Job Description
FirstLine Schools: Director of Human Resources and Talent Strategy
Creating and inspiring great, open admissions public schools in New Orleans
About FirstLine Schools
In 1998, FirstLine Schools started the first charter school in New Orleans. FirstLine now operates several (Pre)K-8th grade schools. Our mission is to create and inspire great, open admissions public schools in New Orleans.
Our faculty is a diverse and talented group dedicated to our students’ success and to their own growth as teachers. Our schools are led by leaders who hold themselves accountable for student achievement and teacher development.
Classification: Exempt
Status: Full -Time
Position Summary
The Director of Human Resources and Talent serves as a strategic partner and key support to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), helping lead and manage Human Resources and Talent functions across the organization. This role serves as a strong second-in-command to the CHRO and supports organizational goals through talent management, employee relations, recruitment, performance management, workforce planning, employee engagement, and leadership development initiatives.
The Director will also lead and support survey administration, HR/Talent reporting, workforce analytics, and data-driven decision-making to improve organizational effectiveness, employee experience, and talent outcomes. This role collaborates closely with school and network leaders to strengthen systems, processes, culture, and staff support across the organization.
Position Responsibilities
Organizational Leadership and Talent Management
- Support the CHRO in leading Human Resources and Talent initiatives across the organization.
- Assist with workforce planning, succession planning, leadership development, and employee engagement strategies.
- Own Talent systems, workforce analytics, and AI-enabled tools to drive efficiency, strengthen decision-making, and enhance talent productivity.
- Analyze trends related to recruitment, retention, employee engagement, attendance, and performance.
- Lead organizational culture initiatives and continuous adult culture improvement efforts.
- Collaborate with leaders to strengthen management practices, employee support, and organizational effectiveness.
Performance Management and Employee Development
- Lead and implement performance management systems focused on accountability, coaching, and employee growth.
- Assist leaders with employee performance concerns, feedback cycles, and development planning.
- Support leadership pipeline development and lead employee recognition initiatives.
- Oversee tracking and reporting related to performance management and talent initiatives.
Recruitment and Human Resources Operations
- Lead talent team in recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and retention strategies across schools and network teams.
- Lead talent team with staffing plans and recruitment efforts for key positions.
- Support employee relations matters, investigations, and HR compliance processes.
- Assist with HR systems administration, reporting, workflows, and process improvements.
- Ensure confidentiality and professionalism in all Human Resources practices.
- Perform other duties and projects as assigned by the CHRO.
Team Management
- Lead talent team members toward strong performance and organizational outcomes.
- Promote accountability, collaboration, and high-quality service across HR functions.
- Lead talent team in best practices in employee recruitment and retention.
- Leverage AI and technology to drive efficiency, strengthen decision-making, and enhance talent productivity
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum of 3–5 years of Human Resources, leadership development & training, or organizational leadership experience preferred.
- Experience with talent recruitment, HR systems, operations, budgets, and workforce analytics preferred.
- Experience in education or nonprofit environments preferred.
Desired Qualities & Characteristics:
- Believe in every student’s ability to achieve in a rigorous college or career prep curriculum
- Achieve results based on agreed-upon expectations
- Take personal responsibility
- Highly detail-oriented
- Collaborate effectively with a range of stakeholders
- Share a commitment to creating great schools in New Orleans
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrates the ability or willingness to learn and use AI and emerging technologies to improve productivity, processes, and decision-making.
- Ability to embed and model the FirstLine Commitments:
- We Keep Learning
- We Work Together
- We Are Helpful
- We Are the Safekeepers of our Community
- We Share Joy
- We Show Results
Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here represent 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. Occasional physical exertion is required, including exerting up to 20 pounds of force as needed to move objects.
Reports to: Chief Human Resources Officer
Supervises: Talent Team
How to Apply: Please apply online via: http://www.firstlineschools.org/careers
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. FirstLine Schools offers a comprehensive benefits package with a generous 403b plan.
FirstLine Schools provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.
About FirstLine Schools
Mission & Vision
Our Mission
The mission of FirstLine Schools is to create and inspire great, open admissions public schools in New Orleans
Our Vision
Our schools will prepare students for college, fulfilling careers, and a healthy life by nurturing students in mind, body, and spirit.
Why FirstLine Schools?
We Believe In:
-
Deeply Committing to Teacher Support and Growth
- FirstLine recruits and retains a diverse group of teachers who hold high expectations for their students and strive to create joyful classrooms where students are responsible for doing the majority of thinking, writing, and discussion in class.
- FirstLine teachers receive weekly coaching and lesson feedback from a school-based instructional coach and also participate in network-wide bi-weekly Professional Learning Time.
- FirstLine teachers are developed over their career using our “Vision of Excellence” classroom teaching rubric.
- FirstLine has instituted a teacher career pathway that focuses on our commitment to developing teacher skillfulness. Teachers have access to increased teacher leadership opportunities and compensation as they grow.
-
Working to Becoming an Antiracist Organization
- FirstLine’s commitment to doing what is right for kids is rooted in doing the necessary work of deeply examining policies, procedures, and practices to ensure we are working toward dismantling the effects of systemic racism on our students.
- FirstLine partners with Overcoming Racism, an organization that seeks to build more equitable institutions through comprehensive race and equity training, which benefits all staff, and through us, our students, and their families.
-
Focusing on Social / Emotional Learning and Community Building
- FirstLine is committed to training teachers in trauma-informed approaches that nurture supportive and caring relationships as the foundation of positive culture, enabling teachers to de-escalate behaviors and thus reduce suspensions.
- FirstLine’s signature program, Edible Schoolyard New Orleans (ESYNOLA), teaches children and adults to make healthy connections through food and the natural world. Hands-on garden and culinary / nutrition education classes have provided FirstLine students with social/emotional learning opportunities since we built the first school garden at Samuel J. Green School in 2006 immediately following Hurricane Katrina. Through this work, students learn respect for life, the power of personal choice, and the value of community.
- FirstLine is implementing the Valor Collegiate Academies’ social/emotional learning curriculum, involving staff and student individual personal storytelling and reflection work and community circles.
- We are committed to innovation, to constant assessment, and to making the thousands of small changes needed to keep improving our practice.
-
Creating a Sense of Belonging
- FirstLine aims to create school environments that are nurturing and supportive for students, families, and staff of all races, socioeconomic status, and abilities to ensure inclusive, safe, and brave spaces where people can show up as their whole selves.
- At FirstLine, we live by these Commitments:
- I commit to my own and others’ development.
- I commit to listening and understanding.
- I commit to speaking with honesty and respect.
- I commit to doing what it takes to serve others.
- I commit to keeping myself and others safe in mind, body, and spirit.
- I commit to bringing my personal joy to our work.
- I commit to holding myself and others accountable.
-
Striving for Academic Excellence
- FirstLine fosters a culture of academic excellence and intellectual curiosity through instruction that meets the learning needs of every student. A FirstLine education helps students develop the academic skills and character strengths needed to succeed in school and in life.
- We set expectations high for our students and develop teachers to have the will and skill to help them meet these expectations.
- FirstLine aspires to offer classes that are rigorous, engaging, and joyful, where students drive most of the thinking and discussion, and we coach and develop our teachers and leaders to get there.
- FirstLine utilizes culturally relevant curriculum that provides “windows and mirrors.” Our children are more engaged when they see themselves represented through a historically accurate socio-political lens that broadens students’ choices and develops them into justice-oriented, curious, creative global citizens.
-
Cherishing Family and Community
- As New Orleans’ oldest homegrown charter school organization founded in 1998, FirstLine was created and always values its deep and long-standing partnerships with families and community-based organizations, churches, and local universities.
- FirstLine partners with Valor Collegiate Academies and Tulane University’s Safe Schools program, a National Institute of Justice initiative, to teach teachers how to incorporate social/emotional learning and trauma-informed practices in their instruction – encouraging relationship building and providing emotional support for students during class, which promotes learning.
- FirstLine engages artists, musicians, writers, and athletic educators to create a rich array of afterschool and summer programs and classes, all of which are free and open to all students.
- FirstLine maintains communication with our families and understands the challenges our families face economically, especially during a pandemic, and works to link families to community resources and social services, working in partnership with Communities in Schools and our team of mental health professionals.