Director of Human Resources

Who Are We?

Prospect Hill Academy Charter School is a highly successful urban PK-12 public school located in Somerville and Cambridge. We enroll over 900 students from cities and towns throughout the greater Boston metro area. Our inclusive and restorative school celebrates and serves a diverse community - with 87% BIPOC, 27% ELL, and 16% of our students qualifying for special education services. Our mission is to prepare all students for success in college, foster responsible citizenship, and inspire a lifelong love of learning - as we believe academic achievement opens doors and creates opportunities for our students.

We center the values of anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work. Our approach to instruction is founded on culturally sustaining, inquiry-based, and student-centered practices. To invest in the growth of our educators, we offer comprehensive professional development, instructional coaching, and mentorship. Our campuses foster a collaborative team environment with extraordinary educators who are committed to ongoing learning, reflection, and professional growth.

The Director of Human Resources provides leadership, vision, and strategic planning to sustain the HR functions throughout the school. As a member of the District Leadership Team, s/he is responsible for developing and leading an HR department that effectively attracts, develops, rewards, and retains excellent employees. S/he is an entrepreneurial leader who can seamlessly pivot between vision and strategy, and implementation and operations.

Essential Functions:

1. Recruiting & Hiring
   • Build robust candidate pipelines for all faculty and staff positions via multiple and diverse sources including but not limited to: partner organizations, local universities, and referral networks
   • Design and lead the candidate hiring process by leveraging robust selection processes and tools that are aligned with PHA values, core competencies, and strategic priorities
   • Provide regular training and coaching to hiring teams to build skill in equitable and high-impact selection strategies
   • Oversee applicant tracking, offers, and onboarding to ensure an efficient and effective hiring process
2. Professional Development & Performance Management
   • Create a vision for, refine, and oversee the annual instructional and non-instructional onboarding and orientation process for all new employees
   • Collaborate with Academic Team to design and coordinate robust professional development initiatives that set our staff up for success in achieving organizational goals
   • Refine and execute all components of annual performance evaluation cycle to ensure equity, consistency, and desired outcomes from supervision & evaluation practices; support managers in implementing the performance review process for all employees
3. Compensation, Benefits, and Compliance
   • Review and improve the total compensation plan for all employees inclusive of salary and benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, retirement, and life insurance
   • Oversee payroll and benefits administration through third-party vendor
   • Design and implement scalable systems to ensure the proper administration of all leaves including PFML, disability, and unpaid leave; oversee management of workers’ compensation policy and claims
   • Oversee employee participation and 100% compliance in mandatory training and activities including but not limited to civil rights and sexual harassment training, CORI/SORI submission, fingerprinting, state ethics training, and licensure requirements
   • Maintain and expand knowledge and understanding of existing and proposed federal, state, and DESE laws/regulations affecting employees; interpret appropriate laws and policies and advise administration and employees accordingly
4. Policies, Processes, and Systems
   • Complete annual review of the Employee Handbook including updating policies and procedures to ensure alignment with laws, regulation, and best practices
   • Manage critical HR processes including background checks, new employee intake, record-keeping for performance appraisals, employee relations, termination, and post-termination processes
   • Collect and analyze HR data to assess effectiveness of HR functions and provide transparent insight into these functions to school leadership and the Human Resources Committee of the Board of Trustees
   • Manage or assist with the development, preparation, and analysis of ongoing and ad-hoc reports pertaining to employee personnel information and data collection
   • As needed, lead the selection and implementation of new HR systems (i.e. HRIS, ATS, etc.)
5. Employee Engagement & Relations
   • Assess key drivers of employee engagement and develop a strategy to leverage these drivers
   • Conduct exit interviews for all departing staff and regularly analyze data to ensure Prospect Hill Academy has effective retention mechanisms in place
   • Support employees as they navigate conflict through the use of consultation and mediation
   • Conduct or oversee the investigation, documentation, and resolution of personnel matters
   • Provide advice and guidance to senior leaders and managers on employee issues; work with managers to develop and implement improvement plans when needed
   • Manage exceptional employee circumstances, keeping Head of School well-informed
6. Team Leadership
   • Refine and implement the vision for the HR function at PHA; lead the team to ensure a culture of high expectations, excellent customer service, and continual improvement
   • Set and monitor metrics for quality of HR service delivery, and work with the department to improve over time
   • Provide guidance and oversight to the HR Team in providing timely and effective day-to-day support for employees
   • Identify and engage in opportunities for team-wide professional development; act as a coach and thought-partner to team members

NOTE: This list of essential and additional functions is not intended to be all-inclusive and may be supplemented at the request of one’s supervisor and/or senior management. Additional Functions:

• Serve as a critical and productive member of the district leadership team
• Attend 5-6 annual Board of Trustee meetings
• Maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times (attendance, punctuality, dress, written and oral communication, etc.)
• Additional responsibilities and tasks requested or assigned by manager

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required:

• Master’s Degree in Education, Human Resources, School Leadership, or another aligned field of study
• At least 5 years experience working in relevant role, ideally within a school or nonprofit organization
• Commitment to Prospect Hill Academy's educational mission, vision, and values
• Entrepreneurial problem-solver with a focus on driving results and continual improvement
• Commitment to and proven success working with colleagues, students, and families from diverse backgrounds with diverse profiles
• Well-developed and demonstrated cultural proficiency and anti-racism; proven track record of embracing values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in workplace
• Commitment to professional development and lifelong learning
• Strong personal organizational and time-management skills; ability to multi-task and perform a range of instructional and administrative duties
• High degree of flexibility and responsiveness in the face of challenge
• Ability to build teams, promote collaboration, manage conflict, set goals, and hold people accountable
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate clearly in oral and written form with students, staff, and community members
• Demonstrated success collaborating in a team to achieve individual, team, and organizational goals
• Strong organizational and communication skills, both written and oral
• Passionate about collaboration with colleagues and supervisor
• Fluency in Google suite of applications

Physical Requirements:

• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, reaching with hands and arms to stoop, kneel, or crouch
• Regularly required to operate a computer and other office equipment with hands and arms
• Frequent lifting and/or moving up to 20 pounds and occasionally lifting and/or moving up to 40 pounds.
• Occasional use of hands to handle or feel
• Occasional climbing or balancing