People & Culture Builder

About College Circle AI

College Circle AI is a student-led, student-first company building technology for the future of learning. We are building a real product for real students, working across technology, research, learning, product, growth, business, and people.

About the People & Culture Role

People & Culture at College Circle AI is responsible for building the people system behind the company. This role is not limited to recruitment, attendance, or administrative HR work. The person will help build how people join, work, communicate, learn, contribute, take ownership, and grow inside an early-stage company. You will work closely with department heads, team members, and the Founder’s Office to understand what the organization needs and create systems that help people perform better. The goal is to build a culture where the right people can contribute, learn, take ownership, and build something meaningful together.

Key Responsibilities

• People & Culture

• Understand how people work inside College Circle AI and continuously improve the employee/team experience.

• Help establish:

• Team culture and working principles

• Communication standards

• Collaboration practices

• Employee engagement

• Team bonding and community initiatives

• Feedback mechanisms

• Recognition and appreciation systems

• Internal communication

• Conflict-resolution processes

• People-related documentation and systems

• Understand why people behave in a certain way, not simply record what they do.

• Hiring & Talent

• Work on:

• Job descriptions

• Candidate sourcing

• Application screening

• Candidate communication

• Interview coordination

• Screening processes

• Candidate evaluation

• Interview documentation

• Selection coordination

• Onboarding

• Maintaining candidate records

• Building future talent pipelines

• Identify people who can actually contribute to the role they are applying for.

• Onboarding

• Help ensure that every new member understands:

• Their role

• Their responsibilities

• Their department

• Their reporting structure

• Their working expectations

• Their communication channels

• Their targets

• Their evaluation process

• Their documentation requirements

• Their growth opportunities

• People Operations

• Help maintain the basic operating structure required for people to work effectively. This includes:

• Attendance and participation tracking where applicable

• Leave coordination

• Working commitments

• Team records

• Appointment and onboarding documentation

• Internal policies

• Performance records

• Role changes

• Exit and handover processes

• Maintaining people-related information

• Performance & Growth

• Work with department heads to understand:

• What was expected?

• What was delivered?

• What was learned?

• What problems were encountered?

• What ownership was demonstrated?

• What should improve?

• What should the person take ownership of next?

• Help people become better contributors.

• Learning & Development

• Help create opportunities for team members to develop through:

• Internal workshops

• Mentorship

• Learning resources

• Skill development

• Cross-functional exposure

• Founder/team interactions

• Practical startup experience

• Peer learning

• Encourage people to learn by doing.

• Team Communication

• Help create a healthy communication environment across departments. This includes helping teams communicate:

• What they are working on

• What they completed

• What they need help with

• What is blocked

• What they learned

• What needs to change

• What decisions have been made

• Employee Experience

• Continuously ask: What does it actually feel like to work at College Circle AI?

• Collect feedback through:

• One-on-one conversations

• Team discussions

• Surveys

• Exit feedback

• Informal conversations

• Department reviews

• Convert feedback into actionable improvements.

How People Are Expected to Work

People are expected to: Take ownership → communicate clearly → meet commitments → document work → participate actively → ask for help when needed → learn → improve. You are not expected to wait for someone to tell you every small thing that needs to be done. If you see a problem within the people system, you are expected to: Identify → understand → investigate → propose → discuss → implement → measure.

The Culture We Are Building

• Ownership over instructions: Value people who ask: “What needs to be done?” rather than only: “What task have I been assigned?”
• Learning over hierarchy: Everyone should be able to question an approach respectfully, regardless of their position.
• Evidence over assumptions: People decisions should be supported by conversations, observations, records or data wherever possible.
• Transparency over confusion: If there is a problem, communicate it early rather than allowing it to become larger.
• Responsibility over excuses: Mistakes are part of building. Hiding mistakes or avoiding responsibility is different.
• People-first, performance-conscious: Care about people, but also care about whether the organization is actually moving forward.

What We Look For

• People-oriented
• Observant
• Organised
• Empathetic
• A strong communicator
• Comfortable speaking with different types of people
• Curious about organizational behaviour
• Able to handle difficult conversations
• Comfortable with ambiguity
• Proactive
• Responsible with confidential information
• Interested in building systems
• Willing to challenge inefficient processes
• Able to balance people needs with organizational requirements

This Is Not a Conventional HR Role

At an early-stage company, People & Culture cannot operate only as an administrative function. You may be asked to work on hiring one day, culture the next, performance systems after that, and an entirely new people problem the following week. You will need to understand the business, the departments, and the people working inside them. You are building the people infrastructure of a growing company.

Working With Other Departments

People & Culture works across the organization and may coordinate with:

• Founder’s Office
• Technology
• Research & R&D
• Learning & Academic Team
• Product
• Growth & Business Development
• Marketing & Community

Growth at College Circle AI

Your responsibilities can evolve as the organization grows. You may begin with: Recruitment → People Operations → Culture → Performance → People Strategy → Organisational Leadership. People who demonstrate strong ownership and consistent contribution may receive opportunities to take larger responsibilities.