About Ascend

Ascend is a network of high-performing public charter schools serving students across Brooklyn. Our mission is to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have access to an education that empowers them to unlock their full potential, achieve academic excellence, and pursue a future of boundless opportunity. We cultivate rigorous learning environments where students develop critical thinking skills, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning.

At Ascend, educational equity is a driving force. We are committed to closing the achievement gap by delivering high-quality instruction, fostering a culture of high expectations, and equipping every student with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in college and beyond. Through this unwavering commitment, we prepare students not only to succeed academically but to seize every opportunity that lies ahead.

About the Role

The HR & People Operations Manager leads strategic people initiatives across Ascend's charter school network, focusing on three key areas: employee retention and experience, performance management and development, and onboarding with data management. This role involves designing comprehensive retention programs including 30-60-90 day check-ins for new hires, conducting stay interviews, and creating data-driven dashboards to track key HR metrics like turnover rates, time-to-fill positions, and performance review completion rates. The manager will drive the annual performance review cycle to achieve completion while implementing automated systems and processes to streamline HR operations. Requiring a bachelor's degree and three years of HR experience, this position demands strong analytical skills, technical expertise in benefits and leave administration, and the ability to build trusting relationships across all organizational levels while supporting Ascend's mission of educational equity.

Responsibilities, including, but not limited to:

The human resource manager is directly responsible for the overall administration, coordination, and evaluation of the human resource function. He or she develops and administers key human resources elements for Ascend’s employees. The human resource manager will:

Retention & Employee Experience

• Design and implement 30-60-90 day check-in program for new hires
• Conduct stay interviews at 75-day mark to identify retention risks
• Create and maintain retention dashboards by department and tenure
• Implement structured career pathing programs
• Analyze turnover patterns and present quarterly retention strategies
• Strengthen Ascend culture and engagement in schools through partnerships/programs - shared values, collective personality and DEIA initiatives.
• Use metrics to measure onboarding experience e.g rate/percentage onboarded per NHO, time to onboard, response time, total per month/year, headcount % onboarded per year/per school.
• Align budgets, onboarding cost, cost per hire.
• Assess automation of processes.
• Align values of the onboarding experience from pre-start to 1st week.
• Skills gap development analysis.
• Manage/implement HR audits
• Onsite visits

Performance Management & Development

• Drive the annual performance review cycle to ensure 98% completion rate
• Create and maintain performance review tracking systems
• Implement automated reminder systems for review completion

Onboarding and Data Management

• Generate weekly reports on onboarding metrics for leadership review
• Implement automated reminders and escalation protocols for incomplete onboarding tasks
• Create and maintain digital onboarding dashboards to track completion rates and identify bottlenecks
• Conduct regular data audits to ensure accuracy across all HR systems
• Maintain data privacy and security protocols for HR information
• Create and document data management procedures
• Train new HR team members on data entry protocols and system usage
• Generate ad-hoc reports and analysis for leadership decision-making
• Develop and maintain People Team dashboards tracking key metrics including:
• Headcount and FTE tracking
• Turnover and retention rates
• Time-to-fill for open positions
• Cost-per-hire metrics
• Training completion rates
• Performance review completion rates

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and three years of relevant human resource experience
• Strong technical understanding of employee benefits and leave
• Entrepreneurial mindset; committed to preserving a bold, can-do culture that sustains the organization’s values of integrity, curiosity, community, empowerment, growth, daring, and excellence
• Unimpeachable personal credibility
• A steward of ethical behavior who actively supports a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming workplace culture
• Ability to align with Ascend’s educational and workplace philosophies
• A demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships and influence at all levels of the organization without direct authority
• Ability to analyze complex, sometimes ambiguous information and acquire data from multiple sources when solving problems
• Impeccable written, verbal, and presentation skills, with sharp attention to detail
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment under tight deadlines, navigating systems and an emerging organization of scale and complexity
• Strong organizational, project management, and process-building skills
• HR professional certification(s) preferred

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $70,000 - $85,000. Several factors such as candidate's work experience, education/training, job-related skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and business considerations may influence base pay offered. This salary range is reflective of a position based in New York City.

This is a full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching
• Generous paid time off and additional employee benefits

Location & Work Arrangement

• Based in our Brooklyn, NY office
• Hybrid work schedule requiring in-office presence at least three days per week
• Occasional professional conference travel

In-person work expectations include network office time, stakeholder meetings, school visits, special events, and other role-specific responsibilities as determined by management.