Melissa Buckley
About Melissa Buckley
Melissa Buckley serves as the Senior People Business Partner at Handshake, where she has been instrumental in scaling the company and enhancing organizational health since 2023. With a background in talent strategy and leadership consulting, she has played a key role in Handshake's growth from 50 to 700 employees.
Current Role at Handshake
Melissa Buckley serves as the Senior People Business Partner at Handshake, a position she has held since 2023. In this role, she leads executive-level organizational health discussions and facilitates leadership learning forums. Her responsibilities include consulting on key talent decisions for a client group of 200 employees, focusing on organizational design, performance management, and change management. Buckley has evolved into a trusted partner and advisor to the Revenue Leadership Team, contributing to the development of a business generating over $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
Previous Experience at Handshake
Before her current role, Melissa Buckley held multiple positions at Handshake. She worked as an Associate People Business Partner from 2019 to 2021, where she played a significant role in scaling the company from 50 to 700 employees. Additionally, she served as a People Business Partner (HRBP) from 2021 to 2023. During her tenure, she onboarded the first sales representatives when the company had less than $100,000 in revenue, demonstrating her involvement in the company's early growth stages.
Educational Background
Melissa Buckley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied from 2010 to 2014. She also participated in a Full Immersion Study Abroad Program at Universidad Complutense de Madrid from 2012 to 2013. This educational background has contributed to her understanding of human behavior, which is essential in her role in people management and organizational development.
Early Career Experience
Before joining Handshake, Melissa Buckley worked as an Office Manager at Shift from 2016 to 2017. She also served as a Tutor at Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes from 2011 to 2015. These roles provided her with foundational skills in management and education, which she later applied in her human resources career.
Contributions to Organizational Growth
Throughout her career at Handshake, Melissa Buckley has adopted a data-driven talent strategy aimed at enhancing performance and engagement within the Go-to-Market client group. She leads discussions on organizational health and has acted as a trusted advisor to over 35 leaders across the revenue-generating side of the business. Her contributions have been pivotal in supporting the company's significant growth trajectory.