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Form of work
SalaryGeorgetown Day School opened its doors in 1945 as the first integrated school in a segregated city. Governed by a Board of Trustees elected by the parent body and administered by an appointed Head of School, it was founded by seven families who wanted to create a school committed not only to academic excellence and educational innovation but also to a value system emphasizing appreciation and respect for others. Believing that diversity was the ground out of which all deep and rich learning occurs, they established a school where all children would be welcome, celebrated, and challenged to be their best selves.
Today, the School's philosophy, programs, and position in the national educational landscape strongly reflect its roots. Having grown from 12 children in 1945 to 1075 students in PK-12 today, GDS is recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s and the nation’s most dynamic educational institutions.
Since the school’s founding, GDS has called eight different locations home. In the fall of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools were all joined on one extraordinary campus.
About the Position
The Director of Human Resources provides leadership through the management of a comprehensive Human Resources office, including talent acquisition, retention, and employment services, performance management, benefits administration, and benefits counseling, compensation and salary administration, training and staff development, regulatory compliance, employee relations, and human resource information systems and records management.
Location: On campus/hybrid
Start Date: Summer 2024
Type of Opportunity: Full-time, salaried, exempt with benefits.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Serves as an advocate for employees by listening and becoming aware of employee needs and concerns, sharing this information with school leadership, researching best practices, and offering options for leaders to consider in addressing employee needs and concerns.
Partners with the Compensation Committee to maintain and analyze salary information for all school employees, including making recommendations for new hire salaries and requests using benchmarking and internal processes.
Ensures applicants, employees, vendors, and school administrators receive excellent customer service in all interactions with the Office of Human Resources.
Ensures consistent and equitable application of Human resource policies, and procedures, throughout the school by advising senior administrators about the applicable policies, procedures, and regulations, providing training for supervisors, and enforcing the personnel policies and procedures of the school.
Advises employees and supervisors regarding performance and disciplinary issues, administers progressive discipline and grievance procedures consistently, listens to employee and supervisor concerns, conducts investigations as needed, and recommends a plan of action.
Develops personnel policies, practices, and procedures for approval by the school administration by listening to employee concerns, reviewing best practices, and identifying opportunities to improve employee satisfaction.
Contributes to employee engagement by advising and supervising the implementation and administration of employee benefits programs, providing excellent customer service, automating processing systems, communicating information about programs and services to employees and to all levels of management throughout the school, working with benefit plan consultants and vendors, interpreting policies and state and federal laws in a consistent manner.
Acts as an audit partner for the CFO and finance office, including partnering with the Benefits and Compliance Manager on the retirement plan audits.
Develops and provides training on the use of a staff performance review tool to set goals, collect and share out feedback, and track employee performance.
Promotes a positive image of the school by participating in community organizations, as well as national and local professional associations.
Develops a competent, productive and effective personnel staff by supervising, directly and through delegation, professional and support employees.
Manages funds by planning, developing and controlling the departmental budget.
Facilitates a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.
Remains competent and current on best Human Resources practices through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses.
Contributes to the overall success of the school by performing all other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Required Skills and Abilities:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Strong supervisory and leadership skills.
- Ability to adapt to the needs of the school and employees.
- Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
- Thorough knowledge of employment-related laws and regulations.
- Proficiency with or the ability to quickly learn the organization’s HRIS and talent management systems.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
- At least five years of Human Resources management experience demonstrating increased leadership responsibilities over time; experience should include most or all of the following areas: employee relations, classification and compensation, job analysis, job evaluation, talent acquisition, retention, employment services, benefits administration, training and staff development, performance management, development of and application of policies and procedures, management of HRIS systems and records, employee engagement and communications, investigations, employee relations, and management of a budget.
- Similar experience in human resource management in education and/or the public sector is preferred
- SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP is highly preferred.
Americans with Disability Specifications
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
Work Environment:
Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
To Apply
Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three references using our online application system through ADP/Workforce Now: http://www.gds.org/Recruiting. To find out more about the school, candidates should visit our website at www.gds.org.
As an inclusive school devoted to preparing our students to live, work, and lead in an increasingly globalized and multicultural society, GDS is particularly interested in professionals with demonstrated interest and experience in working in such a school setting and is driven by the core charge of working to enhance and bring joy to every student’s individual learning experience in equitable and meaningful ways.
