Director, Substitute & Seasonal Staffing

The School District of Philadelphia; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 91,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

The School District of Philadelphia in Philadelphia is seeking a Director of Substitute and Seasonal Staffing to lead the district's substitute workforce and summer staffing programs. You will develop recruitment, selection, placement, and deployment strategies across teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other staff groups to ensure coverage.

As a senior HR leader, you will oversee annual summer staffing, establish pools, monitor utilization, and partner with offices to align

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Human Resources, Business Administration, Education, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Seven years of full-time, paid, professional human resources, talent acquisition, staffing, workforce planning, school district administration, or a related field, with at least three in an administrative or supervisory capacity.
• Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the District's substitute staffing across assigned employee classifications.
• Develop and implement strategies to recruit, onboard, deploy, and retain a qualified substitute workforce.
• Oversee substitute staffing for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other employee groups as assigned.
• Establish processes for long-term substitute assignments and other extended coverage needs per bargaining agreements and policies.

Skills

High-volume recruitment

Staffing forecasting

Project management

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

HRIS

Applicant tracking systems

Payroll systems

Job description

Title: Director, Substitute & Seasonal Staffing

Department: Office of Talent

Union: Not Represented By a Union

Salary Range: $91,317 - $143,730

The School District of Philadelphia is committed to becoming the fastest improving District in the country and transforming the educational opportunities it offers to our city's more than 198,000 students. The District seeks leaders who have a passion for working with schools and communities who are committed to ensuring all students achieve. Serving a population as diverse as ours requires creativity, commitment and vision. Will you join us?

Job Summary

The Director of Substitute and Seasonal Staffing provides strategic and operational leadership for the School District of Philadelphia's substitute workforce and seasonal staffing programs, including the comprehensive planning, recruitment, selection, placement, and deployment of staff required to support summer programming. Ensures that schools and offices have access to a qualified, appropriately credentialed, and responsive substitute workforce across multiple employee groups, including teachers, school leaders and administrators, paraprofessionals, and other classifications as assigned. Develops strategies to maintain adequate substitute pools, monitors daily and long-term staffing needs, analyzes utilization and vacancy trends, and partners with school and District leaders to address emerging workforce needs. Leads the District's annual summer staffing operation. This includes developing and executing a comprehensive staffing plan in partnership with Academic Services, Student Support Services, Special Education, Operations, Payroll, Budget and Management Services, and other offices responsible for summer programs. The Director ensures that summer positions are identified, posted, filled, processed, and ready for employees to begin work according to established program timelines. Leads the T-IV process and T-IV committee and ensures that postings are reviewed by the unions prior to the opportunity being advertised. Serves as the Office of Talent's subject matter expert for substitute and seasonal staffing and is responsible for developing scalable systems, processes, and service standards that ensure continuity of instruction and operations throughout the year

Essential Functions

• Provides strategic leadership and day-to-day oversight of the District's substitute staffing program across assigned employee classifications.
• Develops and implements comprehensive strategies to recruit, select, onboard, deploy, and retain a qualified substitute workforce.
• Oversees substitute staffing for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other employee groups as assigned.
• Establishes appropriate substitute pool targets based on historical utilization, employee absences, vacancies, leave trends, school needs, and anticipated workforce demand.
• Monitors substitute fill rates and identifies schools, positions, and geographic areas experiencing persistent coverage challenge.
• Develops targeted interventions to improve substitute availability and fill rates.
• Establishes processes for long-term substitute assignments and other extended coverage needs in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements, District policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Partners with school leaders and Talent staff to respond to urgent and emerging staffing needs.
• Develops strategies to reduce reliance on emergency staffing solutions and improve continuity of instruction and services.
• Leads the District's comprehensive annual summer staffing process from workforce planning through employee placement and payroll readiness Increases employee engagement and foster collaboration.
• Develops an annual summer staffing project plan with clearly established milestones, responsibilities, deadlines, and escalation protocols.
• Partners with District offices to identify anticipated summer programs, staffing models, position requirements, work locations, schedules, and projected staffing need.
• Coordinates the creation and posting of summer employment opportunities.
• Oversees application, eligibility, selection, placement, and notification processes for summer employees.
• Establishes centralized tracking mechanisms to monitor staffing progress across all summer programs
• Ensures employees meet applicable certification, clearance, qualification, and employment requirements before beginning assignments.
• Partners with Payroll, Budget and Management Services, HRIS, and program offices to ensure assignments, compensation, funding, and employee records are accurately established before programs begin.
• Leads troubleshooting and escalation of summer staffing issues.
• Conducts a post-summer review to evaluate staffing outcomes, identify operational challenges, and recommend improvements for the following year.
• Develops year-round recruitment strategies to maintain robust substitute talent pipelines.

Develops targeted recruitment strategies for hard-to-fill subjects, certifications, employee classifications, and geographic areas.

• Collaborates with the Talent Acquisition team on recruitment marketing, hiring events, referral strategies, and candidate engagement.
• Develops strategies to convert high-performing substitutes into permanent District employees when appropriate.
• Establishes and monitors key performance indicators for substitute and seasonal staffing, including fill rates, pool size, utilization, time-to-fill, candidate conversion, assignment acceptance, and school-level staffing trends.
• Uses workforce data to forecast staffing demand and recommend changes to recruitment and deployment strategies.
• Develops dashboards and regular reports for Talent and District leadership.
• Ensures substitute and seasonal staffing transactions are accurately reflected in applicable HR'S, applicant tracking, absence management, and payroll systems.
• Leads the T„IV Committee weekly meetings; follows up with the unions and offices requesting the T-IV and resolves concerns in a timely manner; works with Recruitment for the posting of positions for summer programs and throughout the year.
• Partners with the Director of Talent Support Services to identify system improvements, data-quality concerns, automation opportunities, and process efficiencies.
• Conducts regular audits to ensure staffing records are complete and accurate.
• Establishes clear service standards for substitute and seasonal staffing.
• Serves as a primary escalation point for complex substitute and summer staffing concerns. Develops clear communications, guidance, timelines, and resources for principals, hiring managers, program leaders, employees, and candidates.
• Builds strong partnerships with Academic Services, Special Education, Student Support Services, Operations, Payroll, Budget and Management Services, Information Technology, Employee and Labor Relations, Certification, and other offices necessary to successfully execute substitute and seasonal staffing.
• Ensures school leaders receive timely information regarding substitute availability, staffing processes, and available supports.
• Supervises assigned professional and support staff responsible for substitute and seasonal staffing.
• Establishes performance expectations and ensures accountability for service delivery and operational outcome.
• Develops standard operating procedures, calendars, workflows, and escalation protocols.
• Manages assigned budgets, contracts, vendors, and resources.
• Provides regular updates to the Deputy Chief of Talent Acquisition and Chief Talent Officer regarding staffing trends, risks, and recommended actions.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Human Resources, Business Administration, Education, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Seven years of full-time, paid, professional, progressively responsible human resources, talent acquisition, staffing, workforce planning, school district administration, or a related field. at least three of which have been in an administrative or supervisory capacity.
• Master's degree preferred.

OR

• Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Human Resources, Business Administration, Education, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Five years of full-time, paid, professional, progressively responsible human resources, talent acquisition, staffing, workforce planning, school district administration, or a related field. at least three of which have been in an administrative or supervisory capacity.

Demonstrated Knowledge Of

Knowledqe. Skills and Abilities

• high-volume recruitment and staffing practice. workforce planning and staffing forecasting. substitute and contingent workforce management.
• applicant tracking and Human Resources Information Systems. public education staffing practices and certification requirements.
• collective bargaining agreements and their impact on staffing and employee assignments.
• project and program management.
• data analysis and performance measurement. supervisory methods and techniques.

Demonstrated Ability To

• lead complex, high-volume staffing operations involving multiple employee groups and stakeholders.
• develop and execute comprehensive staffing plans against firm operational deadlines.
• analyze workforce data and translate findings into staffing strategies.
• build collaborative relationships with school leaders, executive leadership, unions, employees, and external partners.
• develop scalable processes and continuously improve operational systems.
• exercise sound judgment and appropriately escalated operational and compliance risks.
• lead teams in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment while maintaining a strong focus on accuracy, accountability, and customer experience. communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Nondiscrimination

The School District of Philadelphia provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, disability, pregnancy, marital status, gender identity, or genetic information. Please refer to Board Policy 348 for further information regarding the District's commitment to Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices.

Primary Location

Talent Operations (940F)

Job

Central Office

Schedule

Regular

Job Posting

Sep 16, 2026, 1:44:06 PM

Union Affiliation

Not represented by a union

Overtime Status

Exempt

Unposting Date

Oct 16, 2026, 11:59:00 PM