Director, Substitute & Seasonal Staffing

School District of Philadelphia•Philadelphia, PA

8d•$91,317 - $143,730•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Substitute and Seasonal Staffing provides strategic and operational leadership for the School District of Philadelphia's substitute workforce and seasonal staffing programs, including the comprehensive planning, recruitment, selection, placement, and deployment of staff required to support summer programming. Ensures that schools and offices have access to a qualified, appropriately credentialed, and responsive substitute workforce across multiple employee groups, including teachers, school leaders and administrators, paraprofessionals, and other classifications as assigned. Develops strategies to maintain adequate substitute pools, monitors daily and long-term staffing needs, analyzes utilization and vacancy trends, and partners with school and District leaders to address emerging workforce needs. Leads the District's annual summer staffing operation. This includes developing and executing a comprehensive staffing plan in partnership with Academic Services, Student Support Services, Special Education, Operations, Payroll, Budget and Management Services, and other offices responsible for summer programs. The Director ensures that summer positions are identified, posted, filled, processed, and ready for employees to begin work according to established program timelines. Leads the T-IV process and T-IV committee and ensures that postings are reviewed by the unions prior to the opportunity being advertised. Serves as the Office of Talent's subject matter expert for substitute and seasonal staffing and is responsible for developing scalable systems, processes, and service standards that ensure continuity of instruction and operations throughout the year.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Human Resources, Business Administration, Education, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
Seven years of full-time, paid, professional, progressively responsible human resources, talent acquisition, staffing, workforce planning, school district administration, or a related field. at least three of which have been in an administrative or supervisory capacity.
Master's degree preferred.
OR
Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Human Resources, Business Administration, Education, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
Five years of full-time, paid, professional, progressively responsible human resources, talent acquisition, staffing, workforce planning, school district administration, or a related field. at least three of which have been in an administrative or supervisory capacity.
Demonstrated knowledge of: high-volume recruitment and staffing practice.
Demonstrated knowledge of: workforce planning and staffing forecasting.
Demonstrated knowledge of: substitute and contingent workforce management.
Demonstrated knowledge of: applicant tracking and Human Resources Information Systems.
Demonstrated knowledge of: public education staffing practices and certification requirements.
Demonstrated knowledge of: collective bargaining agreements and their impact on staffing and employee assignments.
Demonstrated knowledge of: project and program management.
Demonstrated knowledge of: data analysis and performance measurement.
Demonstrated knowledge of: supervisory methods and techniques.
Demonstrated Ability to: lead complex, high-volume staffing operations involving multiple employee groups and stakeholders.
Demonstrated Ability to: develop and execute comprehensive staffing plans against firm operational deadlines.
Demonstrated Ability to: analyze workforce data and translate findings into staffing strategies.
Demonstrated Ability to: build collaborative relationships with school leaders, executive leadership, unions, employees, and external partners.
Demonstrated Ability to: develop scalable processes and continuously improve operational systems.
Demonstrated Ability to: exercise sound judgment and appropriately escalate operational and compliance risks.
Demonstrated Ability to: lead teams in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment while maintaining a strong focus on accuracy, accountability, and customer experience.
Demonstrated Ability to: communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
Demonstrated Ability to: establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Provides strategic leadership and day-to-day oversight of the District's substitute staffing program across assigned employee classifications.
Develops and implements comprehensive strategies to recruit, select, onboard, deploy, and retain a qualified substitute workforce.
Oversees substitute staffing for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other employee groups as assigned.
Establishes appropriate substitute pool targets based on historical utilization, employee absences, vacancies, leave trends, school needs, and anticipated workforce demand.
Monitors substitute fill rates and identifies schools, positions, and geographic areas experiencing persistent coverage challenges.
Develops targeted interventions to improve substitute availability and fill rates.
Establishes processes for long-term substitute assignments and other extended coverage needs in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements, District policies, and regulatory requirements.
Partners with school leaders and Talent staff to respond to urgent and emerging staffing needs.
Develops strategies to reduce reliance on emergency staffing solutions and improve continuity of instruction and services.
Leads the District's comprehensive annual summer staffing process from workforce planning through employee placement and payroll readiness.
Develops an annual summer staffing project plan with clearly established milestones, responsibilities, deadlines, and escalation protocols.
Partners with District offices to identify anticipated summer programs, staffing models, position requirements, work locations, schedules, and projected staffing needs.
Coordinates the creation and posting of summer employment opportunities.
Oversees application, eligibility, selection, placement, and notification processes for summer employees.
Establishes centralized tracking mechanisms to monitor staffing progress across all summer programs.
Ensures employees meet applicable certification, clearance, qualification, and employment requirements before beginning assignments.
Partners with Payroll, Budget and Management Services, HRIS, and program offices to ensure assignments, compensation, funding, and employee records are accurately established before programs begin.
Leads troubleshooting and escalation of summer staffing issues.
Conducts a post-summer review to evaluate staffing outcomes, identify operational challenges, and recommend improvements for the following year.
Develops year-round recruitment strategies to maintain robust substitute talent pipelines.
Partners with universities, educator preparation programs, retired educator networks, community organizations, professional associations, and other external partners to expand substitute recruitment.
Develops targeted recruitment strategies for hard-to-fill subjects, certifications, employee classifications, and geographic areas.
Collaborates with the Talent Acquisition team on recruitment marketing, hiring events, referral strategies, and candidate engagement.
Develops strategies to convert high-performing substitutes into permanent District employees when appropriate.
Establishes and monitors key performance indicators for substitute and seasonal staffing, including fill rates, pool size, utilization, time-to-fill, candidate conversion, assignment acceptance, and school-level staffing trends.
Uses workforce data to forecast staffing demand and recommend changes to recruitment and deployment strategies.
Develops dashboards and regular reports for Talent and District leadership.
Ensures substitute and seasonal staffing transactions are accurately reflected in applicable HRIS, applicant tracking, absence management, and payroll systems.
Leads the T-IV Committee weekly meetings; follows up with the unions and offices requesting the T-IV and resolves concerns in a timely manner; works with Recruitment for the posting of positions for summer programs and throughout the year.
Partners with the Director of Talent Support Services to identify system improvements, data-quality concerns, automation opportunities, and process efficiencies.
Conducts regular audits to ensure staffing records are complete and accurate.
Establishes clear service standards for substitute and seasonal staffing.
Serves as a primary escalation point for complex substitute and summer staffing concerns.
Develops clear communications, guidance, timelines, and resources for principals, hiring managers, program leaders, employees, and candidates.
Builds strong partnerships with Academic Services, Special Education, Student Support Services, Operations, Payroll, Budget and Management Services, Information Technology, Employee and Labor Relations, Certification, and other offices necessary to successfully execute substitute and seasonal staffing.
Ensures school leaders receive timely information regarding substitute availability, staffing processes, and available supports.
Supervises assigned professional and support staff responsible for substitute and seasonal staffing.
Establishes performance expectations and ensures accountability for service delivery and operational outcomes.
Develops standard operating procedures, calendars, workflows, and escalation protocols.
Manages assigned budgets, contracts, vendors, and resources.
Provides regular updates to the Deputy Chief of Talent Acquisition and Chief Talent Officer regarding staffing trends, risks, and recommended actions.
Performs other duties as assigned.