Senior HR School Partner

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Talent Office supports and empowers employees through all stages of their Chicago Public Schools (CPS) careers, with the understanding that the department's success enables employees to serve the students of Chicago better. The Human Resources for the School Support function provides one-stop support for CPS school administrators for all HR-related needs, including discipline, guidance, timely assistance, and executive consultation. Other efforts include improvements to online systems and seamless transitions from one school year to the next.

Job Summary:

The Senior Human Resources (HR) School Partner will build relationships and form partnerships with school leaders and key stakeholders in the district's central office to align schools' practices with district priorities and objectives to support schools effectively. This position will provide expert-level consultation, data analysis, communication, change management, and advocacy support to aid in the success of the department and the district. The Senior HR School Partner will report to the HR Manager, School Partnerships and will collaborate closely with colleagues across the Talent Office.

The Senior HR School Partner will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Provide strategic, individualized consultation, training, coaching, and support to school leaders and staff on all school-based human resources and discipline-related matters in alignment with all Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), Board of Education policies, and applicable laws/regulations
• Collaborate closely with school leaders to develop an understanding of their perspective and needs in order to act as their advocate; provide Talent Office leadership with informed feedback on district policy and operations to ensure a seamless experience for school leaders
• Partner with school leaders to help build and implement staff organizations that align with individual school needs and optimize the use of talent and resources while maintaining an equity focus
• Facilitate the annual staff organization analysis and displacement process for school-based staff
• Effectively lead designated large-scale school-based projects and new or ongoing initiatives, including determining project priorities, scope, objectives and deliverables, developing project plans, and leading change management. For example:
• HR Specialist Team Process, Quality, and Service Level Leadership - Provide mentorship and guidance to the team's HR Specialists, including conducting a regular quality review of transactions completed, monitoring their incoming customer inquiries (ie: shadowing incoming phone calls, reviewing completed SNOW tickets, addressing any issues or concerns that may arise in the course of day-to-day business, etc.), and leading the team through all talent initiatives related to summer school hiring (e.g., meeting with central office leaders to determine staffing needs for each program; conducting hiring webinar for principals, and leading specialist team through vetting all staff to comply with the CBA; sending communication notices to all staff, etc.)
• HR School Partner Team Service Level Leadership - Promote customer service by monitoring the team calendar and Nice iNcontact phone system to ensure the HR School Partners (HRSPs) are meeting the team's service level agreement of a 24- 48 hour turnaround time. This Senior HR School Partner will mentor the HRSPs on best and past practices of the team to ensure consistent messaging is provided throughout the district.
• Lead Cyclical Talent Initiatives - Drive ongoing/annual initiatives (ie: Staff Organizational Worksheet (SOW) process, the Early Notification of Resignation Program, and the Educational Support Personnel and Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel (ESP/PSRP) Evaluation Process), including the development and implementation of a robust training program to ensure HR School Partnership team maintains and up-to-date knowledge of the processes and responsibilities related to Talent initiatives throughout the school year.
• Promote HR best practices throughout the district to support high-performing teams and ensure consistent application of talent management best practices
• Support school leaders in leveraging HR systems (E.g., Human Resources Information System (HRIS), applicant tracking, and communication portal)
• Support Office-wide data integrity and accuracy by operating with high levels of attention to detail and facilitating regular data audits and cleanups in HR systems of use (E.g. PeopleSoft, Oracle and Taleo)
• Represent the Talent Office in cross-departmental project teams
• Partner with the HR Manager, CPS Labor Relations, and the Office of Administrative Hearings to proactively resolve matters related to the collective bargaining agreement(s), HR investigations, grievances, employee relations, workforce planning, and disciplinary matters; represent CPS in grievance and legal hearings pursuant to the implementation of the district's collective bargaining agreements with its labor partners
• Review and facilitate the resolution of Risk Committee employee discipline referrals
• Review and provide feedback on all discipline documents and track all incoming disciplinary inquiries
• Support adherence to the CPS non-union compensation guidelines, including the job evaluation and compensation analysis process, to provide fair and equitable salary recommendations for internal and external candidates
• Analyze and interpret policies, law changes, and procedures to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
• In collaboration with Talent Leadership, the Senior Human Resource School Partner will:
• Develop, enhance, and track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure transparency and operational efficiency for the HR team in areas such as:
• New hire and rehire onboarding and staffing
• Title changes, administrative and/or intra-unit transfers, (and the completion of all related documentation/forms)
• Retirements, resignations, and displacements
• Recommend and implement operational improvements to streamline and/or automate internal HR processes with the goal of increasing efficiency and fostering a fair and equitable work environment
• Other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Senior HR School Partner must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university required
• Degree concentration in Human Resources Management, Labor Management, Organizational Psychology, Education, or Business Administration preferred
• Master's or other advanced degree preferred
• Professional HR certifications/designations such as PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of high-volume human resources experience, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in an HR Business Partner or HR Generalist-level role
• Experience conducting union discipline
• Experience coordinating complex processes
• Experience in K-12 education

Other Requirements

• Occasional extended work hours and weekend work will be required during peak periods

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of human resources practices, including employee discipline, and state and federal labor and employment laws
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to facilitate presentations/trainings to a broad range of audiences, effectively communicating industry terminology in an easily understandable manner
• Ability to build collaborative, trusting relationships with a variety of constituent groups at all levels of the organization; excellent customer service skills with an ability to empathize and be attentive to customers' needs and concerns
• Ability to lead and support a creative, innovative, high-functioning team, delegate and leverage the team effectively to drive impactful results and achieve ambitious goals
• Strong leadership and execution skills and the ability to successfully lead team members in working efficiently to address all transactions and Tier 1 inquiries
• High levels of attention to detail and effective time management skills, including the ability to manage and follow through on multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously, driving them to completion in a timely, efficient manner and producing accurate, thorough, professional work products
• Strong critical thinking skills; capable of quickly analyzing complex situations to gauge the level of urgency of a problem and provide a range of appropriate, viable solutions, or escalate when necessary
• Ability to define problems, analyze and interpret data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps
• Excellent judgment, integrity, and tact; capable of handling confidential information and navigating sensitive situations
• Capable of effectively using persuasive communication to build consensus, gain support on new initiatives and practices, and address client needs
• Ability to adapt to adapt to shifting priorities and changing timelines in a high-volume, fast-paced environment
• Self-starter capable of success both as a collaborative team member or a leader, taking initiative and ownership of situations as they arise
• Strong technology skills in Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, and applicant tracking systems.
• Knowledge of K-12 school structures and operations

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.