Samantha De Fonseka, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Experience

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  Fractional People People

  Founding Member

  Sep 2023 - Present

  This group was created for those who are already established, or pursuing, the journey of HR fractional/consulting solopreneurship. We're each other's teammates in this career; learning together, sharing the challenges, celebrating the wins and supporting each other. #LFG! If you're interested in being referred to this group, click on the website link and complete the form. If you are a company that would like to be part of the FPP Perks & Partner Program or sponsor our live events, email elles@fractionalpeoplepeople.com to chat more.

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  Knoetic | CPOHQ

  Member

  Sep 2023 - Present

  Knoetic’s mission is to empower the next generation of CPOs and People leaders with the right information at the right time.Our People Analytics platform allows People teams to build beautiful custom dashboards to gain high-level visibility on the KPIs that matter most or drill-down into any chart, report, and employee profile.Our CPOHQ community platform supports 2,000+ People executives and allows them to strategize together in our forum and live events, plus share playbooks and resources with one another.Our customers are strategic People teams from category-defining companies like Figma, Gainsight, Credit Karma, and more. They understand that empowering their leaders with the right People data at the right time allows them to navigate any market dynamic with a steady hand.We’re backed by leading investors (Accel), angel investors (Adam Grant), and 100+ CPOs, CEOs, and founders.

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  StartupExperts

  HR Leader

  Sep 2023 - Present

  • StartupExperts is an invite-only community of experienced HR, Finance, and Ops leaders who understand that while we tend to be “teams of one” or leaders of small teams at individual companies, we all regularly encounter the same business challenges and believe that collectively we are stronger when we support each other. As a community of professionals we are passionate about learning, we want to build deeper relationships with our peers, and most importantly we find personal satisfaction in giving to others.
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  Chief

  Member

  Jul 2022 - Present

  Women have always been powerful. We’re not waiting for a seat at the table — we're building our own.

  • Chief is a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there. Chief is the only organization specifically designed for the most powerful women executives to strengthen their leadership, magnify their influence, and pave the way to bring others with them
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  The People & Culture Connection

  Founder & Fractional Head of People / CPO

  Dec 2021 - Present

  The People and Culture Connection is a boutique People and Culture Consulting firm for all of your HR and People Operations needs. We work with startups and growth-stage companies, providing support from tactical HR to big-picture strategy and coaching. No matter your needs, don't hesitate to reach out. We'll create a customized solution for you--whether you need day to day support or a stand in Head of People, we've got you covered!

  • I founded The People & Culture Connection to provide fractional Head of People services to startups and growth stage companies.
  • -Serve as Head of People/CPO to 8 different startups (Seed to series C), working across 17 countries (incl. North America, APAC, South Asia, LatAm, and Europe), acting as a strategic business partner, overseeing and driving key People Operations initiatives across the entire employee lifecycle
  • -Design infrastructure and provide strategic guidance to leadership on matters such as Total Rewards, Organizational Design, Career Pathing, Change Management, Succession Planning, and on/off-boarding
  • -Manage regional expansions (LATAM, APAC, EMEA), global immigration, and mobility programs
  • -Scale processes and maximize efficiencies across multiple companies
  • -Maintain data-driven feedback loops, translate data into a story with actionable take-aways
  • -Strategize and execute Total Rewards philosophies and programs, including equity design
  • -Develop compensation and benchmarking frameworks for companies of 15-500+ employees
  • -Manage compliance for companies ranging in size from 15-250+
  • -Handle sensitive matters such as involuntary exits and organizational redesigns with utmost discretion
  • -Execute procedural and compliance audits for People Ops teams
  • -Partner with founders to develop mission and vision statements, to define company culture and values; reflect those in recruitment, onboarding, and off-boarding efforts, as well as support fundraising pitches
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  Masa Finance (We're Hiring)

  Head of People

  Jun 2022 - Jun 2023

  Masa is a decentralized AI network, where people earn by contributing data. AI developers can build anything, anywhere with the world’s data. Join our mission to create Fair AI, powered by the people. Join our community: http://discord.gg/masafinance

  • Today’s system for building and accessing credit is leaving many people without access to the tools they need to leverage to build wealth. Masa works in the DeFi space to democratize credit, empowering people to build credit and access loans in a way that's fairer, faster, and cheaper. I was hired as Masa’s first People team member, tasked with building the department from scratch.
  • -Served as a trusted advisor to the CEO, particularly on headcount planning, investigations, and employee relations decisions, including a large reorg during my first month
  • -Designed and managed company-wide financial management system, including People and Recruitment budget
  • -Created career pathing processes, company-wide leveling, and compensation bands
  • -Recommended and implemented innovative processes across the HR organization; acted as Project Manager for all initiatives involving HR data, systems, and platform adoption and implementation
  • -Managed employee records and policies, implementing best practices and conducting audits as necessary
  • -Audited financial and operating processes, bringing company into full SOX compliance in under 2 months
  • -Sourced, recruited, and hired a first-class engineering team of 5, plus Head of Engineering & Head of Marketing in under 6 weeks
  • -Developed recruiting team and partnered with recruitment firms to rapidly scale, taking the company rom 3 to 25 employees, plus contractors
  • -Wrote company handbook from scratch, including all policies and procedures
  • -Implemented performance management system Leapsome
  • -Built a Comp & Ben framework for the company to use, that would also scale as they grew
  • -Ensured the company stayed in compliance with all legal requirements at each growth stage
  • -Developed training and development collateral for the company to use at each stage of growth
  • -Managed employee engagement and lifecycle, from onboarding to exits
  • -Used PowerBI, SQL & and Tableau to track HR analytics and monitor trends as company scaled rapidly
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  Rocket Money (formerly Truebill)

  Director, People Operations

  Feb 2019 - May 2022

  Rocket Money (formerly known as Truebill) is a leading personal finance app with a mission to empower people to live their best financial lives. We offer our 3.4 million members a unique understanding of their finances and a suite of valuable services that save both time and money -- ultimately giving them a leg up on their finanical journey. Members can manage their subscriptions, lower their bills, build budgets and automatically set aside money to reach their savings goals. We've saved our members $245 million and counting. In late 2021, we were acquired by Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) for $1.275 billion with the goal of creating a centralized destination for consumers to manage their entire financial lives. As paying premium members more than doubled year-over-year in July 2022, we announced our new name, Rocket Money. At Rocket Money, we believe we can do our best work operating as a team. We are committed to using our experience at work to support our own and each other's personal growth journeys. If you are someone who enjoys solving hard problems, likes collaborating and is passionate about our mission; let's talk. We hire from all industries and look for a diverse set of experiences in our talent. To see our open roles go to www.rocketmoney.com/careers.

  • Truebill, (Rocket Money), is a SaaS fintech startup that was acquired by Rocket Companies. Truebill helps people take control of their personal finances by budgeting, saving, canceling subscriptions, and lowering bills.
  • Organizational Design
  • -Reported directly to the CEO; directly managed a distributed team of 5
  • -Developed and managed a $1.5 Million annual departmental budget
  • -Scaled People & Recruitment departments from 1 to a team of 12 to support company growth of 150% YoY, supporting 200+ remote employees
  • -Led the People efforts of a successful acquisition, including due diligence, change management, integration, and internal communications
  • -Owned compliance reporting and ensured company remained in compliance with California regulations, as well as other states and intl. locations across EMEA, APAC, and Latin America
  • L&D
  • -Cultivated and maintained programs and processes to develop necessary individual KSAs at all levels of the organization in an effort to foster a culture of continuous learning
  • -Directed career pathing, job architecture, and level setting to ensure all employees had a clear path for growth within the organization
  • Comp & Ben
  • -Drove compensation planning, redesigned bonus structure, and conducted annual pay parity audit to ensure fair and equitable compensation for all
  • -Redesigned benefits offerings and created a Total Rewards structure that increased average employee tenure by 1 year
  • Business Partnering & ER
  • -Served as a partner to C-Suite on org design, career pathing, performance management, and other strategic business decisions
  • -Conducted manager trainings, coached leaders through interpersonal issues, and resolved day-to-day ER concerns
  • -Partnered with legal to conduct internal investigations and resolve complex employee relations issues
  • Analytics
  • -Utilized Tableau and Lookr to build dashboards and track relevant KPIs.
  • -Implemented and owned new HRIS, ATS, and a full stack of HR tech; trained the entire company to use new systems.
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  American Councils for International Education

  Senior HR Program Coordinator

  Dec 2017 - Dec 2018

  The world’s most successful institutions and determined nations work with American Councils for International Education through cultural exchange, language training, and professional development. Since 1974, our educational portfolio has grown to include 85 countries important to national security, prosperity, and peace. Our programs are backed by thorough research to ensure their quality and integrity. Our participants represent a spectrum of learners, from high school through the postdoctoral and professional level. To date, we have built a community of more than 89,000 alumni, including national leaders, ministers, members of parliament, ambassadors, and CEOs.

  • -Managed hiring of 100+ screening panelists, tracked timesheets, ran payroll, and handled onboarding and offboarding of all panelists
  • -Planned and executed recruitment, retention, and engagement events for groups of 50-100+ and maintained an 86% retention rate over the previous year
  • -Oversaw the Reading Room, managed the flow of thousands of applications from 20 countries and ensured tight timelines were met on a consistent basis
  • -Supervised a Program Assistant and two interns
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  For Love of Children

  Manager, Recruitment & Outreach

  Aug 2015 - Nov 2016

  For Love of Children's mission is to provide educational services beyond the classroom to students from first grade through college and career. We bring together students, volunteers, families, and community partners in proven programs that teach, empower and transform.

  • -Developed job descriptions, recruited full-time staff and volunteers, executed full lifecycle activities, including on/offboarding, involuntary terminations, promotions, investigations, and exit interviews
  • -Planned recognition and recruitment events to retain and source additional volunteers, recruiting 500+ students, 350+ volunteers, and 5-7 in-house staff annually.
  • -Planned and executed trainings, including anti-harassment, DEIB, and first-time manager trainings
  • -Planned signature events, company retreats, and employee engagement initiatives