be in our Palo Alto office five days a week; you believe great culture is built in person BONUS POINTS • Experience standing up HR or office infrastructure from scratch at an early-stage company • Prior end-to-end ownership of company events or offsites • Familiarity with a PEO model and tools like Ashby, Sequoia One, and Brex • Fluent with modern AI tools and use them daily to accelerate your work WHAT WE OFFER • Competitive compensation • Health, vision, and dental benefits plus 401(k) match • Clear career growth opportunities as the company scales • Free lunch/dinner in the heart of University Ave. in Palo Alto • Deep exposure to cutting edge AI tooling • A collaborative, ambitious team defining a new category of AI-native social commerce