Chief Human Resource Officer

Job Title: Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO)

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Location: On-site, In Person 5 days a week, primarily M-F (250 Turnpike Street, Canton MA)

School Type: Private, Nonprofit Special Education School

About The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC)

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) is a Residential Educational School and Adult Services Provider which is highly structured, innovative, and employs a consistent behavioral approach to education and treatment.

Since 1971, JRC has provided very effective education and treatment to both emotionally disturbed students and clients with conduct, behavior, emotional, and/or psychiatric problems, as well as those with intellectual disabilities, or on the autism spectrum. JRC has an open admissions policy throughout the year. Any person or agency may refer applicants.

Students are typically funded by public school districts and various state agencies.

Some of our Special Features include: success educating the difficult-to-serve student, near-zero rejection/expulsion policy, highly structured education and treatment programs based on Applied Behavior Analysis, minimization of psychotropic medication, reward systems of unparalleled variety and extent, positive programming, effective treatment procedures, 24-hour video monitoring, behavioral counseling, open visiting policy, website for parents and agencies.

Position Summary

This position represents the first Chief Human Resources Officer role for the school and presents a unique and exciting opportunity for a senior HR leader who embraces change management, values operational excellence, and is motivated to build upon existing talent to elevate the HR function in support of a large, complex workforce.

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center employs approximately 1,200 staff members across a diverse range of functions, including direct care, education, clinical and medical services, administration, leadership, supervision, residential services, and property management.

The Human Resources Department is comprised of (11) eleven full-time professionals, including long-tenured team members with deep institutional knowledge, some with more than 20 years of experience at the school.

The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is a senior executive leader responsible for building, sustaining, and advancing a mission-aligned, high-performing workforce that supports exceptional outcomes for students with diverse learning, behavioral, and developmental needs.

The CHRO oversees all aspects of human resources strategy and operations, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations while fostering a culture of professionalism, accountability, professional growth, and staff well-being.

As a strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer and the leadership team, the CHRO aligns people systems with school goals, supports talent development across instructional and non-instructional roles, and ensures the school attracts, retains, and develops skilled professionals committed to special education excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership, Strategy & Organizational Effectiveness

• Serve as a trusted executive advisor to the Chief Executive Officer and senior leadership team on enterprise-wide people strategy, workforce planning, organizational design and effectiveness.
• Build and foster a culture of excellence and evolution to enhance the employee experience and productivity through partnership with operations and alignment with the school strategy.
• Translate the school’s mission, strategic priorities, and operational needs into scalable human capital strategies that support long-term sustainability, workforce stability, and service excellence.
• Lead and mature the Human Resources function as a strategic business partner, establishing clear governance, accountability, and performance expectations.
• Provide leadership on change management initiatives, organizational growth, and workforce transformation, particularly as this inaugural CHRO role shapes the future of HR at the school.
• Establish, monitor, and report on key workforce metrics and trends (e.g., turnover, retention, time-to-fill, workforce readiness, absenteeism) to inform executive and organizational decision-making.
• Provide workforce insights, risk assessments, and talent updates to executive leadership and, as appropriate, the Board of Directors.

Talent Strategy, Workforce Planning & Staffing Operations

• Set and execute comprehensive talent acquisition and workforce planning strategies across direct care, instructional, clinical, residential, administrative, operational, property management, and leadership roles.
• Oversee end-to-end recruitment, selection, and onboarding systems to ensure consistent, compliant, and mission-aligned hiring practices.
• Partner with executive and operational leaders to forecast staffing needs, manage workforce capacity, and proactively address staffing shortages and hard-to-fill roles.
• Ensure staffing models align with licensure, credentialing, regulatory requirements, and 24/7 operational needs.
• Oversee employer branding and talent market positioning, ensuring employment messaging accurately reflects the school’s mission, expectations, and work environment.

Employee Relations, Labor Strategy & Performance Management

• Provide executive oversight of employee relations strategy, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant practices across the school.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex employee relations matters, investigations, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
• Advise and coach senior leaders and managers on performance management, corrective action, documentation, and risk mitigation.
• Oversee performance management frameworks that promote accountability, role clarity, professional growth, and organizational effectiveness.
• Lead labor relations strategy and engagement with employee representatives, as applicable.
• Serve as a confidential advisor to the CEO and leadership team on sensitive workforce matters, ethics, and employment risk.

Learning, Leadership Development & Succession Planning

• Establish and oversee enterprise/school-wide professional development strategies for educators, clinicians, supervisors, and operational staff.
• Ensure training programs support regulatory compliance, workforce readiness, and evolving student and program needs.
• Lead leadership development initiatives and succession planning for key leadership and hard-to-replace roles to ensure continuity and organizational resilience.
• Partner with academic, clinical, and operational leadership to align learning investments with organizational priorities.

Compliance, Governance, Risk & Workforce Continuity

• Ensure full compliance with all federal, state, and local employment laws, regulations, and reporting requirements, including those specific to education, healthcare, residential, and nonprofit environments.
• Oversee HR governance, policy development, internal controls, and documentation to mitigate organizational and workforce risk.
• Ensure compliance related to licensure, credentialing, background checks, mandatory training, and workforce eligibility.
• Serve as the primary HR liaison to legal counsel, auditors, insurers, and regulatory agencies.
• Provide executive oversight of workers’ compensation, employee accommodations, and leave administration, ensuring compliant, timely, and consistent processes that balance employee needs, operational continuity, and organizational risk, partner with legal counsel, insurers, and external administrators as appropriate.
• Monitor emerging employment legislation and proactively advise leadership on organizational impact.
• Partner with executive leadership to support workforce continuity planning, emergency preparedness, and response to workforce-related crises or operational disruptions.

Total Rewards, HR Operations & Systems

• Develop and oversee the school’s compensation philosophy, pay structures, and benefits programs in alignment with nonprofit best practices, market competitiveness, and internal equity.
• Advise the CEO on executive compensation structures, leadership retention strategies, and performance evaluation processes for senior leadership.
• Provide executive oversight of HR operations, including HRIS (Paycom), payroll coordination, benefits administration, personnel records, and reporting.
• Ensure HR systems, data integrity, and analytics support operational efficiency, compliance, and informed decision-making. Incorporate AI into the culture and process through collaboration and alignment of the workforce.
• Lead HR budgeting, vendor management, and continuous improvement of HR processes and service delivery.

Human Resources Leadership & Department Management

• Manage, source, hire, lead, develop, and mentor the Human Resources team and staff, balancing deep institutional knowledge with modern HR practices.
• Set clear expectations, priorities, and accountability across the HR function.
• Build HR’s credibility as a proactive, responsive, and solutions-oriented partner to leadership and the broader workforce.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, Education, or a related field; advanced degree preferred but not required.
• 8 years or more of progressive human resources experience, including senior-level leadership responsibility in complex, multi-unit or decentralized environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing an HR team, including managing through other leaders and balancing long-tenured staff with evolving organizational needs.
• Proven experience supporting large, diverse workforces in regulated environments such as nonprofit, education, healthcare, behavioral health, residential services, or human services.
• Experience with implementation and optimization of an HRIS, Paycom a plus.
• Deep working knowledge of employment law, compliance, labor relations, and HR governance, including risk mitigation and executive counsel.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, exercising sound judgment, discretion, and confidentiality in sensitive matters.
• Experience leading change management, organizational transformation, or functional modernization initiatives.
• Professional HR certification such as SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or equivalent strongly preferred.

Core Competencies

• Mission-driven leadership
• Strategic thinking and execution
• Collaborative leadership and communication
• High ethical standards and confidentiality
• Understanding of complex, regulated workforce environments

Work environment

Work is primarily performed in a professional office and school-based environment, with regular presence across educational, residential, and administrative settings. The role operates within a multi-site, year-round organization, including educational, residential, and administrative environments, and must be responsive to time-sensitive workforce matters as they arise.

Occasional evening or weekend work may be required to support organizational needs, meetings, or emergent workforce issues.

Physical requirements

The position requires the ability to move throughout school buildings and campus environments, attend in-person meetings, and engage with staff in various work settings. Duties are largely sedentary and involve extended periods of sitting, standing, and walking, as well as regular use of standard office equipment such as computers and phones.

The role may involve exposure to active school or residential settings, including noise and movement typical of such environments. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

Supervisory requirements

The Chief Human Resources Officer provides executive leadership to the Human Resources function and is responsible for hiring, managing, mentoring, and developing a team of eleven (11) full-time HR professionals. This role establishes strategic direction, sets performance expectations, ensures accountability, and builds HR capability to effectively support a complex, multi-disciplinary workforce.

Commitment to equal opportunity

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. Applications are encouraged from candidates who share a commitment to supporting students and adults with special needs.

EEO, including Vets and Disabilities