Chief People Officer

KIPP Team and Family•Camden, NJ

10d

About The Position

KIPP TEAM & Family Schools (KTAF) is a network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in Newark, Camden, and Paterson, New Jersey, and Miami, Florida. The network serves more than 11,000 students, employs more than 1,500 staff, and has an operating budget above $300 million. It plans to serve 15,000 students by 2030 and is expanding its South Florida presence. KTAF is part of the national KIPP network and aims to prepare students for success in college and in life. The Chief People Officer owns the employee experience across the network, including recruitment and hiring, staff development and retention, compensation, employee support, and performance management. As a member of the executive leadership team, this executive reports to the Co-President and leads five functional leaders across Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, HR Operations and Payroll, Employee Relations, and Compensation and Performance Management. The role works closely with regional leaders across four cities and is accountable for aligning people strategy and practices with KTAF’s growth plans and values. In the first year, the Chief People Officer will build relationships with executive, school, and regional leaders; unify the People team; visit schools across the regions and listen to staff; ensure hiring and pipeline programs can support growth; assess and modernize HR, applicant tracking, and performance management systems; advance proactive workforce planning and use of people analytics and AI; embed KTAF’s values into talent practices; and establish the foundation for a competitive, equitable, and transparent pay strategy. By 2030, the role is accountable for goals including 90% overall staff retention, less than 5% regrettable attrition, filling 90% of specified teacher and school leadership openings internally, 95% of residents meeting or exceeding first-year expectations, and 90% of schools and teams scoring above the 75th percentile on Gallup’s core engagement questions. The role sets multi-year people strategy, supports organizational design and workforce planning, develops recruitment and internal talent pipelines, oversees professional development, HR systems and compliant payroll in two states, benefits strategy and administration, employee relations, compensation, and performance systems. The Chief People Officer also partners with legal counsel on complex employee matters and equips managers to set expectations, provide feedback, and retain strong staff.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive HR or talent leadership experience.
At least 5 years in a senior role overseeing multiple HR functions.
Working knowledge of employment law, HR compliance, and payroll across multiple states.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and boards.
Bachelor’s degree.
Willingness to travel regularly between Newark, Camden, Paterson, and South Florida.
Experience managing senior leaders and developing their capabilities.
Ability to use recruiting, retention, compensation, and performance data to inform decisions.
Commitment to racial equity and cultural responsiveness in program design and team leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading HR or talent across multiple sites or regions, ideally in an organization of 1,000 or more employees.
Experience in K-12 education, charter schools, or another mission-driven, people-intensive sector.
Experience with New Jersey and Florida employment law.
Advanced degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Development, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Set the multi-year people strategy and advise the Co-President and CEO on organizational design and workforce planning.
Embed KTAF’s values and key behaviors into job descriptions, interview rubrics, onboarding, performance management, recognition, and leadership development.
Develop recruitment strategies with the Managing Director of Talent Acquisition and recruit mission-aligned teachers, school leaders, and staff across all regions.
Grow teacher pipeline programs, the leader residency, and teacher-to-leader pathways with the Managing Director of Talent Development.
Develop and implement professional development for home-office and school-based staff and managers, supporting succession planning and internal growth.
Modernize HR systems and evaluate people analytics and AI tools to support proactive workforce planning.
Oversee compliant payroll in two states and own benefits strategy and administration.
Oversee employee relations strategy and support for schools; maintain clear, fair, and consistent policies across regions; and partner with legal counsel on complex matters.
Build compensation and performance systems that recognize strong performers and equip managers to set clear expectations, give useful feedback, and retain strong staff.
Build relationships with executive, school, and regional leaders and unify the People team across five functions and four regions.
Spend time in schools across each region, listen to teachers, school leaders, and staff, and use their input to assess how systems help or hinder their work.
Ensure hiring and pipeline programs can fill roles required by student and school growth.
Establish a competitive, equitable, and transparent pay strategy.
Own people-related goals for retention, internal hiring, resident performance, and staff engagement through 2030.