Position: Director of Human Resources
Work Year: 12-month position, benefits eligible
Exempt/Non-Exempt: Exempt/Non-Aligned
Reports To: The Superintendent of Schools
Annual Salary: $125,000-$135,000
Job Goal: Provide strong leadership in the area of Human Resources to ensure that WPS recruits and retains a highly qualified workforce.
Why we want you to join our team:
The Director of Human Resources has the primary responsibility for providing leadership and support to the employees of the district, the Watertown School Committee, Superintendent, and principals. The Director provides overall administration and evaluation to the Human Resources Department to ensure optimal service and practices in the areas of recruitment, retention, labor relations, employee benefits, supporting 800+ employees, promoting a strong collaborative working relationship with all bargaining units, and employee discipline and legal compliance (Title IX, harassment and anti-bullying) in an education setting.
WPS seeks an individual who will be the champion of our commitment to recruit, hire and support a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse faculty and staff that represent the vibrant, diverse Watertown student population.
The new Director of Human Resources will be joining a strong, collaborative administrative team that is deeply committed to equity and to developing and growing a staff that understand the central mission of our school district: to create an equitable, challenging, and innovative learning environment where everyone belongs and every student is empowered to shape the world around them.
We invite you to apply for this exciting opportunity where you will be valued, celebrated, supported and, most of all, where you will find joy in your chosen profession.
Your responsibilities in this role will be to:
- Provide substantial, ongoing, and sustained support to building principals to assist them with the day-to-day operation of their building and programs.
- Coordinate and support the hiring process of district administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, secretaries, food service staff, substitutes and support staff, including nurses, psychologists, speech pathologists, etc.
- Ensure that the school district’s policies provide equal educational and employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of race, color, sex, age, marital status, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or handicap in addition to any other applicable protections under federal, state and local law.
- Understand and implement with fidelity ADA, FMLA, and other state and federal laws, regulations and statutes related to employment and labor relations.
- Oversee the provision of all HR administrative services, ensuring a focus on positive employee experience, efficiency, confidentiality and compliance.
- Manage and ensure policies are current, comply with required regulations, and are effectively communicated to all stakeholders.
- Create and/or manage the budgeting, financial analysis, projections and preparation of funding related to compensation, benefits and HRIS areas, keeping senior management informed of costs and trends. Works closely with internal partners within the finance office and legal counsel.
- Collaborate with the Superintendent and legal counsel regarding personnel matters, litigation matters, and generally ensuring legal compliance in personnel matters, including facilitating or leading employee investigations that may lead to discipline.
- Ensure effective supervision and evaluation procedures are employed throughout the district and that related contractual and DESE guidelines are followed.
- Provide assistance and advice to principals and other supervisors with the supervision and evaluation of staff members, particularly those staff members who are exhibiting unsatisfactory work.
- Manage compliance with teacher licensure and other personnel certification requirements.
- Coordinate and support the collective bargaining with two unions and six units.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with union leadership, including regular and emergent communication and collaboration with the President.
- Serve as a representative on various Sick Bank Committees.
- Coordinate and oversee all human resources related technology including, but not limited to, TeachPoint, Applicant Tracking, Frontline Absence Management, etc., or similarly equivalent HR systems.
- Create, update, and implement the employee handbook.
- Assure that personnel related state and federal reporting requirements are met; assists and coordinates with the data manager to accurately report employee data.
- Supervise Assistant Director of Human Resources and Human Resources Administrative Assistant.
- Serve as an effective member of the Superintendent’s leadership team.
- Assume other duties related to personnel matters as may be assigned by the Superintendent of Schools.
You Are:
- Confident, empathetic and an effective communicator.
- Effective at resolving conflicts, listening to concerns, and seeking out resolutions to problems.
- An asset to the overall leadership team by providing support and answers in a timely fashion.
- Able to deliver challenging information or decisions to administrators, faculty and staff that validates their concerns and provides an explanation behind decisions.
You Have:
- A master’s degree in education, business, or public administration (or equivalent).
- Successful leadership experience.
- Strong interpersonal and influencing skills and the ability to build strong credibility, trust, and working relationships at all levels of the district.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills that include conflict resolution skills.
- The ability to understand, interpret and apply the state and federal laws and policy as related to human resources.
- Experience in public education, preferred or other human resources leadership and responsibilities.
- The ability to handle multiple priorities simultaneously and maintain a flexible work schedule to meet various demands of concurrent multiple projects.