Job Description

CHIEF OF HUMAN RESOURCES

CATEGORY: Administration / Executive Leadership

LOCATION: Districtwide

RESPONSIBLE TO: Superintendent

CONTRACT TYPE: Classified

SALARY: Executive Director pay scale (Classified) / Board-approved salary schedule

DATE POSTED: 07/24/2026

Job Goal

Lead a responsive, compliant, and people-centered talent system that enables CIPS to recruit, develop, support, and retain an excellent and diverse workforce. The Chief ensures that every employee experiences clear expectations, reliable service, fair processes, and meaningful support from recruitment through separation.

Key Leadership Outcomes

• A coherent talent strategy aligned to district priorities, enrollment, program design, staffing allocations, and financial sustainability.
• Vacancies filled earlier and with stronger, more diverse candidate pools; hard-to-staff roles supported by targeted pipelines and contingency plans.
• Accurate, timely payroll and personnel actions with clear controls, reconciliation, documentation, and customer-service standards.
• Consistent onboarding, annual training, evaluation, employee relations, accommodation, leave, and separation processes across all schools and departments.
• Improved staff retention, engagement, trust, and leader capability, with root-cause analysis and differentiated support for schools and employee groups.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, public administration, education leadership, law, or a related field; master's degree preferred.
• At least five years of progressively responsible leadership in human resources, talent, employee relations, or organizational operations; experience in an urban public school system strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of employment law, collective bargaining and labor relations, ADA and workplace accommodations, FMLA, wage and hour requirements, employee investigations, and public-sector personnel practices.
• Strong record of building equitable systems, managing confidential matters, supervising teams, improving service delivery, and using data to guide decisions.
• SHRM-SCP, SPHR, school personnel certification, administrative certification, or comparable credential preferred, as applicable to final position classification.
• Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the Superintendent and Board may find appropriate and acceptable.

Essential Responsibilities

The following statements describe the primary work of the position but are not an exhaustive list of every duty. The leader is expected to exercise sound judgment, collaborate across functions, respond to emerging needs, and perform other duties assigned by the Superintendent.

Talent Strategy, Recruitment, and Retention

• Develop and execute a multi-year human capital strategy, workforce plan, and annual staffing calendar aligned to district goals and budget assumptions.
• Lead recruitment and selection systems, including workforce forecasting, position control, job descriptions, candidate cultivation, screening, background checks, and offer processes.
• Build partnerships and pipelines with universities, alternative certification programs, educator preparation providers, and community organizations.
• Design differentiated strategies for hard-to-staff roles, substitute coverage, succession planning, and internal mobility, and analyze workforce data to present trends and recommendations to Cabinet and the Board.

HR Business Partnership and Leader Support

• Establish an HR business partner model that provides principals and department leaders with proactive, timely, solutions-oriented support.
• Coach and advise supervisors on staffing, performance management, documentation, corrective action, and organizational change.
• Create service-level expectations, case-management protocols, and escalation pathways so leaders know who owns each action and by when.
• Partner with Finance to maintain position control, salary placement, stipends, benefits, and accurate personnel budgeting.

Employee Relations, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Lead or oversee fair, prompt, well-documented employee investigations, grievances, disciplinary matters, and separation recommendations in consultation with legal counsel and the Superintendent.
• Ensure compliance with Board policy, collective bargaining agreements, federal and state employment requirements, EPSB reporting, and mandatory reporting duties.
• Maintain confidential personnel records, investigation files, and required reports consistent with records-retention and open-records requirements.
• Coordinate the district response to unemployment claims, workers' compensation interfaces, employee litigation, and agency inquiries in partnership with counsel.

Onboarding, Annual Training, and Employee Support

• Design and manage a consistent pre-boarding and onboarding experience for all employee groups, including role clarity, technology access, benefits enrollment, and 30/60/90-day check-ins.
• Maintain a districtwide annual training and acknowledgement calendar; monitor completion and escalate noncompliance.
• Oversee employee assistance program strategy and develop handbooks, supervisor toolkits, and self-service resources that are accurate and routinely updated.

ADA, Adult Section 504, Leave, and Workplace Accommodations

• Serve as or designate the district lead for employee ADA and adult Section 504 matters, including the interactive process, accommodation plans, and periodic review.
• Oversee FMLA and other employee leave processes, return-to-work coordination, and alignment among leave, benefits, and workers' compensation.
• Train supervisors to recognize potential accommodation and leave requests and to refer employees promptly without making unauthorized commitments.

Payroll and HR Operations

• Provide executive oversight of payroll operations, controls, salary placement, time and attendance, deductions, and retirement reporting interfaces.
• Ensure segregation of duties, reconciliation, and audit readiness in partnership with the Finance Department.
• Lead HR information-system strategy, data governance, and records accuracy, and prepare and monitor the HR department budget, contracts, and key performance indicators.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic and systems thinking
• Sound judgment and confidentiality
• Fair, courageous employee relations
• Clear communication and service orientation
• Project management and follow-through
• Data fluency and continuous improvement
• Equity-centered talent leadership
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and change

Districtwide Expectations

• Model CIPS values and maintain a relentless focus on student success, equity, safety, service, and organizational trust.
• Serve as an active member of Cabinet; bring forward risks, decisions, tradeoffs, and recommendations early enough for effective action.
• Translate strategy into clear goals, milestones, owners, measures, budgets, and communication plans; monitor implementation and adjust when results fall short.
• Develop people through clear expectations, regular feedback, coaching, accountability, and succession planning.
• Maintain accurate records, calendars, procedures, and continuity documentation so essential work does not depend on one individual.
• Protect confidential information and comply with applicable laws, regulations, ethical requirements, and Board policies.
• Build respectful relationships with students, families, employees, labor partners, community organizations, public agencies, and the Board while preserving appropriate roles and decision rights.
• Participate in evening, weekend, emergency, and community responsibilities as the role requires.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The position requires the ability to communicate effectively, use standard office and technology equipment, travel among district sites, attend meetings and events outside regular business hours, and respond during emergencies. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Specific demands may be finalized through the district's classification and legal review process.

Evaluation

Performance will be evaluated by the Superintendent in accordance with Board policy, applicable law, the approved job description, annual goals, leadership competencies, and evidence of progress toward the key outcomes of the position.

Application Process

Complete the district's online application through Covington Independent Schools � Frontline Recruitment. All applications will be evaluated and screened. Final posting language should include current contacts, application deadlines, and any required supplemental materials.

• Complete the online application at: Covington Independent Schools - Frontline Recruitment (applitrack.com) .
• In-district applicants complete the Internal application.
• Out-of-district applicants complete the Classified application.
• Please direct questions about the online application process to Dawn Vancini at dawn.vancini@covington.kyschools.us.
• For information regarding the position contact Cortnei Flucas at: cortnei.flucas@covington.kyschools.us

Covington Independent Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer.

94-2627-000 (1513)

Covington Independent Public Schools

25 East Seventh Street Covington, KY 41011

o 859-392-1000 | f 859.292.5916 | tty 859.292.5801 | www.covington.kyschools.us