Associate Chief of Talent

About Achievement First

 

Achievement First (AF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that currently supports 41 public charter schools in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Consistently rated as one of the top charter school networks in the country for almost 25 years, AF is committed to continuous improvement, programmatic evolution for enhanced student outcomes, and sustainable growth. The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families who will be the first in their families to graduate from college. AF currently employs more than 2,200 staff — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence, RI.

 

The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. AF knows that every child—regardless of race, zip code, or economic status—deserves access to great schools. At AF, students realize their potential and develop the skills they need to graduate from high school, succeed in college, thrive in a competitive world, and serve as the next generation of leaders in their communities. At AF, students and staff embark on a shared journey to fulfill their incredible potential.

 

Your Impact

 

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the Associate Chief of Talent (ACT) is a critical partner to school and network leaders in identifying opportunities and solving challenges related to talent engagement, development, and retention both at the network office and within our schools. The ACT partners with network and school leaders to inform, strengthen, and implement strategic HR initiatives, special projects, and organization-wide change. As a senior leader and collaborator within the People Team, the ACT will contribute their depth of human resources generalist experience and knowledge to compliment the specialized expertise of other People Team leaders in service of AF’s mission.

 

HR Strategy & Execution

 

• Assist the Chief People Officer in the development and implementation of the strategic human capital vision and plan for the end-to-end talent life cycle
• Function as a strategic advisor, functional expert, and thought partner to the CPO,
• Provide strategic and operational human resources leadership with network and school leaders, collaborating towards achievement of organization-wide goals
• Serve as an active member of the People Leadership Team and provide strategic input  
• Develop and execute project plans to turn vision and strategy into effective delivery with a focus on scale, automation and improving employee and manager experience
• Serve as the the primary architect and manager of Team Talent’s overall calendar and sequence of work

 

HR Project Management

• Design, oversee and execute HR projects on time and within budget. 
• Develop and implement assessments, reports, and analytics to measure, monitor, and communicate levels of success achieved.
• Identify areas of process improvement (efficiency and effectiveness) within, and adjacent to, the Talent function and recommend solutions, including the benefits, risks, costs, resources, and timeline.

 

Leadership and Supervision

• Lead and coach both direct report and indirect staff to productively meet defined goals and service standards 
• Promote team engagement, cohesiveness, motivation and commitment to automation, continuous quality improvement, and achievement of established team objectives

 

Organization Design and Job Analysis

• Serve as internal consultant to organizational leaders when contemplating changes to team structure and organization design
• Monitor effectiveness of team work structure and job design, with a lens of continuous improvement
• Provide technical expertise as needed to ensure documentation of jobs and organizational structures are current, complete and accurate

 

Communications and Cross functional collaboration

• Develop and deliver communications & engagement strategies that increase staff retention and reduce turnover
• Participate in special assignments and cross-functional committees 

 

Financial Management and Administration

• Assist the CPO in creating, managing and monitoring all talent team budget lines which total ~$6M annually 
• Regularly create and communicate forecasts/revisions to the finance department and other talent leaders
• Negotiate, monitor, review, and revise HR contrac