Chief of People Development

Chief of People Development

Start Date: July 1, 2025

Location: Boston, MA

About UP Education Network

UP Education Network manages and operates two schools in Boston, MA. We serve over 1,300 elementary and middle school students. UP is invited by local school districts to restart chronically underperforming district schools as UP Academies. Each UP Academy shares the same mission: to ensure that students acquire the knowledge, skills, and strength of character necessary to succeed on the path to college and to achieve their full potential.

Role

This person is critical in shaping the growth and development of our most valuable resource:  People. This role will work in direct partnership with the CEO.  Aligned to our org value of growth - and tied directly to one of our three main pillars of our theory of action as an organization of developing great teachers, this role will be critical to the success of the organization.  This role would ensure we crystalize our vision for effective coaching and management of staff - and ensure we have all the systems required to ensure that happens.  This role would oversee all aspects of talent and HR from hiring through the development and evaluation cycle for all staff, with a specific focus on teaching. 

This person should serve as a thought leader in the organization and the education space when it comes to talent - as there is nothing more important than great people.  Additionally, the functions listed below will be executed for the schools that UP manages, but may include providing some of these functions to other schools or districts as UP looks to expand their impact on kids 

Specific Responsibilities

Development and Evaluation

Ensure there is a strong evaluation cycle for all staff - in close partnership with the CEO and school leaders

• Develop specific theory and guiding principles about UPs beliefs around management, coaching and development aligned to the theory of action
• Ensure all coaches at UP have a baseline set of normed coaching skills and are executing them effectively
• While directly working with Deans of Curriculum and Instruction, this role will also ensure resources and systems are in place to ensure all Deans are being grown and developed
• Develop, implement and oversee a strong evaluation cycle aligned with theory, principles and beliefs
• Developing and overseeing the goal setting process for all roles at schools and the network aligned to one or all of the following
  • The School Performance Framework or Organizational Health Dashboard
  • Network and School Priorities
  • Evaluation tool specific for roles
• Coaching and developing secondary leaders in ways that would include
  • Coaching on how to coach teacher classroom practices 
  • Coaching on goal setting practices and monitoring
  • Coaching on management practices and management interactions
  • Coaching on how to differentiate support leaders are giving to high and low performers
  • Coaching on how to make our best staff keep growing
  • Coaching on difficult conversations on progress not being met
  • Coaching and monitoring to ensure the tenets of our approach to development are present across coaches 
• Determine the right way to use data (surveys and other methods) to ensure UP has a strong pulse on this critical work
• Retention focus as a byproduct of this work - but intentional focus on
  • Identifying a good bench of leaders and succession planning
  • Tracking promotions and advancement through a lens of equity

Management functions

The Chief of People Development will potentially manage the person/people responsible for the talent acquisition and HR and the person responsible for growing and developing our top tier teachers.  The functions below will potentially be overseen by the Chief of People Development - but managed by potential direct reports.

Recruiting and hiring

Develop, execute, and oversee the systems for recruiting and sourcing top talent

• Develop screening and interviewing process to ensure values alignment - in partnership with the CEO and school leaders
• Maximizing efficiency of screening and hand off to schools
• Set the conditions for a strong experience for all potential hires and ensure onboarding is strong, including mid year onboarding

HR practices and policies

Liaison with BPS and other network team members to execute or coordinate HR functions that include:

• Understanding of all BPS policies for HR and how we fit in
• Understand working conditions vs. what we are required to do with Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Partner with leaders and Chief of People Growth and Development and the CEO on any major HR issues that arise - engage with legal council where necessary

Top Performing Teacher growth and development

• Develop a program for top tier teachers to provide them options for future growth within the network that would include
  • Professional Learning Community for high performing teachers to continue their growth
  • Build a bench of potential secondary leaders to ensure succession planning is in a healthy space

Other notes about the role

• This role would be directly managed by the CEO
• This role would sit on the network leadership team
• This role would be involved in the work we hope to pivot to and scale in offering services to other districts
• This role would be in the Chief band for compensation