How to apply for People Operations Manager

About Atticus

Atticus is a platform that connects people in crisis to legal and government aid. It has helped hundreds of thousands of people access over $10 billion in aid and has raised more than $100 million from investors like Forerunner, Google Ventures, and True Ventures. The company aims to help over 250,000 Americans get benefits in the next two years.

About the role

This is an individual contributor role at the center of how Atticus hires, onboards, and supports its people. You will own the systems and processes that make Atticus a great place to work. The People team is core to the goal of helping 250,000 Americans access benefits.

A typical day

A typical day might involve updating hiring trackers, coordinating onboarding for new hires, and improving a people operations process. You might also answer employee questions about benefits or policies and collaborate with the People team on ways to support a remote, high-performing workforce. Since the role is new and the company is scaling, you will likely spend time identifying gaps and proposing solutions.

Who Atticus is looking for

• Has experience in people operations, HR, or a similar role, with a focus on hiring, onboarding, and employee support.
• Is values-driven and high-performing, as the job description emphasizes a values-driven and high-performing organization.
• Can own systems and processes end-to-end, since the role is an individual contributor with ownership over people operations.
• Is comfortable working remotely and in a fast-paced environment, as the company is remote and aims to scale quickly.

Tips for this application

• Highlight any experience you have with building or improving people operations systems and processes, since the role owns these directly.
• Show that you understand Atticus's mission: connecting people in crisis to legal and government aid. Mention specific examples of how you've supported teams in mission-driven organizations.
• Since the role is remote and an individual contributor, demonstrate your ability to work independently and manage projects without direct reports.
• Reference Atticus's growth goals (helping 250,000 Americans in two years) and explain how your people operations work can support that scale.
• Use the job description's language: 'values-driven', 'high-performing', 'systems and processes', 'hiring, onboarding, and support'. Avoid generic HR phrases.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your experience owning people operations systems and processes, with concrete examples of improvements you made.', 'How you have supported hiring and onboarding in a remote or fast-growing company.', "Your alignment with Atticus's mission to tear down barriers between people in crisis and the aid they deserve.", 'Your ability to work as an individual contributor and collaborate with a People team to achieve ambitious goals.']

Research before applying

• Read Atticus's website and recent news to understand their mission, services, and growth trajectory.
• Look up the backgrounds of Atticus's leadership and investors (Forerunner, Google Ventures, True Ventures) to understand the company's stage and priorities.
• Find any public information about Atticus's People team or culture, such as blog posts or interviews, to see how they describe their work environment.
• Check if Atticus has any public metrics or case studies about their impact (e.g., $10 billion in aid, 20,000 five-star reviews) to reference in your application.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would design or improve onboarding processes for a remote team at Atticus.
• Your approach to managing hiring systems and ensuring a high-performing, values-driven culture.
• Specific examples of how you've supported employees in a remote setting.
• How you prioritize people operations tasks when the company is scaling quickly.
• Your understanding of Atticus's mission and how people operations contributes to helping 250,000 Americans access benefits.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Focusing only on general HR experience without connecting it to Atticus's specific mission and growth goals.
• Assuming the role involves managing a team; it is an individual contributor position, so avoid language about leading a department.
• Using generic phrases about 'passion for HR' without concrete examples of systems or processes you have built or improved.