Director of Human Resources

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are

New Paradigm For Education (NPFE) is a non-profit Charter Management Organization (CMO) composed of educational practitioners, community advocates, and business leaders who have dedicated years of service to children. NPFE serves 2,100 students in Detroit, Michigan. We specialize in maximizing student learning potential through proven education practices and managing all phases of school design, planning, and program implementation.

Why New Paradigm for Education

NPFE is on a mission to ensure that all students in Detroit achieve at the highest levels, supporting educational transformation through increased student achievement, fiscal responsibility, and community support. NPFE’s Mission is to provide a quality education through shared responsibility in a safe supportive environment for all students to meet the needs of a global society. We are committed to excellence and strive to offer a new educational paradigm evident by increased student achievement, fiscal responsibility, and community support.

What You’ll Do

NPFE seeks a knowledgeable and experienced leader to serve as its Director of Human Resources to manage human resource functions within the organization. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for managing the full employee life cycle while building strong, scalable systems aligned to the organization’s strategic priorities. The Director of Human Resources will operate grounded in NPFE’s students first culture and a strong customer service experience for our staff.

The Director of Human Resources will translate executive team vision into clear, documented processes and workflows that ensure compliance, consistency, and high-quality service to schools and back office staff. This role requires a highly organized, detail-oriented operator who can move seamlessly between day-to-day execution and systems-level thinking.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Human Resources, Education, Business Administration, or a related field.

• Deep experience and demonstrated success leading Human Resources functions in a complex organization, with a strategic orientation. This may be demonstrated by 5+ years of progressively increasing HR experience in one or more key areas.

• Experience independently managing HR functions in a small team environment.

• Expert knowledge of HR policies, procedures, and relevant legislation, regulations, and protocols related to employment practices, compensation and benefits, and general HR administration.

• Familiarity with rules and regulations associated with educators in Michigan including around teacher and administrator certification, the registry of educator personnel (REP), etc.; strong expertise in these areas is a plus .

• Strong technology proficiency, including experience leveraging HR systems, HRIS software, digital tools (Microsoft Office applications and Google Suite), data analysis tools, and emerging technologies such as AI to improve efficiency and accuracy

• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to communicate with all levels of the organization

• Professional judgment, maturity, and the ability to take ownership of mistakes and to identify and work through conflict.

• Preferred:

  • Master’s degree in Human Resources, Education, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.

  • Certifications such as SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR.

  • Experience in K-12 education or charter school environments.

Duties & Responsibilities

HR Operations & Systems Leadership

• Independently manage all HR functions across the employee life cycle, including onboarding, employee records, benefits administration, payroll coordination, leave administration, and offboarding.

• Oversee HRIS and benefits management systems, maintaining accurate employee data to support data-driven decision-making.

• Manage and update internal HR resources to ensure accessibility and alignment with current policies.

• Translate C-Team priorities into scalable HR systems and workflows.

• Develop dashboards and reporting mechanisms to monitor organizational health, compliance, and workforce trends.

Policy Development & Communication

• Partner with the C-team to develop, update, and communicate HR policies and procedures to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with organizational values.

• Provide training and resources to managers and employees on HR policies, employee rights, and workplace expectations.

• Create and distribute regular HR communications, such as newsletters, to promote transparency and engagement.

Personnel Compliance & Reporting

• Maintain and ensure compliance with all employee records and files, including ensuring that all staff hold and maintain the proper credentials (degrees, certifications, etc.) for the position they hold

• Ensure that all contract employees (including substitute teachers) hold the proper credentials and maintain copies of the appropriate associated records

• Ensure that the Registry of Educator Personnel (REP) and other personnel lists and records are up-to-date and accurate for both employees and contractors and ready for review by varicose bodies (i.e. Michigan Department of Education, Wayne RESA, authorizers, etc.)

Onboarding & Training

• Develop and lead onboarding programs to integrate new hires effectively, ensuring a seamless transition and alignment with organizational culture.

• Ensure all new hires complete onboarding action items and new hire paperwork.

• Improve, design, manage and execute onboarding processes and systems for new hires at the school and network level, both during the peak onboarding season (July/August), and throughout the academic year, to ensure that staff members are set up to succeed upon entry to the organization.

• Support professional development efforts aligned to retention and performance.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Coordinate between staff and management and resolve conflicts that arise in the workplace.

• Support progressive discipline processes and ensure consistent application of policies.

• Conduct investigations and resolve employee relations issues, collaborating with legal and leadership teams as needed.

• Plan and execute employee engagement assessments, including system-wide employee satisfaction and climate surveys

• Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws, maintaining accurate employee records and certifications.

• Maintain accurate records of employee relations issues, investigations, and resolutions, ensuring compliance with record-keeping regulations.

Benefits Administration

• Enroll, terminate, and process changes to employee benefits, and serve as a resource to all staff members to address questions and concerns related to benefit options, claims, and inquiries.

• Manage Annual Open Enrollment Process, including rollout of all benefits plan changes and rates.

Leave Administration, Workers’ Compensation, Unemployment, and Claims Management

• Administer FMLA and other protected leave programs, ensuring proper documentation and compliance.

• Manage workers’ compensation claims, including reporting, carrier communication, and return-to-work coordination.

• Oversee unemployment claims, documentation, and representation as needed.

• Monitor trends and recommend improvements to reduce risk and ensure staff support.

Other ancillary duties as needed or assigned.