Who we are
The Brave Work Project provides fractional Operations/HR support for organizations that aren’t quite ready for a full-time hire—but who definitely need to get things taken off of their plates. We can also support you while a team member is on leave.
Our work is practical, embedded, and operational. We’re more than just freelancers. We are invested in what you’re trying to build and will provide strategic feedback on best practices for how to scale the backend of things in ways that are efficient and helpful now—and—that won’t backfire on you later.
We take work off leadership’s plate so companies can keep moving.
HOW WE WORK WITH CLIENTS
Most of our clients come to us saying some version of:
“We need help with Operations or HR or Hiring—but not a full-time hire yet.”
So that’s where we start.
As a fractional partner, we step in to:
Stabilize messy systems
Clean up what’s overdue or unclear
Build the foundational protocols growing companies need
Support managers (without turning them into therapists) to galvanize their teams
Reduce the background noise of too many things to do, not enough time, and no dedicated person to own the project.
KATE SWOBODA, FOUNDER OF THE BRAVE WORK PROJECT
Hey there, I’m Kate, founder of The Brave Work Project.
I’ve led and supported startups and established companies doing the unglamorous, necessary work: writing policies, building performance frameworks, supporting managers, handling onboarding, and making sure companies don’t accidentally create chaos as they scale.
I’m calm in complexity, direct when things are muddy, and invested in the people I work with.
I bring a burnout-informed, systems-aware lens to everything I do—not as a culture initiative or leadership trend, but as a practical safeguard.
My approach is straightforward: I take real Operations + HR work off your plate, build structure where it’s needed, and help you grow without turning your company into a bureaucracy—or burning out the people who make it run.
My superpowers include: Knowing when a meeting could be an email; helping people articulate what they need when they can’t quite find the words to explain it; and helping stressed out business leadership get focused on the priorities that matter, most.
The credentials: I have 12+ years of experience working in companies of all sizes and in different industries. I’ve offered support within every team—executive, marketing, finance, engineering, product, customer service. I have two HR certifications, a project management certification, and experience as an instructional designer and corporate trainer. I also have a Masters in Psychology, a PCC from the International Coaching Federation, and have coached executives and senior leadership both 1:1 and in group coaching sessions for improved performance.
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Check out our Services page for the full breakdown. My experience in HR and operations is generalized. I’ve done everything from build out employee HR systems for record-keeping to training customer service agents to de-escalate a rude customer to preparing quarterly stock statements.
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I work on a retainer model. It’s listed on the Services page, and I’m open to hourly if you prefer—though the retainer model is more cost-effective.
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There’s a 3-month minimum for being on retainer with your organization.
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I can do both, though most often I’ve been hired to literally do the work—build out the system, create the SOP, audit the existing process, recruit/onboard/train.
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Throughout my career I have worked across different industries so I don’t limit to just one. The skills of HR and Operations support are not limited to one industry (to offer a similar comparator, an accountant doesn’t have to have experience in healthcare to be able to prepare a financial report; they need the skills and competencies to be able to prepare financial reports, applied wherever they work).
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I have held salaried HR jobs, but love how diversified fractional work is—every client presents fresh challenges that we can collaborate on, together. I’m a lifelong learner with an entrepreneurial mindset—I like being part of teams that are building things.
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For most fractional work, I’ll operate remotely. For manager training, we start on-site and then move to virtual training sessions. If you need me to be on-site, I can do that depending on proximity to the SF Bay Area, but this would impact total hours/costs.
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As needed and if a project requires it, I have an extensive network of HR and Operations professionals that I’ll bring in, depending on their fit for a project. I manage that team independently as subcontractors for each project.
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I can handle payroll questions and implementation of connections to payroll systems (eg, connecting your employees in Gusto, getting them set up). However, I don’t literally calculate payroll.
I also am not a lawyer and therefore cannot act as counsel regarding employment law or legal matters as they impact HR or Operations.