Specialist, Temporary Instructional Staffing

The Office of Resource Strategy is a catalyst for dynamic cooperation, collaboration, and change throughout the organization. We aspire to be the model for excellence, equity, and leadership in hiring great talent, providing high-quality service, and inspiring an efficient and engaged workforce. We want employees who recognize and embrace the importance of a strong partnership between schools and Central Office. When Central Office runs efficiently, and provides high-quality customer service, our school-based employees can concentrate on educating our children and leading our schools. By working together, we provide all students with a world-class education that prepares them for college, career, and life.

The Employee Services (ES) work group supports the work of all school-based and Central Service staff and is comprised of the following five teams:

• The Compensation and Retirement team is responsible for the following: ensuring that DCPS administers compensation policies consistently and pursuant to relevant legislation and collective bargaining agreements; providing support to units during reorganizations, RIFs, and other periods of hire, transfer, promotion, and demotion; and offers counseling, guidance, and advanced planning for 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) processess. This team also oversees the agency's health, life, tax-sheltered annuity, flexible spending, and supplemental benfits 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. EE 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 HR Systems Development team manages the design, development, and overall strategy of several technical applications managed by Central Services teams. This technical team ensures that data is accurate and integrated between systems. It seeks to use applications and their data to improve and fine-tune processes so that the agency can accomplish its work efficiently and DCPS employees are empowered to easily use these systems.
• The Strategic Staffing team is responsible for hiring for all positions in DCPS. 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 Specialist, Temporary Instructional Staffing will manage the hiring process for our temporary staff, including Substitute Teachers, Afterschool Programs, and Summer Programs. For Substitute Teachers, the Specialist will act as hiring manager to recruit, screen, and onboard all new Substitute Teachers, maintain current substitute teacher strategy operations, and train all staff on how to use the automated platform DCPS uses to seek and place substitute teachers into assignments. For Afterschool and Summer School, the Specialist will develop and refine innovative operational processes and work directly with Central Office program officers to fulfill hiring needs.

The Specialist, Temporary Instructional Staffing will report to the Manager, Substitutes.

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; and communicates with stakeholders frequently via a high volume of telephone calls, emails, and meetings.

• Works closely with principals and school administrators to ensure they receive the substitute teacher services and related operational assistance needed.

• Monitors and reports on daily, monthly, and quarterly basis substitute teacher activity.

• Manages biweekly payroll for substitute teachers to include a time reporting audit prior to time approvals.

• Represents DCPS at regional and/or national meetings with peer school systems to discuss best practices and share information.

• Interviews and surveys other colleagues and management teams to determine opportunities for improvement; researches specific issues; and develops detailed recommendations and implementation plans to resolve.

• Develops strategy as well as clear, specific, and ambitious performance measures.

• Creates detailed timelines for each initiative; assesses and tracks progress regularly using various tools and computer software; and drives project completion, holding others accountable for responsibilities and deadlines.

• Collaborates on the analysis and presentation of data and progress of data-driven initiatives for senior management team and external audiences; and communicates progress to key stakeholder groups and incorporates their input.

• Anticipates, identifies, and resolves complex obstacles to success.

• Builds relationships and liaises with various internal departments to drive collaboration and project success; and interacts with and responds effectively to urgent requests from multiple internal and external DCPS stakeholders.

• Makes thoughtful decisions and maintains composure under pressure.

• Works in an extremely fast-paced environment under tight deadlines and with multiple priorities; and works a non-standard tour of duty during busiest periods.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three to five years of related work experience.
• 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 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.