- Senior
- Optionales Büro in Vancouver
Reports to: COO
Location: Vancouver, Hybrid (M/W/F in-office)
Direct Reports: ~4
About Spare
At Spare, we build a modern software platform that helps public transit agencies deliver efficient, reliable, and inclusive services. From powering flexible microtransit to managing complex paratransit operations that serve those who need mobility the most, Spare enables agencies to do more with less, while driving better outcomes for the communities they serve.
Our mission is to unlock the potential of mobility for everyone, and we believe the key to achieving that is building a world-class team.
That’s where you come in.
Spare has an unconventional culture, but it's this culture that makes us successful. We outline it in our Culture Guide and are upfront in saying: Spare is not for everyone. Who is it for? People who want to do the best work of their careers. People who want to work alongside some of the smartest and most driven colleagues in tech. People who care about doing work that transforms lives, often for the most vulnerable in our communities.
Sounds great? It is. But it’s not always easy. We’re a fast-growing company that sells to governments. That means long sales cycles, shifting regulations, and days that are sometimes longer and harder than expected. Working at Spare is not for the faint of heart. But for the right person, it’s one of the most meaningful and career-defining opportunities you’ll ever have.
Role Purpose
As VP People at Spare, your mission is to architect and champion a world-class people strategy that fuels our rapid growth and reinforces our high-performance culture. You'll:
- Build the infrastructure for excellence - Design and implement scalable people systems, from performance management to compensation, that enable our team to do the best work of their careers
- Be the guardian of our culture - Partner with founders and leaders to embed accountability, feedback, and continuous improvement into every corner of the organization
- Drive strategic talent outcomes - Ensure we attract, develop, and retain the exceptional people who will define Spare's future, while maintaining the high bar that got us here
Key Stakeholders
- Senior Leadership Team (as strategic partner and advisor)
- People & Talent Team (as leader and coach)
- People Managers (as enabler and supporter)
- All Employees (as culture champion and advocate)
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership & Functional Expertise
- Own Spare’s end-to-end People strategy across performance, compensation, feedback, engagement, L&D, and workforce planning
- Drive clarity and alignment across the company around career frameworks, promotions, compensation, and expectations
- Stay ahead of best practices in People Ops and HR tech; ensure Spare is ahead of the curve in structure, not behind it
2. Operational Excellence & Tooling Ownership
- Take full responsibility for Spare’s People systems and tooling—HRIS, performance review platforms, comp bands, onboarding flows, etc.
- Build scalable, data-informed processes that reduce friction and improve transparency for both managers and employees
- Create strong operating rhythms (e.g. quarterly feedback, calibration, manager coaching) and continuously improve them
3. Performance Culture & Executive Partnership
- Embed and defend a high-performance, feedback-forward culture through systems, rituals, and executive example
- Be a thought partner to founders and execs on org design, succession planning, performance issues, and talent strategy
- Ensure our most talented people are being stretched, supported, and retained
4. Team Building & Leadership
- Manage and develop a high-output People & Talent team that can scale with Spare
- Build a team culture focused on ownership, precision, and impact—not just service
- Mentor team members and help them step into increasing levels of scope and autonomy
- Work to build a culture of collaboration and socialization supporting Spare's hybrid philosophy in our Vancouver HQ.
- Help to plan events to drive hiring, employee engagement and satisfaction, and build our employee brand.
5. Company-Wide Communication & Influence
- Act as a clear communicator of company priorities, changes, and processes related to People
- Build trust and alignment across departments. Be a leader who builds buy-in to ensure our team understands and is aligned with goals that are crucial to growing our business
- Communicate with clarity to the board, execs, and the broader org on People metrics, risks, and initiatives
Key Results
- High talent density across the organization. The team consistently raises the performance bar through hiring, development, and exits
- Strong engagement and eNPS from top performers
- Regrettable attrition below target, especially among high-impact contributors
- Hiring velocity: faster time-to-fill with consistently high quality-of-hire ratings
- Ensure a close collaboration between Talent Management and Talent Acquisition to ensure that our hiring practices remain able to accurately predict performance in-role
- Company-wide adoption and satisfaction with performance, compensation, and HR systems
- High trust and alignment between leadership, managers, and the People team
Key Traits & Competencies
- Functional expertise: Deep command of People Ops and Talent in a fast-growing startup; fluent in compensation design, HR systems, and performance infrastructure
- Team builder: Proven ability to recruit, grow, and lead a high-output team across multiple People functions
- Owner mentality: Doesn’t just make recommendations. Takes full accountability for problems and outcomes; builds “black box” systems that run without constant oversight
- Cultural fit: Thrives in a high-expectation, feedback-driven environment. Not afraid of hard conversations or pushing for what’s best for the company
- Cross-functional communicator: Able to influence up, down, and across; strong written and verbal communicator who earns trust quickly
- Strategic thinker: First-principles operator who designs org systems based on Spare’s unique needs, not just pattern matching from past companies
