Executive Director of Recruitment, Selection & Retention (Anticipated)

ABOUT OUR DISTRICT

The Syracuse City School District is undergoing a new phase of innovation and transformation with the goal of ensuring that all students graduate high school with the skills needed to be ready for college and career. For Syracuse, all means all. The School Board and Syracuse community have charged the Superintendent with improving student achievement, and she is seeking a dedicated and diverse team of educators to partner with her in moving the district toward its goals.

The Syracuse City School District represents 35 schools and programs, including 6 high schools, 6 middle schools, 6 K-8 schools, 13 elementary schools, and 4 alternative education programs, serving approximately 19,000 students Pre-K–12. Of these students, 82.3% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, 20.1% are served by the Office of Special Education, and 83% are students of color. 
 

JOB DESCRIPTION

The district is committed to ensuring that there is an effective school leader at the helm of every school and a high-quality teacher in every classroom.  As a result, the Executive Director will ensure that the district is able to identify and recruit the most talented educators to meet the needs of Syracuse’s students and their schools.  This includes designing and implementing effective recruitment strategies, managing and tracking all candidate outreach for open district positions, working closely with hiring managers to ensure candidate pools are high-quality and meeting their needs, and tracking the effectiveness of recruitment efforts over time so the team can make needed improvements. This is an exciting opportunity for a leader with the right skills and experiences to have a lasting impact on all of Syracuse City School District’s schools and students.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director of Recruitment, Selection and Educator Effectiveness include but are not limited to the following:

• The duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director of Recruitment, Selection and Educator Effectiveness include but are not limited to the following:
• Directly manage, support and evaluate the district’s recruitment and selection staff, ensuring the team is best structured to meet its goals.
• Oversee the development of deep partnerships with allied organizations and individuals who can be strong sources of candidate referrals for Syracuse’s educator positions.
• Lead the design and oversee the implementation and continual improvement of high leverage strategies for attracting, converting, and retaining high-quality candidates for all Syracuse’s staff positions. 
• Serve as the public representative of the Human Resources department at formal and informal recruitment events, including job fairs, information sessions, school visits, and candidate forums. 
• Ensure candidate recruitment and selection as a heavily high-touch, customer service-related line of business; set an example of positivity and enthusiasm about working in Syracuse City School District for all staff and community members.
• Lead all stages of the candidate hiring process, including candidate screening and selection, and ensure a smooth onboarding transition to Employee Services staff once an employee is hired.
• Collaborate with building leaders to facilitate annual transfer process for faculty and staff.
• Collaborate closely with other members of the Human Resources leadership team to ensure a smooth-running department.
• Design and ensure the execution of information systems that capture details from all candidate screening processes and feed this information to the Educator Effectiveness, Employee Services, and other relevant departments as necessary. 
• Continuously monitor and evaluate Syracuse’s effectiveness in recruiting the most highly qualified and diverse candidate pool possible, reflecting the communities the district serves and meeting its students’ needs.
• Oversee the work of the Director of Educator Effectiveness.
• Assist with other human resource duties as necessary. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

KEY COMPETENCIES

An effective Executive Director of Recruitment, Selection and Educator Effectiveness will demonstrate the following:

Vision and Courage to Ensure All Students Achieve

• Passionately believes that all students can achieve at high levels.

• Holds self personally responsible for ensuring high academic achievement of all students. 

• Develops, articulates, and builds buy-in to a clear vision and mission. 

• Able to inspire others to want to make a difference by serving Syracuse’s schools and students.

Strategic Planning and Effective Execution

• Exhibits strong focus on goals and results.  Sets clear metrics for success.

• Offers innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems. 

• Clearly articulates plans to achieve team goals.

• Demonstrates excellent execution and project management skills.

• Prioritizes and aligns people, time, and resources to the most important issues.

Communication

• Conveys passion and urgency for school reform. 

• Communicates effectively in both written and verbal communication.  Tailors message for the audience, context, and mode of communication. 

• Actively listens to others, able to inspire and excite hiring managers and potential employees about the candidate recruitment and selection process.

• Clearly explains the vision and mission of SCSD and its school communities to diverse audiences.

Adult Leadership 

• Motivates, inspires, and moves other adults to action to achieve ambitious goals. 

• Builds and maintains positive relationships with individuals and groups.

• Moves groups to consensus and resolves conflicts. 

• Builds coalitions and works collaboratively with diverse stakeholders at all levels.

Human Resources and Recruitment Knowledge

• Understanding of how to develop and implement effective systems for attracting, hiring, and retaining the highest quality talent for an organization like Syracuse City School District.

• Discerning eye for talent and high standards for excellence in a staff recruitment and hiring process; strong working knowledge of what skills and attributes matter most to educator quality and effectiveness.

• Deeply understands the importance of the recruitment office’s role in bringing in exceptionally qualified talent to Syracuse’s schools.

• Exceptional follow-through skills; able to multi-task and balance requests from many different individuals with grace and positivity at all times.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrate a growth mindset and willingness to adapt and take risks;

• Possess a Master’s Degree in Education or related field;

• Minimum five (5) years of educational leadership experience.

• Preference will be given to candidates who have district-level, human resources experience.

• New York State School District Administrator or School District Leader certificate

• Ability to supervise, direct, and evaluate staff effectively;

• Knowledge of applicable federal and state laws and regulations in human resources;

• Commitment to the mission of an urban public school system focused on providing equitable opportunities and outcomes for all students;

• Training and/or experience with Culturally Relevant Education preferred;

• Experience managing others in achieving common goals including supervisory and evaluative experience, in an educational environment;

• Record of recruitment, with a focus on diversity recruitment and retention preferred;

• This position is a supervisory Superintendent’s appointment. As such, it is not a probationary appointment and may be terminated at any time. The selected candidate will knowingly waive rights under New York Education Law or Civil Service Law to a permanent appointment or to Section 75 rights under Civil Service Law. Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of the district’s hiring requirements, including fingerprinting clearances.

SALARY $174,338-$185,360 (2026-2027)

• Competitive salary and benefits. Refer to the District’s Unit 3 Benefits Handbook for Unrepresented Administrators.