Director of Human Resources & Talent Acquisition , Bay Area

Description

ABOUT ASPIRE

Aspire Public Schools operates a network of high-performing, college preparatory charter schools serving TK-12 scholars in communities across California. Founded in 1998-in an effort to transform the inequitable racial, social, and gender outcomes that our communities persist through-Aspire is one of the largest and most forward-thinking open-enrollment public charter school systems in the nation.


Our purpose is to prepare our scholars for success in college, career, and life. At Aspire, we set a foundation for our scholars to gain knowledge, skills, and power to access and make choices for their families and post-secondary lives. Every day, our community of students, families, teachers and staff comes together to learn, work, and play in an environment grounded in our values of Bienestar (Well-Being), Culture of Belonging, Community Partnership, Agency & Self-Determination, and Joy.


JOB SUMMARY

The Director of Human Resources, Bay Area serves as the strategic HR leader for a designated portfolio of Bay Area schools, overseeing the full employee lifecycle, including talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, workforce planning, compliance, and retention. This role partners closely with school leaders to attract, develop, engage, and retain high-performing teammates while fostering a positive, equitable, and legally compliant workplace culture.

Reporting to the Head of Human Resources, the Director of Human Resources leads regional talent strategy and employee relations initiatives, ensuring schools are staffed with exceptional talent and supported through effective people practices that advance organizational goals and student outcomes. The position serves as a trusted advisor to leaders, providing guidance on recruitment, workforce planning, investigations, performance management, organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning (50%)

• Lead talent acquisition strategy and workforce planning efforts for a designated portfolio of schools.
• Develop and maintain pipelines of diverse, high-quality candidates for certificated and classified positions.
• Partner with school leaders to forecast staffing needs and develop succession plans.
• Oversee full-cycle recruitment, selection, hiring, and onboarding processes.
• Establish partnerships with universities, credentialing programs, and community organizations to strengthen candidate pipelines.
• Analyze recruitment, retention, and workforce data to inform hiring strategies and workforce decisions.
• Lead and develop recruitment team members and hiring managers.
• Support talent initiatives, systems, and process improvements that enhance efficiency and candidate experience.
• Develop and implement retention strategies that support employee engagement and organizational stability.
• Collaborate with leaders to identify and address staffing trends and workforce challenges.

Employee Relations & Human Resources Leadership (50%)

• Serve as the primary Human Resources and Employee Relations leader for a designated portfolio of Bay Area schools.
• Provide consultation and coaching to leaders on employee performance, workplace concerns, conflict resolution, investigations, and corrective actions.
• Conduct and oversee employee relations investigations involving complaints, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, and policy violations.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, organizational policies
• Lead performance management processes and support leaders in fostering accountability and professional growth.
• Review separation documentation, conduct exit interviews, and identify opportunities to improve retention and workplace culture.
• Support organizational change management and culture-building efforts across assigned schools.
• Maintain employee relations records and ensure confidentiality and compliance with applicable regulations.
• Collaborate with HR and regional leadership on policy development, compensation practices, talent development, and organizational initiatives.
• Promote a culture of belonging, accountability, professionalism, and continuous improvement.
• Provide guidance and support during employee complex employment matters.

LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to school leaders and HR leadership.
• Use workforce and employee data quarterly to identify trends, inform decision-making, and drive continuous improvement.
• Occasionally prepares and presents data to the board
• Facilitate training and professional development quarterly at site level and/or regional related to hiring practices, employee relations, performance management, and compliance.
• Support the implementation of organizational priorities and people strategies.
• Demonstrate and promote Aspire's values of Bienestar, Culture of Belonging, Community Partnership, Agency & Self-Determination, and Joy.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Provides strategic human resources leadership for a designated portfolio of Bay Area schools.
• Serves as the primary HR business partner to school leaders and regional leadership.
• Oversees talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, compliance, retention, and workforce planning across assigned schools.
• Partners with leaders to build strong workplace culture, improve employee engagement, and support organizational effectiveness.
• Ensures consistent implementation of HR policies, practices, and employment law compliance across the Bay Area.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in a director capacity within talent or hiring
• Master's degree preferred in Human Resources, Organizational Leadership, Business Administration, Education, or related field preferred.

Experience

• 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, or related fields.
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing people, programs, and organizational initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience conducting workplace investigations and/or resolving complex employee relations matters.
• Experience leading recruitment strategies, workforce planning, and retention initiatives.
• Experience supporting K-12 education organizations strongly preferred.

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to lead recruitment function in a fast paced, customer centric environment
• Experience in education sector recruitment
• Demonstrated commitment to people-first strategies and approaches
• Self-driven with superior organizational skills, integrity and great follow through; able to lead multiple projects and still meet all deadlines.
• Ability to think strategically and tactically
• Strong verbal, written communication and presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills; proven experience working and collaborating well with various levels
• Very proficient in Microsoft Outlook/Word/Excel/ PowerPoint
• Ability to educate others and build trust
• Deep knowledge of California employment law, employee relations practices, and talent acquisition strategies.
• Strong investigation, conflict resolution, and mediation skills.
• Ability to build relationships quickly. Understand and use relationships to drive effective collaboration with peers and stakeholders.
• Comfort working with data, conducting analysis, seeking insights and making inferences from data to drive future planning
• Curious, innovative, creative and constantly looking for ways to improve
• Exemplifies Aspire values and high levels of integrity and humility, and interest in Aspire Public Schools mission, vision, value statements, standards, policies and procedures, operating instructions, confidentiality standards, and the code of ethical behavior

Physical requirements:

• Moving self in different positions to accomplish tasks in various environments including tight and confined spaces.
• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.

1) Work authorization requirements:

• Clear the Department of Justice background screening
• Authorized to work in the United States
• Provide health (TB) clearance (must update every four years)

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics are representative of those in a normal office, classroom/school setting which one might encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.


Aspire Public Schools has implemented a Remote Work policy, limiting on-site office availability. Therefore, employees must have the ability to work remotely regularly. This position may also require periodic travel to school sites in order to interact with school leaders.

• Work indoors in a standard office environment, computer lab, and/or classroom environment
• Work is performed in indoor and outdoor environments
• Exposure to dust, oils, and cleaning chemicals
• Some exposure to childhood and other diseases in a school environment
• May be required to work outside of typical work days and office hours to meet operational deadlines

EEO STATEMENT


Aspire Public Schools provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.


This position description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities. The order in which duties and responsibilities are listed is not significant.