Director of People Operations

Communities in Schools of Tennessee • Nashville (Hybrid); Select Tennessee Areas (Remote), TN

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Communities In Schools of Tennessee (CISTN) is a nonprofit that partners with K-12 public schools to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. As part of the CIS national network, CISTN achieves this mission by placing program managers in schools across the state to provide school-wide interventions and case managed services for students in need. With a budget of $13M, in academic year 2026-27 we will support 98 employees in 74 schools and serve nearly 35,000 students and families across Tennessee. To best support the students, families, schools, community partners, and our staff members involved in this work, CISTN staff and board members center all decisions, actions, and services on the following core values: Integrity – We openly share how our work is done, and we hold ourselves accountable to the commitments we make. Empathy – We intentionally build relationships so we can learn about people’s stories, validate their experiences, and deepen our understanding of situations different from our own. Equal Opportunity – We identify and work towards removing barriers, so everyone has the opportunity to achieve. Authenticity – We create space for the people we work with, and for, to be their truthful, complete selves without judgement. Collaboration – We bring people together to plan and take action in our work, understanding we make lasting change in partnership with one another.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business or public administration, human resources, education, or a related field.
• 6 -10 years of progressively responsible experience in talent management, human resources, organizational development, people operations, talent acquisition, or a related field with at least 3-5 years leading organization-wide people operations.
• Work experience can be substituted for those without formal education, requiring 6 + years of direct experience.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead organization-wide recruitment efforts to attract talented and mission-driven team members, including sourcing strategies, job postings, screening processes, interview protocols, selection practices, and onboarding to ensure positive candidate experience and timely placement.
• Analyze recruitment metrics, such as time-to-fill, candidate quality, retention, and hiring manager satisfaction, and implement improvements.
• Ensure hiring practices align with organizational commitments to equal opportunity, cultural competence, and community representation.
• Oversee annual training and development requirements for administrative staff and all supervisors, with support from the Insperity PEO.
• Implement and lead organization-wide individual professional development process.
• Support supervisors and employees through identification and coordination of high-quality professional learning opportunities.
• Partner with organizational leaders and the Director of Professional Learning to develop leadership pipelines and career pathways for individual contributors and supervisors.
• Ensure employees understand available career pathways, advancement opportunities, and the competencies and experiences needed for growth.
• Lead strategies to improve employee engagement, recognition, retention, and experience across the employee continuum.
• Gather and analyze input and feedback, including stay and exit interviews, surveys, and pulse checks to identify trends and inform organizational improvements.
• Collaborate with leaders and the CISTN Culture Committee to create a positive employee experience that reflects the organization's mission and values.
• Oversee the backup and succession planning process and ensure integration with individual development planning.
• Equip supervisors with tools, resources, and training to effectively onboard, develop, manage, support, and retain team members.
• Lead the administration and continuous improvement of the annual performance management process, ensuring consistency, meaningful feedback, accountability, and alignment between individual performance, growth, and organizational priorities.
• Serve as a strategic partner to supervisors on performance management, employee development, and employee relations matters, promoting consistent people management practices across the organization.
• Establish and monitor key metrics aligned with organizational goals and advise the COO and senior leaders on workforce trends, staffing needs, organizational effectiveness, and people strategy.
• Partner with the Insperity compensation team to conduct market analyses, evaluate compensation trends, and develop compensation recommendations for the COO that support equitable, competitive, and fiscally responsible pay practices.
• Strategically partner with the Director of Professional Learning to ensure alignment and integration of professional learning with individual development planning, back-up and succession planning, and performance management.
• Collaborate with the Operations Director on effective onboarding, administration of benefits, leave management, personnel records management and confidentiality, and knowledge management.

Benefits

• Employee medical, dental, vision, short-and-long-term disability insurance premiums are 100% employer-paid, with some dependent health plans including an employer contribution.
• Paid parental leave.
• 15 paid vacation days, 10 sick days, 4 floating holidays, 10 other paid holidays, and an extended winter break.
• 401(k) match up to 2%.
• Cell phone stipend.
• Individual professional development budget and up to $1,500/year educational expense reimbursement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager