ZAM

HR Generalist at ZAM

Own the People function end to end for a distributed team: recruiting, onboarding, training, performance, pay runs, compliance and exits. Hybrid (Philippines) — 2 to 3 days per week onsite. A fixed monthly fee agreed in your offer, plus performance and recruitment bonuses.

About the role

ZAM is building a distributed, high-growth team and the systems that support it. We are looking for an HR Generalist to own the People function end to end. That means recruiting and onboarding, training, performance management, compensation administration, employee relations, compliance, engagement, and exits. This is not a traditional HR administration role. You will be responsible for making sure our people processes actually work as the company grows. Candidates move quickly. New team members are properly onboarded. People receive the support and feedback they need. Records stay accurate. Nothing falls through the cracks. You will work directly with the founder and become the primary point of contact for all people-related matters across ZAM.

  • Company: ZAM
  • Department: People
  • Position type: Independent Contractor
  • Location: Hybrid (Philippines)
  • Reports to: Founder

Scope of work

  • Recruitment and hiring: Manage the recruitment process from approved hiring requisition through signed offer. Review and improve job descriptions, interview rubrics and candidate materials. Publish and maintain job postings across relevant channels. Monitor the candidate pipeline and make sure every applicant receives a decision or next step within one working day. Coordinate interviews and participate in every interview. Make sure interviews are recorded and evaluated consistently against the agreed rubric. Prepare candidate briefs and recommendations for the founder. Prepare offers for founder approval and manage the signing and filing process.
  • Onboarding: Own the process from the moment an offer is signed. Set up new team members in ZAM's systems, including accounts, roles and company email. Coordinate contractor agreements, NDAs and position procedure acknowledgements. Run the first-week onboarding checklist. Schedule and conduct the day-five check-in. Make sure required training and reading are assigned from day one.
  • Training and development: Maintain required training and reading for each position. Run one focused training session every week. Track attendance, materials, evaluations and effectiveness. Identify gaps in knowledge, processes or team capability and address them proactively.
  • Performance management: Conduct weekly written check-ins with every team member. Run day-five, 30-day, 60-day and 90-day reviews. Manage probation reviews and document outcomes. Administer periodic self, peer and supervisor assessments. Identify performance issues early and address them clearly, fairly and in writing.
  • Compensation and people administration: Maintain accurate records of each person's agreed compensation. Prepare the monthly pay run using earnings, commissions, bonuses and approved overtime. Submit it for founder approval and issue payslips once approved. Administer advances and repayment arrangements. Maintain accurate records of personnel changes.
  • Employee relations: Handle people-related announcements, memos and incident records. Manage concerns and escalations using ZAM's established process. Maintain clear and factual documentation. Act as a trusted point of contact for team members.
  • Compliance and risk: Make sure every team member has the required agreements, NDA and acknowledged position procedures on file. Publish and track required policies and acknowledgements. Collect appropriate tax documentation from contractors before their first payment. Maintain strict confidentiality over personal, compensation and performance information.
  • Remote team support and engagement: Check that new team members have a workable remote setup. Monitor working patterns and raise sustained overwork when appropriate. Run a quarterly team satisfaction pulse and share the results. Conduct an exit interview with every departing team member.
  • Offboarding: Manage the complete exit process — notice, handover, access removal, company property, final pay and exit clearance. Conduct exit interviews and capture feedback. Help ZAM part with people professionally and respectfully.

What success looks like

The underlying standard is simple: nothing gets forgotten, nothing gets unnecessarily duplicated, and no person gets lost in the process.

  • Candidates — consistently receive a response or next step within one working day. Every interview is properly scheduled, attended, recorded and scored.
  • New hires — have their accounts, documentation, onboarding checklist and training ready when they start.
  • Team — every member receives their required check-ins and reviews on time. Weekly training happens consistently and its effectiveness is measured.
  • Pay and records — monthly pay runs are accurate, timely and properly documented. People records and required agreements are complete and up to date.
  • Concerns and feedback — team concerns are addressed early rather than allowed to become larger problems. Quarterly satisfaction feedback is collected, shared and acted upon.
  • Exits — departures are handled cleanly, respectfully and completely.

Who we're looking for

Required.

  • Practical experience across at least two of: recruitment, onboarding, payroll administration, or employee relations
  • Strong written and spoken English
  • Excellent organization and follow-through
  • Experience working from documented processes and improving them when necessary
  • Strong attention to detail, particularly with people, compensation and confidential information
  • Ability to work independently and take ownership without constant supervision
  • Comfort working directly with a founder in a small, fast-moving team
  • Experience with remote-first tools and workflows
  • A reliable internet connection and a suitable environment for conducting recorded interviews
  • Experience designing or documenting HR processes from scratch

Nice to have

  • Experience hiring or managing independent contractors across multiple countries
  • Experience supporting a company during rapid headcount growth
  • Familiarity with Philippine engagement practices
  • Familiarity with contractor engagement in Canada, the United States or the European Union
  • Experience building or documenting people operations processes from scratch
  • Experience with HR or people operations systems

Compensation

  • Fixed monthly fee: paid under an independent contractor arrangement. The amount is agreed in your offer.
  • Performance bonuses: performance-based bonuses and incentives apply. After 3 months, an increase is available on an exceptional performance evaluation.
  • Growth Specialist recruitment bonus: a bonus for recruiting four Growth Specialists in a month, and more for each one beyond that.
  • 3-month retention bonus: a further bonus for every Growth Specialist you recruited who is still with ZAM after three months.

Work arrangement

  • Engagement: Independent Contractor
  • Location: Hybrid (Philippines)
  • Onsite days: 2 to 3 days per week
  • Schedule: Flexible, with required overlap with Manila business hours and North American mornings
  • Equipment: You provide your own
  • Reports to: Founder

What we offer

  • Paid training to help you succeed in the role and develop your HR capabilities
  • The opportunity to help build a team from the ground up in a growing startup
  • Full HR function experience across recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, compliance, performance management, compensation administration and offboarding
  • First-hand experience building HR initiatives and events rather than simply maintaining existing processes
  • The opportunity to build and improve HR systems and processes from scratch
  • Direct exposure to and collaboration with the founder
  • A remote-first and flexible working environment

What makes this role different

ZAM is remote-first. You set your own working hours and methods, provided you consistently deliver on the responsibilities of the role. There is no fixed shift, but you will need sufficient overlap with Manila business hours and North American mornings to conduct interviews, check-ins and other people-related work. You will provide your own equipment and workspace. This is an independent contractor engagement, not employment. You will control your own hours and methods of work and will be responsible for your own taxes, contributions and registrations in your country of residence.

How to apply

If you have measurable results, include them — number of hires placed, time-to-fill, retention rates, pay runs managed, or HR processes built. We care more about what you have actually done than simply what your previous job title was.

  • Your resume or LinkedIn profile
  • A brief introduction about yourself
  • Examples of HR work you have personally handled
  • Your experience with documented processes or HR systems
  • The city from which you will primarily work
  • Your preferred contact information