Staffing Specialist, Office of Student Health & Wellness

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 40,000 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 Office of Student Health and Wellness (OSHW) aims to eliminate health-related barriers to learning and advance health equity in Chicago. CPS is committed to addressing barriers to student health and wellness and providing education, programs, and activities that help improve the quality of life for students attending our schools as well as strive to decrease health disparities within the district through the coordination of school health programs and student health services.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Staffing Manager the Staffing Specialist will serve as the systems and services point of contact for recruiting, hiring, and onboarding employees across OSHW. This role provides excellent internal and external customer service by consulting with hiring teams and responding to queries about requisitions, onboarding, and employment opportunities at the OSHW. This position is directly responsible for building talent pipelines and onboarding to better meet the needs of OSHW school-based and non-school-based roles. The Staffing Specialistreports to the OSHW Staffing Manager, with the primary objective of developing and managing candidate pools to ensure full staffing of critical shortage areas and continuous support of nurses. This work is especially important, as we've publicly committed to adding at least 250 additional full-time nurse positions over the next five years, so every CPS school has access to full-time, stable nursing services.

The Staffing Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Proactively utilize sourcing techniques (including direct sourcing, internet data mining, search engines, networking, university and organization partnerships, employee referrals, and other recruiting tactics) that attract candidates to ensure Related Service Provider staffing levels of 98% or better.
• Support the full life cycle recruitment process including job posting, screening, in-person interviewing, connecting hiring managers with candidates, and supporting hiring and staffing year-round, with a special emphasis on early hiring (spring/summer) in accordance with Talent Office policies and procedures.
• Introduce candidates to CPS through classroom visits, school tours, and recruitment events (including career fairs) to engage more candidates in our hiring pipelines
• Plan and execute program events and professional development in partnership with the Staffing Manager, including securing vendors, venues, and materials and managing technology for effective presentation.
• Collaborate across teams (E.g., Talent, Budgete) to support candidates and program partners professionally with high-level customer service.
• Support talent acquisition by collaborating with hiring teams to develop and execute recruiting plans to source, assess, and select top talent for open positions.
• Collaborate with hiring managers to develop and update job descriptions, advertise opportunities, and monitor open requisitions.
• Contribute to organizational engagement, diversity and inclusion, and recruiting goals by implementing strategies, preparing and supplying metrics, coordinating and participating in work groups, and assisting with event planning and execution.
• Develop and maintain procedural documentation, policies, presentations, forms, training content, and other organizational resources.
• Oversee pre-employment and onboarding by coordinating offer letters, administering paperwork, background checks, and other required prerequisites.
• Conduct onboarding meetings for new and returning employees.
• Manage applicant data in internal OSHW applicant tracking systems.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Staffing Specialist must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• High school diploma or GED equivalent
• Bachelor's Degree preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of related professional work experience, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in large-scale staff training and development efforts
• Minimum of two (2) years of nursing or health professions recruitment experience
• Experience in education, public or community health environments preferred
• Experience in project management concepts, practices, and procedures
• Experience developing and implementing health-related training
• Experience with a healing-centered approach to learning is preferred
• Experience interacting with leaders/executives preferred
• Experience managing vendor/consultant resources preferred
• Working knowledge of Taleo Recruiting System and PeopleSoft HRMS preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to handle confidential information in an appropriate, professional, and respectful manner.
• Ability to read, interpret, and explain documents such as policies, payroll procedures, and safety materials.
• Ability to draft and present training materials.
• Understanding of marginalized communities and the factors that affect health disparities in Chicago.
• Knowledge of best practices in adult training and development.
• Exceptional writing, verbal, and interpersonal skills, including public speaking.
• Keen project management and analytical skills, and attention to detail.
• Ability to thrive when putting together the many pieces of a training series.
• Have a desire to help people learn and develop new skills.
• Ability to think "big picture" as well as to translate ideas into realistic, actionable plans.
• Ability to handle and respond to competing priorities.
• Ability to synthesize and apply information for different audiences.
• Ability to collaborate with other departments, with a high level of personal investment in contributing to the priorities of the Chicago Public Schools as a whole.
• Expertise and adeptness in meeting facilitation.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, and be highly organized and flexible.
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a project team.

Additional Requirements:

• Evening, weekend, and overnight work (E.g., recruiting trips) is required as needed

Conditions of Employment:

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• 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.