Human Resources Specialist

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 320,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 44,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Talent Office supports and empowers employees through all stages of their Chicago Public Schools (CPS) careers, with the understanding that the department's success enables employees to better serve the students of Chicago. The Human Resources team for the School Support function provides one-stop support for CPS school administrators for all HR-related needs, including discipline, guidance, timely assistance, and executive consultation. Other efforts include improvements to online systems and seamless transitions from one school year to the next.

Job Summary:

The HR Specialist will adhere to three key goals: 1) delivering impeccable customer service, 2) speedy and accurate turn-around of all staffing transactions, and 3) working as a cross-trained, flexible, and cohesive team member.

Reporting to the Manager of HR School Partners, the HR Specialist will provide Tier 1 customer service support, including answering calls, exercising independent judgment in the processing of all transactions related to staffing, including but not limited to new hire and rehire staffing, administrative and intra-unit transfers, retirements and resignations, layoffs and displacements. They will also evaluate employee applications to determine eligibility in line with established laws, policies, and procedures and work with team members to identify and operationalize process improvements related to their work.

The Human Resources Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• In collaboration with the HR School Partner(s), provide support to an assigned portfolio of CPS school Networks, including school leadership and school-based staff, to ensure the efficient, accurate, and timely completion of a variety of HR-related tasks
• Accurately complete activities related to employee staffing transactions, including staffing for new hires and rehires, transfers, promotions, demotions, retirements and resignations, layoffs, and displacements for all assigned networks.
  • Facilitate the referral process for all school-based staff, including determining lane and step placement based on union affiliation.
  • Facilitate the completion of important licensure-related tasks, such as the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) RUSH, Short-Term Approval and Emergency process, including reviewing and processing the forms, tracking requests and updates, communicating with ISBE and school administrators if credentials are deficient, and communicating to HRBP/HR Specialists once the certification has been issued.
  • Conduct the ESP/PSRP layoff reviews for school networks.
  • Facilitate Leave of Absence (LOA) displacements and Continual Pay forms for displacements
• Support the upkeep of relevant databases and enter transactions into appropriate HR systems (i.e., Peoplesoft, Taleo, the DS2 System).
• Provide excellent customer service to Network- and school-based staff and leadership, including but not limited to:
  • Answering Tier 1 phone calls
  • Input and answering tickets into SNOW system
  • Responding to routine queries related to staffing, policies and procedures
  • Supporting customers using HR-related systems, including answering customer questions and participating in customer training
  • Manage incoming forms, faxes, and other documents from CPS employees.
• Regularly generate reports and ensure appropriate action is taken as a result of the report data:
  • Manage miscellaneous/part-time seasonal closed position reports
  • Generate seniority reports as requested by a principal or HR School Partner
• Assist with updating job aides and HR Procedures Manual for new policies, practices, Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), etc.; share any recommendations for process improvement with the HR Manager
• Attend and participate in regularly scheduled meetings with HR colleagues, including HR School Partners and other HR Specialists, to ensure the consistency of HR methodologies across the district, and to establish plans of action for all networks.
• Other duties as assigned

• High school diploma or GED equivalent is required
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in human resources or a related field is preferred

• Minimum of five (5) years of general administrative and customer service experience is required
• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in an HR Support role, preferred

• Exceptional interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to provide customer service and support to CPS employees at all levels of the organization
• Excellent time management and organizational skills; set priorities and deliver consistent results
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with a variety of constituent groups to ensure the entire system operates in the most effective manner possible to support schools and principals
• Capable of success both working independently and as part of a team; ability to successfully collaborate with team members to address transactions and Tier 1 inquiries efficiently
• High levels of integrity, honesty, credibility, and the ability to communicate difficult yet necessary decisions
• Ability to uphold confidentiality, remain objective, use sound judgment when faced with challenging decisions or situations, and identify when matters need to be escalated for additional guidance
• Capable of self-awareness, reflection, and accepting responsibility for decisions, actions, and mistakes made; Ability to receive and implement constructive feedback and lessons learned in real time
• Ability to define problems, analyze data and information presented, and outline valid conclusions and action steps for resolving the issues identified
• Basic computer skills, including familiarity with and/or the ability to use/learn to use programs such as Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Visio, etc.) and Google Suite (Google sheets, GMail, etc.)
• Able to quickly learn and understandCPS Board Rules and Policies, and software systems.

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. "Up-to-date" on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.