Specialist, School Staffing

Position Overview

The Office of Employee Services (OES) is dedicated to enhancing student success by attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent in DC Public Schools. By providing exceptional employee services support to our DCPS team members from recruitment to retirement, we aim to empower our employees to focus on what matters most—our students. With a focus on people-centered support and operational excellence, we leverage talent with the goal of all students being supported by staff who feel valued. OES is comprised of the following teams:

Divisions/Teams

• The Compensation and Retirement team is responsible for ensuring that DCPS administers compensation policies consistently and in accordance with applicable legislation and collective bargaining agreements. The team also provides support to departments during reorganizations, reductions in force (RIFs), and other personnel actions such as hiring, transfers, promotions and demotions. Additionally, the team offers counseling, guidance, and strategic planning for employee retirement.
• The Benefits and Leave team is responsible for administering employee benefits and managing leave of absence (LOA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) processes. This team also oversees the agency's health, life, tax-sheltered annuity, flexible spending, and supplemental benefits programs.
• The HR Information Systems and Records Management team ensures systems data integrity, manages the data reporting function, processes personnel actions in PeopleSoft, provides position management support for schools and Central Services, provides time and labor support, and manages the personnel filing system for all DCPS employees. The team also serves as a key HR partner to external agencies like the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), the DC Office of Human Resources (DCHR), and the Office of Pay and Retirement Services (OPRS).
• The Employee Experience (EE) team provides all new employees with robust onboarding support and leads the development and implementation of resources, workshops, and events designed to support employee needs. The EE team also supports procedural compliance related to background clearance checks for DCPS employees and manages additional support functions including the Employee Services helpline, walk-in visitor reception, and employee offboarding processes.
• The Strategic Staffing team is responsible for hiring all positions in DCPS, including temporary instructional positions. The team provides budgeting support, works with principals and supervisors to develop their staffing plans and personnel budgets, and works with employees, principals, and hiring managers on staffing changes.
• The Instructional Talent Acquisition and Retention division is responsible for the recruitment, selection, and retention efforts for educational aides, related service providers, instructional coaches, and teachers. This work includes nationwide recruitment to ensure that DCPS has excellent educators who can serve the diverse needs of our students.

The Specialist, School Staffing will lead the hiring and onboarding efforts for all school-based personnel. The Specialist, School Staffing plays an integrate role in working with school leaders and instructional superintendents to develop comprehensive staffing plans, efficiently onboard highly effective school-based staff and strategically refines innovative operational processes. The Specialist, School Staffing facilitates the seamless, efficient execution of hiring for schools including managing the document collection process, reviewing documentation for completion, conducting staffing consultations, salary determinations and offer letter issuance. As such, the Specialist, School Staffing will routinely provide reports on candidate status and time to offer letters. The incumbent will lead annual Staffing projects integral to accurate staffing rosters and vacancy management.

The Specialist, School Staffing will report to the Manager, School Staffing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

• Implements a customer-service-oriented and high-quality approach to Staffing. Communicates with stakeholders frequently via a high volume of telephone calls, emails, and meetings.
• Applies deep content knowledge of human resource management procedures, practices, policies, and guidelines; advises on hiring processes while building clear and concise guidelines for key hiring stakeholders.
• Oversees the maintenance of accurate school rosters, timely vacancy posting, efficient candidate engagement, accurate salary determination, and prompt offer letter issuance for a portfolio of schools.
• Anticipates, identifies, and resolves, with urgency, complex obstacles to ensure the success of school-based staffing needs and any staffing projections.
• Responds to Staffing related data requests from various divisions in the Office of Resource Strategy, school-based stakeholders, other Central Office divisions, and external DC Government agencies (I.e., OCFO, OCTO, OSSE).
• Manages outgoing communications to new hires and provides continuous improvements to refine candidate engagement.
• Collaborates with Manager, School Staffing to manage the analysis and presentation of data and progress of data-driven initiatives for the senior management team and external audiences; communicates progress to key stakeholder groups and incorporates their input.
• Delivers oral presentations to key school-based stakeholders pertaining to vacancies, hire request status, and ongoing staffing related projects.
• Builds positive relationships with school leaders, and other district staff to develop a deep understanding of the unique needs and cultures in schools across the district. And interacts with and responds timely to urgent requests from multiple internal and external stakeholders.
• Develops strategy with clear, specific, and ambitious performance measures related to individual projects that are easily translated into individual work goals and deliverables; makes periodic evaluations of progress to determine the need for adjustments in school staffing strategy.
• Creates detailed timelines for staffing projects; accesses and tracks project progress using various computer programs and tools; and drives project completion holding others accountable for deadlines.
• Creates accurate employment records related to new hires, terminations, transfers, and promotions.
• Works in an extremely fast-paced environment, under tight deadlines, and with multiple responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three to five years of work experience in human resources and/or staffing.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.
• Proficient computer skills, including Word, intermediate Excel, and database skills; strong data analysis skills; and knowledge of Salesforce, QuickBase and PeopleSoft a plus.
• Practices a high level of confidentiality with a focus on building relationships with trust, authenticity, and mutual respect with stakeholders.
• Skilled in collaborating with others and working in teams.
• Strong organizational skills, including keen attention to detail, and the ability to set and adhere to strict deadlines.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, and ability to communicate effectively with individuals at all levels of the organization.
• Excellent time-management skills; ability to work in an extremely fast-paced environment, under tight deadlines, and with multiple responsibilities; and a willingness to work non-standard hours during the busiest periods.
• Ability to learn quickly and multi-task effectively; takes initiative; and uses a can-do approach to be flexible in spotting and resolving issues in a timely manner.
• Responsive, reliable, flexible, adaptable, and comfortable engaging in de-escalation strategies.
• Shows self-awareness, self-monitoring, ability to course correct when improvements are necessary, and good judgment.
• Provides excellent customer service and is skilled in dealing with difficult situations and personalities.

DCPS Values

• STUDENTS FIRST: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.
• COURAGE: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.
• EQUITY: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.
• EXCELLENCE: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.
• TEAMWORK: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.
• JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact dcps.eeo-ada@k12.dc.gov.