HR Specialist, Mid-Atlantic Operations

Catapult Learning•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

Strategic HR and workforce operations leader supporting multi-state educational programs across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Oversees onboarding, compliance, workforce planning, employee relations, staffing operations, payroll coordination, and district partnership management for 180+ employees and high-volume seasonal hiring initiatives. Acts as a liaison between regional leadership, Division-HRBP, corporate HR Ops, recruiting, payroll, and external school district partners to ensure operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and workforce continuity.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field. Equivalent experience may substitute.
2–4 years of progressive HR generalist or HR operations experience.
Experience supporting a multi-state workforce, ideally in education, school-based services, or another regulated environment.
Hands-on experience with I-9 and E-Verify processes.
Experience managing background checks, fingerprinting, clearances, and licensure or certification tracking, preferably in a school or child-serving setting.
Experience preparing for audits and keeping documentation audit-ready.
Experience with leave administration, payroll resolution, benefits navigation, and policy guidance.
Ability to support corrective action, performance improvement, and offboarding processes, including working with an HRBP.
Strong written and verbal communication.
Strong Stakeholder management
High attention to detail with strong organization and prioritization, especially during high-volume seasonal hiring.
Discretion with confidential employee information.
Ability to work independently and manage competing deadlines across several states.

Nice To Haves

Experience with seasonal workforce transitions and return-to-work processes.
Familiarity with workforce forecasting tied to enrollment or program funding.
Experience with school district partnerships, approval submissions, and funding or compliance documentation.
Working knowledge of employment law and compliance requirements in PA, NJ, MD, and VA.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end onboarding and compliance operations for multi-state educational programs supporting 75+ new hires annually and 180+ active employees.
Direct employee clearance, fingerprinting, licensure, I-9, and E-Verify processes across PA, NJ, MD, and VA in compliance with district and state regulations.
Serve as regional subject matter expert on workforce compliance, onboarding eligibility, and district approval processes.
Implement and maintain standardized onboarding and compliance procedures, documentation, and audit readiness protocols.
Manage risk mitigation efforts through proactive monitoring of certification expirations, compliance dashboards, and background screening attestations.
Develop and maintain regional workforce dashboards tracking headcount, vacancies, retention, turnover, PTO utilization, hiring timelines, and staffing trends.
Analyze workforce data to provide leadership with actionable insights related to retention, staffing efficiency, and operational performance.
Monitor and report KPIs including time-to-approval, vacancy rates, onboarding completion, and employee attrition trends.
Support workforce forecasting and school placement strategies aligned with enrollment and program funding changes.
Serve as trusted HR partner to supervisors and regional leadership teams on employee support, leave administration, payroll resolution, benefits navigation, and policy guidance.
Coordinate with HRBP to support corrective action processes, performance improvement plans, employee transitions, and offboarding procedures.
Lead territory-wide exit interview initiatives and analyze trends to identify retention opportunities and organizational risks.
Design and implement employee recognition and engagement initiatives to improve retention and employee experience.
Partner with centralized recruiting teams to align staffing strategies, vacancy forecasting, and hiring priorities across Philadelphia and Greater New Jersey regions.
Provide operational oversight for recruitment workflows, hiring approvals, requisition alignment, and district onboarding timelines.
Consult with recruiting leadership on targeted hiring initiatives including virtual hiring events, programmatic advertising, and hard-to-fill staffing strategies.
Oversee complex HRIS and payroll-related transactions including status changes, pay adjustments, supervisor updates, leave administration, and timekeeping corrections.
Ensure accuracy of UKG workforce records, project coding, compliance documentation, and payroll communications.
Coordinate seasonal staffing transitions, return-to-work processes, and summer workforce operations.
Serve as primary liaison between regional operations teams, school districts, corporate departments, and external vendors.
Manage district approval submissions, staff clearance audits, funding updates, and compliance documentation.
Maintain collaborative relationships with district stakeholders to support staffing continuity and program execution.