Senior Director, People and Culture

ABOUT THE FUND

The Fund for Educational Excellence (“the Fund”),  is an independent nonprofit organization working to close the equity and opportunity gaps for all students in Baltimore City Public Schools. We believe a strong public school system is the foundation for the health and success of Baltimore. We expand resources, identify and accelerate solutions, and recognize excellence so that all children in Baltimore City Public Schools experience an effective and equitable education.

As the Fund continues to grow and refine the services and supports it provides to Baltimore City Public Schools, we have created a new role in the organization, the Senior Director, People and Culture.  Reporting to the President and CEO, this position will lead a reimagined function at the Fund, providing the full range of human resources services to a core staff of 17 based in downtown Baltimore.  The Senior Director will also provide expert HR advisory services to the Fund’s fiscal sponsorship clients, whose organizations represent over 100 full-time, part-time and seasonal staff working in educational non-profits throughout the metropolitan area, i.e., the Fund’s “co-employees.”

WHO WILL YOU WORK WITH?

The Senior Director will be a trusted advisor and partner to President and CEO and serve as a member of the Fund’s leadership team.  The human resources function at the Fund interacts on some level with every core staff member at our Baltimore office, as well as our employees who work within our fiscally sponsored organizations.  However, key interfaces for this role will include the Fund’s leadership team (comprised of the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Directors of Analysis and Engagement, Development and Fiscal Sponsorship Services), a part-time HR Manager as a direct report to this role, and the leaders (e.g., Executive Directors, etc.), at each of the organizations sponsored by the Fund.  The Senior Director will also manage the relationships with external parties who provide services to the Fund, e.g., labor counsel, insurance brokers and people operations service providers.

HOW IS TECHNOLOGY USED IN THIS ROLE?

To maximize the value of our knowledge and expertise to our clients, the Fund uses ADP Workforce Now as our HR technology platform of choice to support talent acquisition, facilitate on-boarding, manage payroll, and support information-sharing and learning across our organization, as well as several complementary systems to manage our health benefits and retirement plan.  The Senior Director’s work will also involve managing the relationships with external third parties who support these systems, as well as ensuring the Fund is maximizing the use of these technologies for our benefit.

WHAT WILL YOU ACCOMPLISH IN THIS ROLE?

The Senior Director, People and Culture has a unique and exciting opportunity to define and shape a human resources function for a 21st century workforce.  Key accountabilities for this role include:

• Creating Alignment Across the Fund’s Fiscally Sponsored Client Organizations. The Fund’s fiscal sponsorship work presents an opportunity for an experienced HR leader to build the capacity of the leaders in these organizations.  The Senior Director may be asked to use their expertise to lead an information session on a key HR topic, facilitate a discussion between a fiscal sponsorship client and one of their team members, or provide guidance on how to standardize their internal HR processes.

• Team Leadership. You will provide guidance and leadership to your team member(s) on departmental matters, ensuring your staff have the resources needed to perform their jobs.  You will act as an escalation point when needed. The Senior Director creates, for their team and core staff, opportunities for information sharing, meaningful feedback and professional growth and development.

• Strategic and Operational Planning: The Senior Director participates in the Fund’s strategic and operational planning processes. The Senior Director will partner with the Fund’s cross-functional leadership team to design an optimal organizational structure that supports the program strategies and growth goals.

• Talent Acquisition: The Senior Director will build scalable hiring practices, which will support our efforts to attract, recruit, assess, and onboard great talent.  The incumbent will also partner with other members of leadership to understand and anticipate hiring and professional development needs and identify the capabilities necessary to meet the Fund’s business goals.

• Employee Experience: The Senior Director will partner with internal Fund stakeholders to design an employee experience which touches all points of the employee lifecycle, ensuring an equitable and inclusive work environment in which the Fund’s core staff can thrive, and serving as a model for team members working with the Fund’s fiscal-sponsorship client organizations.

• Leadership Development: The Senior Director will identify and implement solutions to increase our managers’ capabilities as people leaders. This role will oversee the efforts to codify and communicate the President’s expectation of leadership, provide coaching and feedback to the Fund’s leadership team on people management, conflict resolution, and related matters.  The senior Director will also provide these services to the leaders at the Fund’s fiscal-sponsorship client organizations, upon request.

• Performance and Development: The Senior Director will revamp and lead a performance assessment process that will help the Fund provide meaningful coaching and transparent feedback, which can be used to improve the skills of our team members and increase their contributions to our work. The Senior Director, through the collaborative efforts within and across teams, will build scalable learning and development efforts that aid in growing each Fund team member’s capabilities and support employee retention.

• Cultural Leadership. The Senior Director will act as a partner to the President in continuing to foster an organizational culture which reflects the Fund’s values and supports collaboration and respect among team members.

THE FUND VALUES THESE ABILITIES IN THE NEW LEADER IN THIS ROLE . . .

• Proven success as a senior HR leader, reflected in a Bachelor’s degree and seven (7) or more years of related business experience at the management level, or the equivalent. The ideal candidate possesses at least one HR practitioner credential (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CBP, CEBS), etc.

• Demonstrated success in building/growing a human resources function, with the ability to develop and implement a variety of people operations initiatives across a number of areas, i.e., talent acquisition, benefits, compensation, employee engagement, learning and development, employee relations, policy development and compliance.

• Strong HR technology skills, with a demonstrated understanding of how to leverage technology to streamline a people operations function.

• Demonstrated proficiency with business software applications (e.g. MS Office Suite) to streamline administrative tasks, organize, analyze and/or synthesize and present data and information for a variety of audiences and purposes.

• Demonstrated business skills, representative of a senior leader:

Interpersonal skills to build strong relationships with team members, colleagues, and stakeholders.  Demonstrates  approachability, empathy and tact and diplomacy. Strategic communication skills to effectively communicate the organization's strategic objectives to ensure alignment across the company. This involves crafting messages that inspire and motivate employees to work towards common goals. Negotiation and persuasion skills to achieve favorable outcomes and gain buy-in from others  when negotiating contracts, resolving disputes, or persuading stakeholders to support certain initiatives. Organizational skills to manage multiple client requests and projects with recurring and/or competing deadlines. Consultative skills to assist the Fund’s internal/external clients with identifying issues and providing workable solutions.

WHY CONSIDER JOINING THE FUND FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE TEAM?

Competitive Compensation.  Our  compensation package includes a base salary range of $116,400 - $138,300.  If offered employment with us, the starting salary would be within this range based on how well your skill profile aligns with the duties of the position.  Our team members also have the opportunity to be eligible for annual incentives, based on individual and organizational performance.

A great place to work!  At the Fund for Educational Excellence, culture matters!  We work every day to make our organization a great place to work, and we believe in supporting our team members beyond the workplace.  The Fund offers a hybrid work arrangement (two [2] days on-site; three [3] days remote), flexible work schedules and a full benefits package, including medical, dental, life and disability benefits, a 401k retirement plan with a loan feature, a transportation allowance, a remote work stipend and generous leave benefits.  Most of our benefits are available to our team on the first day of employment.

Be the change you want to see in Baltimore City!  A strong K-12 education can provide a solid foundation for living our lives to their fullest potential.  The Fund’s services and work allows us to contribute to education and learning success in the Baltimore school district.

Be a part of an organization committed to the work of equity.  At the Fund, our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace begins with acknowledging and understanding the complexities of racism in our society.  We actively work to unlearn old behaviors and learn new ones which support the creation of a work environment where everyone’s contributions are recognized and respected.

The Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe our work and programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, and whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and our organization more inclusive. We encourage bi-lingual and multi-lingual candidates, as well as applicants of all ages, racial, economic, social, cultural, sexual orientation, ability and gender expressions, national origins and veteran statuses to apply.

https://ffee.org/employment/