m/Oppenheim Executive Search Orange County

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Application Deadline

7/5/2025 11:55 PM Pacific

Date Posted

5/5/2025

Contact

Kevin Redick

Number of Openings

Not Specified

Salary

Pay Range

$80,000 - $100,000 Annually

Length of Work Year

12 Months

Employment Type

Full Time

Job Summary Job Summary m/Oppenheim Executive Search is assisting St. John’s Episcopal School in the search for a HR Director. Responsibilities include: staff recruiting, onboarding, retention and exits; staff assessments, reviews and disciplinary processes; staff training and professional development; staff benefit management; time & leave tracking; and handling any complaints by, or directed toward, any member of the St John’s Episcopal School Family. This position will report to the Chief Financial Officer, have a direct line into both the Head of School and the Vicar, and will interact daily with professional staff, teachers, and Board and Church leaders.

Job Description / Essential Elements: Print

Background

Established in 1988 and grounded in the rich history of diversity and excellence in Episcopal education, St. John’s Episcopal School fosters every child’s full intellectual, physical and spiritual development in a nurturing learning environment through programs built on a balance of tradition and innovation. The school provides a world-class STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education within a faith-based culture that combines academic rigor with individualized instruction and meaningful character development. St. John’s is a member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools and the National Association of Independent Schools, and it is a fully accredited member of the California Association of Independent Schools and the National Association of the Education of Young Children.

The school is located 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Rancho Santa Margarita (Orange County). St. John’s annually serves 510 students and their families, has a balanced budget of about $10M, and employs 100 faculty and staff. The organization is financially and operationally in good standing. The team aspires to continue improvements to school Business Office functions, including Human Resources. The new HR Director will assess the organization’s approaches to human resources management and will suggest and implement such improvements.

The school uses Paycom for payroll processing and may decide to implement other parts of the Paycom suite of systems over time. A person in the Finance Department runs payroll, and the HR Director must also be able to do so. Other systems used by the school include Veracross, Blackbaud and Facts, and it is important that candidates have strong experience working with cloud-based HR/payroll systems. Candidates are not expected to come from an independent school environment, but some exposure to similarly interactive environments has advantages.

BASIC FUNCTION

Reporting to the CFO, with a strong and independent reporting line to the Head of School and periodic meetings with the Vicar, the HR Director is responsible for the full lifecycle of employment from hiring to exit; staff performance reviews; payroll, benefits and time & leave processing; all professional development and training; and for the documentation and promulgation of employment and behavioral standards.

This leader must possess a balance of diplomacy, attention to detail, an ability to collaborate productively with other members of staff and Board, and also be a person deeply connected to the values of the school. Other key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Establish standards for recruiting, onboarding, retaining and exiting staff, including robust staff selection, referencing, background checking and other processes; ensure compliance with evolving state and federal employment laws, including for example: immigration laws (inc. E-Verify), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Reasonable Accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), etc.; in conjunction with the Chief Financial Officer, regularly update employment policies;
• Periodically assure that compensation and benefits standards align to sector practices for schools like St John’s Episcopal School; implement and maintain payroll and benefits systems (time & leave, training, health and other insurance plans, worker’s compensation, long & short-term disability, pensions, etc.) that are accurate, provide useful information to staff, and are cost-effective and secure;
• Design and implement plans to periodically refresh the subject matter, technical and other professional knowledge of staff; produce professional development policies that include coaching, mentoring, group workshops, classes and structured training;
• Develop and deploy personnel policies, safety standards, and human resources manuals, handbooks and other necessary documentation; provide ongoing training to managers and staff to ensure compliance with relevant laws;
• Provide consistent administrative oversight of all other personnel matters, including staff disciplinary actions; ensure the privacy and safety of staff is protected; take appropriate actions to ensure that a positive work environment is established and maintained; coordinate legal matters related to human resources and personnel;
• Implement performance evaluation systems that encourage behavior that advances the mission of the school; ensure that the evaluation process includes objective and subjective components and is understood, uniformly accepted and implemented fairly.

Requirements / Qualifications

Candidates should have the following minimum experience and qualifications: • 5+ years human resources management experience, preferably in a high touch nonprofit or business environment; experience with schools and organizations that serve children and parents would be advantageous; extensive knowledge of payroll, benefits and human resource management systems, workflows and practices; • Excellent written and verbal communications skills; a good listener who is comfortable receiving input from many sources; a mission-driven individual able to balance the need for quality workflows with empathetic communication and coaching; • A facilitator who will be viewed by members of the team as a strong ally and partner; a person able to make and explain decisions; an ability to negotiate with people having sharply defined opinions while maintaining positive, respectful relationships; a sense of perspective and humor.

Required Documents: Resume & Cover Letter

Requirements / Qualifications

Candidates should have the following minimum experience and qualifications: • 5+ years human resources management experience, preferably in a high touch nonprofit or business environment; experience with schools and organizations that serve children and parents would be advantageous; extensive knowledge of payroll, benefits and human resource management systems, workflows and practices; • Excellent written and verbal communications skills; a good listener who is comfortable receiving input from many sources; a mission-driven individual able to balance the need for quality workflows with empathetic communication and coaching; • A facilitator who will be viewed by members of the team as a strong ally and partner; a person able to make and explain decisions; an ability to negotiate with people having sharply defined opinions while maintaining positive, respectful relationships; a sense of perspective and humor.

Required Documents: Resume & Cover Letter

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