Director of Talent Acquisition

The Director of Talent Acquisition provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for all recruitment, selection, and hiring activities for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS). This role is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive, data-informed talent acquisition strategy that ensures the timely hiring of a diverse, highly qualified workforce while maintaining compliance with collective bargaining agreements, civil service requirements, district policies, and applicable employment laws.

The Director partners closely with labor leaders, school administrators, and district leadership to balance operational staffing needs with contractual obligations related to seniority, transfers, posting timelines, and recall rights. This role ensures recruitment systems and practices are transparent, equitable, legally defensible, and responsive to the evolving needs of schools and departments across the district.

Reporting Relationship

Reports to the Executive Chief of Human Resources.

Responsibilities
The essential functions include, but are not limited to, the following fundamental duties:

• Strategic Leadership & Workforce Planning
  Develop, implement, and continuously refine a district-wide talent acquisition strategy aligned with instructional priorities, enrollment trends, labor agreements, and long-term workforce needs.
  Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on labor market conditions, staffing risks, vacancy trends, and workforce shortages in critical instructional and operational areas.
  Partner with the Executive Chief of Human Resources and district leaders to support workforce planning and succession strategies.
  Lead workforce planning efforts that anticipate retirements, internal movement, recall lists, and hard-to-fill positions within a unionized environment.
  Leverage recruitment data, labor analytics, and historical hiring trends to inform staffing projections and continuous improvement.
• Recruitment & Selection Operations
  Oversee full-cycle recruitment for all bargaining-unit and non-bargaining-unit positions, including licensed educators, school leaders, paraprofessionals, operations staff, central office professionals, and executive leadership.
  Ensure all recruitment, posting, screening, interviewing, selection, and placement activities comply with collective bargaining agreements, civil service rules, and district policies.
  Lead strategies to build strong, diverse, and mission-aligned candidate pipelines.
  Partner with the Talent Acquisition Manager (TAM) to manage contractual processes related to transfers, displacement, layoffs, recalls, seniority lists, and posting timelines.
  Establish standardized, auditable recruitment procedures that promote consistency, equity, and legal defensibility.
  Monitor and improve recruitment metrics, including time-to-fill, vacancy rates, compliance timelines, candidate experience, and diversity outcomes.
• Labor Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
  Serve as a key partner to Labor Relations staff and union leadership on recruitment-related processes and impacts.
  Collaborate with HR leaders to ensure alignment and continuous improvement across HR operations.
  Consult with principals, hiring managers, department leaders, and HR Business Partners to clarify staffing needs within contractual frameworks.
  Provide training and guidance on contract-aligned hiring practices, equitable interviewing, and selection standards.
  Support labor-management transparency through clearly documented, communicated, and consistently applied recruitment practices.
• Onboarding & Offboarding
  Lead the development and implementation of district-wide onboarding and offboarding processes in partnership with the Talent Acquisition Manager, embedding the district¿s mission, vision, values, and a sense of belonging.
  Support ongoing review and improvement of new hire processes to ensure a positive employee experience and timely completion of all required documentation.
  Partner with school and department leaders to establish consistent onboarding and offboarding frameworks.
  In collaboration with the Retention Specialist, analyze exit and stay interview data and develop strategies to address systemic trends.
• Inclusive Hiring
  Design and implement inclusive recruitment strategies that expand access to employment opportunities for candidates from historically underrepresented communities.
  Advance district equity goals while ensuring equitable and consistent application of contract provisions.
  Build partnerships with community organizations, educator preparation programs, workforce development agencies, and institutions of higher education.
  Promote diverse interview panels and provide guidance on bias-mitigation practices consistent with legal and contractual requirements.
• Staffing & Placement
  Collaborate with the TAM to develop annual staffing timelines aligned with the budget process, including updates to the Staffing Budget Manual.
  Ensure standard operating procedures for licensed and non-licensed staff placement are current, compliant, and consistently implemented.
  Ensure displaced employees are referred to hiring managers in accordance with collective bargaining agreements.
  Partner with the TAM to oversee timely and compliant layoff and recall processes.
  Lead development of systems to track, analyze, and report district-wide vacancies, providing regular updates to executive leadership and the Board.
  Collaborate with the Lead HR Coordinator to continuously improve summer school hiring processes.
• Employer Branding & Outreach
  Lead employer branding initiatives that position SPPS as an employer of choice while accurately reflecting contract provisions, working conditions, and career pathways.
  Partner with Communications and Marketing to develop targeted recruitment campaigns highlighting mission impact, professional growth, and community engagement.
  Oversee participation in job fairs, community events, college recruiting, and targeted outreach efforts.
• Team Leadership, Development and Labor Collaboration
  Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing Talent Acquisition team.
  Establish clear roles, expectations, and accountability aligned with district goals, contractual requirements and district policies and procedures.
  Lead development, implementation and ongoing review of Talent Acquisition standard operating procedures and ongoing process improvements efforts.
  Assess training needs and implement professional development focused on contract compliance, equity-centered hiring and other HR processes, customer service, and operational efficiency.
  Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and service-oriented team culture.
  Provide supervision and direction to the staffing and recruitment teams and the personnel file management function.
  Foster a culture of service excellence, accountability, equity, confidentiality, data accuracy, and continuous improvement.
  Develop and deliver training for HR staff, school leaders, and system users on the hiring process and practices, contract language, employment laws and SOPs.
  Collaborate closely with labor relations staff and union leadership to ensure transparent, accurate, and contractually compliant administration of contract language.
• Process Improvement and Operational Excellence
  Conduct regular audits of the “Apply-to-Hire” pipeline to identify bottlenecks; redesign workflows to reduce time-to-fill while ensuring 100% compliance with seniority and CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) requirements.
  Establish and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as offer acceptance rates, sourcing channel effectiveness, and diversity pipeline velocity to drive evidence-based adjustments to recruitment tactics.
  Lead the optimization of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and other HR technologies to automate manual tasks, improve data integrity, and create a seamless, mobile-friendly experience for candidates.
  Design and implement systematic feedback mechanisms (e.g., hiring manager satisfaction surveys and candidate experience pulses) to identify service gaps and implement corrective action plans.
  Develop and maintain a comprehensive Library of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all hiring activities¿ranging from emergency licensed placements to civil service interviews¿ensuring consistency across all school sites.
  Drive operational excellence by identifying and removing administrative barriers in the hiring process; streamline workflows to ensure that classrooms are staffed with high-quality educators with minimal delay.
  Regularly review selection tools, screening rubrics, and interview protocols to identify and mitigate systemic bias, ensuring the hiring process remains a driver for the district¿s equity goals.
• Systems, Compliance & Documentation
  Oversee applicant tracking systems (ATS) and recruitment technologies to ensure data integrity, reporting accuracy, and audit readiness.
  Ensure recruitment records meet EEO/AA, collective bargaining, and public records requirements.
  Develop, update, and enforce recruitment-related policies and guidelines.
  Partner with Legal, Labor Relations, and HRIS teams on grievances, audits, and process improvements.
  Budget & Vendor Management
  Develop the recruitment budget inclusive of supplies, recruitment events, advertising and marketing.
  Identify, negotiate and oversee vendor contracts in coordination with procurement.
  Evaluate return on investment for recruitment strategies and vendor partnerships.
• Miscellaneous
  Enthusiastically promote and support the district and division goals and priorities.
  Stay current with talent acquisition and other HR related trends, best practices, and technology.
  Provide labor relations with recommended contract language changes for negotiations.
  Maintain confidentiality of work-related issues and records.
  May work outside standard business hours during peak times recruitment and hiring times.
  Promote and model inclusive leadership to advance the district¿s equity and inclusion goals.
  Contribute to fostering a safe, welcoming and respectful work environment.
  Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Chief of Human Resources.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Comprehensive knowledge of talent acquisition, workforce planning, and succession modeling within large, complex, unionized organizations.
Thorough knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws (EEO/AA, ADA, FLSA, FMLA, Title VII, Title IX, FERPA, and Minnesota tenure statutes).
Deep understanding of collective bargaining agreements, seniority-based placements, recall rights, and civil service hiring frameworks.
Expertise in designing inclusive recruitment strategies, bias-mitigation protocols, and employer branding that reflects the district¿s diversity goals.
Skill in applying continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., process mapping, workflow analysis) to identify and remove administrative bottlenecks in the “Apply-to-Hire” lifecycle.
Strong ability to establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as vacancy velocity, sourcing effectiveness, and diversity pipeline health¿to drive evidence-based decisions.
Advanced proficiency with applicant tracking systems (ATS), HRIS platforms, and recruitment technologies, with the ability to leverage automation to enhance data integrity and candidate experience.
Proven ability to lead large-scale initiatives, from technology implementations to the development of a comprehensive Library of standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, modernize legacy processes, and foster a culture of service-oriented continuous improvement.
Ability to balance urgent operational staffing needs with rigid contractual and legal requirements through collaboration with labor leaders and district executives.
Exceptional written and verbal skills, with the ability to translate complex contract language, data trends, and HR policies into clear, actionable guidance for diverse audiences.
Strong leadership, coaching and mentorship skills to build and develop a high-performing, accountable Talent Acquisition team.
Knowledge of how to craft an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that resonates with diverse candidate pools in a competitive educational labor market.
Exceptional written, verbal, and cross-functional communication skills, including the ability to effectively explain policies, procedures, contract language and talent acquisition strategies to diverse audiences.
Strong analytical, project management, and strategic planning abilities.
Ability to balance operational needs with contractual and legal requirements.
Ability to lead change and build effective relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.