Director of Employee Relations/Human Resources

About the role

The Director of Employee Relations is a strategic leader responsible for human capital management, including talent acquisition, employee relations, and professional development, ensuring the district attracts and retains high-quality staff. This role also encompasses critical compliance functions in the Ohio Educational Directory System, serving as the lead for McKinney-Vento Act and Foster Care regulations, and overseeing student enrollment and residency verification to uphold district policies.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Policy Development
• Provides strategic HR leadership and guidance to the Superintendent, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Education, aligning HR initiatives with district mission and strategic goals.
• Develops and implements comprehensive HR policies, procedures, and programs, ensuring compliance with federal, state (Ohio Revised Code), and local laws, Board policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
• Acts as a consultant and resource to district administrators on personnel matters, including employee relations, performance management, discipline, and legal compliance.
• Administers and innovates human capital resources to positively engage employees and support district goals within the Strategic Plan.
• Refines and formalizes district processes, including employee handbooks and hiring procedures.
• Talent Acquisition & Management
• Oversees all aspects of recruitment, selection, hiring, onboarding, and offboarding of all district staff (certificated, classified, exempt, athletics, and administrative).
• Creates functional strategies for onboarding, offboarding, supporting, and evaluating all personnel.
• Develops and implements effective strategies to attract, recruit, and retain a diverse and highly qualified workforce.
• Manages applicant tracking systems, background checks, and licensure/certification verification processes, ensuring compliance with State Board of Education requirements.
• Captures and leads new employee orientation and induction.
• Makes staffing decisions based on district needs and ensures efficient personnel allocation.
• Monitors and reviews a variety of personnel processes (e.g., postings, interviews, substitute placement, transfers) to ensure efficiency and compliance.
• Participates in recruitment events to recruit and support a more diverse staff.
• Increases workforce diversity and addresses climate/cultural needs by collaborating with the Leader of School Community Relations on recruitment, onboarding, and retention protocols.
• Employee & Labor Relations
• Serves as one of the primary contacts and negotiators for collective bargaining agreements.
• Interprets and administers collective bargaining agreements, personnel policies, and procedures, ensuring fair and consistent application.
• Manages employee grievances, investigations of alleged misconduct, and disciplinary processes, collaborating with legal counsel as needed.
• Promotes positive employee relations, employee engagement, and a supportive work environment.
• Responsible for effectively coordinating a collaborative process between administration and employees that develops working conditions and compensation to maintain an efficient and effective workforce.
• Consults with administrators and staff on a wide variety of sensitive personnel issues (e.g., hiring, promotions, ADA accommodations, return to work) to assist in effective decision-making and enforce all relevant policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Investigates grievances and/or complaints from employees, parents/guardians, or other staff to achieve resolutions that provide a healthy work environment, with an emphasis on restorative conversations to facilitate mutual understanding and repair relationships.
• Compensation & Benefits Administration
• Oversees the administration of employee salary schedules, classifications, and job descriptions, ensuring competitiveness and equity.
• Collaborates with the Treasurer's Office to support employee benefits programs, including health, dental, vision, life insurance, and retirement plans (STRS/SERS).
• Performance Management & Professional Development
• Directs the development, management, and evaluation of staff in the District.
• Develops, implements, and oversees employee evaluation systems (e.g., Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES), Ohio Principal Evaluation System (OPES), and support staff evaluations), providing training and support to evaluators.
• Aids principals and district administrators in evaluating the effectiveness of personnel and developing growth-oriented support systems to ensure high levels of performance and recommending personnel for continuing contracts.
• Supports the professional growth and development of all staff through various initiatives, including mentorship programs, training, and leadership development.
• Facilitates professional learning for the purpose of proactively engaging staff in human resource initiatives, including training on restorative practices and effective communication strategies.
• Facilitates professional development specifically related to the local professional development committee (LPDC) and Resident Educator (RE) program.
• Serves as the Resident Educator Coordinator for the district and oversight and roll out of the mentoring program.
• Serves as Co-Chair for the LPDC, ensuring compliance with licensure requirements and collaboration as a lead of the team.
• Compliance & Record Keeping
• Ensures district compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, including but not limited to FMLA, ADA, EEO, Title IX, Workers' Compensation, and all required trainings.
• Serves as the lead for PublicSchool WORKS development.
• Provides leadership on Title IX and serves as Title IX Coordinator.
• Maintains accurate and confidential employee records and personnel files.
• Prepares and submits required reports to state and federal agencies.
• Supervises the maintenance of manual and electronic Human Resources documents, files, and records (e.g., background information, personnel files, vacancy listings, applicant tracking, substitute acquisition system, HR website).
• Prepares a wide variety of complex written materials (e.g., plans, budgets, funding requests, investigative reports, analyses, recommendations, procedures, handbooks) for the purpose of documenting activities and issues, meeting compliance requirements, and other required state and federal reporting requirements.
• Provides internal and external reports and presentations as requested.
• Maintains respect at all times for confidential information, e.g., personnel information.
• Department Management & District Support
• Develops and manages the human resources department budget.
• Continuously analyzes HR data and metrics to identify trends and inform strategic decisions for continuous improvement of HR practices.
• Responsible for the oversight of the district volunteers, including the volunteer system, procedures, handbook, background checks, and application process.
• Prepares reports for the Board of Education as needed.
• Promotes positive public relations related to human resources.
• Serves as a role model for students and staff.
• McKinney-Vento Act Compliance & Support
• Leads the process for determining eligibility of unhoused youth and unaccompanied minors following all requirements under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
• Collaborates with families of unhoused youth to support their educational needs, ensuring immediate enrollment and access to educational and other services.
• Communicates effectively with school teams on the eligibility of unhoused youth and unaccompanied minors and their access to appropriate resources, including transportation and mental, emotional, and academic support.
• Acts as the designated Homeless Education Liaison, ensuring district-wide compliance with McKinney-Vento provisions, including educating all staff on unhoused youth and families' rights to MVA provisions.
• Ensures district policies and practices remove barriers to the identification, enrollment, attendance, and success in school of homeless children and youth.
• Foster Care Liaison Responsibilities
• Serves as the district's Foster Care Liaison, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws regarding educational stability for children in foster care.
• Facilitates the enrollment, re-enrollment, or transfer of children in foster care, including immediate enrollment when necessary.
• Collaborates with Franklin County Children's Services, foster parents, and others to facilitate school placement decisions to ensure educational stability.
• Works with school staff to ensure children in foster care have access to appropriate academic support, services, and extracurricular activities.
• Enrollment Management & Residency Compliance
• Serves as the Enrollment Director for the district, ensuring alignment with Board of Education policy on the admission of resident students.
• Ensures the district upholds policies to support the education of resident students and maintains the integrity of a closed-enrollment district.
• Oversees the returning student verification process, ensuring annual compliance with residency requirements.
• Collaborates with the Director of Technology and the Data Systems Manager to effectively manage enrollment and verification systems and processes.
• Ensures parents/guardians provide the correct and required documentation for enrollment and residency verification.
• Investigates instances of false documents and manages residency challenges when families are suspected of not residing within the district boundaries.
• Prepares and issues official letters of withdrawal for non-residency when families are found to be ineligible.