Chief People Officer
KIPP Colorado Schools (KIPP CO)
Full-time
Department: Regional Support and Leadership
Start Date: Immediate opening
About KIPP: Together with families and communities, KIPP creates joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. KIPP is a national network of tuition-free, public charter schools open to all students.
There are 255 college-preparatory KIPP schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 100,000 students. Nationally, KIPP students are graduating from four-year colleges at three times the national average for low-income students.
Who we are: KIPP Colorado Schools (KIPP CO) is a network of six high-performing, college-preparatory public charter schools. Our 300-person staff educates 2,500 students in grades 9-12 at KIPP Denver Collegiate High School and KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy, grades 5-8 at KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy and KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School, and grades Early Childhood Education (ECE)-4 through 4th grade at KIPP Northeast
Elementary. In 2019, KIPP Sunshine Peak Elementary became our newest elementary school educating students from ECE-3 through 4th grade. Our alumni community is supported by KIPP Forward, which is our comprehensive support program for our 808 high school alumni who are charting their own paths. Learn more about our student and family experience here.
What we do: We believe in the unique gifts and brilliance of every student. We believe in setting a high bar for joy and academic excellence to ensure the infinite possibilities our students have before them become a reality. We aspire to create and reinforce a culture of achievement, belonging and support. We know that every student is different and we personalize learning based on a student's needs, skills, and interests.
About the CEO: Tomi Amos joined the KIPP CO team in July 2020. Prior to becoming KIPP Colorado Public School’s Chief Executive Officer, Tomi spent nearly ten years in education leadership positions with a previous career in law and policy. In less than a year, Tomi has built a reputation on the KIPP Colorado team as a visionary, strategic thinker, and highly relational leader. She values collaboration and bringing members of the KIPP Team and Family into decision-making processes.
About the Executive Leadership Team: Tomi is the leader of the Executive Leadership Team, which is composed of the following individuals: Chief Executive Officer; Chief of Staff; Chief Operating Officer; Chief Academic Officer; Chief People Officer; and the Managing Director, External Affairs. As the talent and people expert in the organization, Tomi and the team will look to the CPO to build strong people practices at KIPP Colorado, aligned to the needs of students, staff, and families.
About the opportunity:
The Chief People Officer (CPO) will be an experienced leader of people and talent systems, leading the talent team and overseeing all people systems, supporting KIPP Colorado Public Schools (KIPP CO) to be a premier organization for talent, through all aspects of the employee life cycle. The CPO will be a thought partner to the CEO and the five-person Executive Leadership Team on topics related to people. They will also partner closely with KIPP CO’s Board and school principals.
As the first Chief People Officer, this leader will have the unique opportunity to set people strategy for KIPP CO’s network of schools and central team and to design and build new systems and enhance existing systems to center diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in the organization’s people work. This role is responsible for contributing to KIPP CO’s long-term vision and priorities by supporting the development of a 5-year strategic plan, especially the people elements of that plan. The CPO oversees recruitment and talent acquisition; employee life cycle; compensation, benefits; organizational design; human resources, compliance, and risk management functions. Reporting to the CEO, the CPO serves as the crucial voice for people and talent on the executive team. BIPOC candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
More specifically, the CPO is charged with the following key responsibilities: Set a vision and strategy for talent at KIPP CO:
Strategic planning: Grounded in the KIPP network’s 2025 plan and commitment to racial justice, support and contribute to KIPP Colorado’s multi-year strategic planning process with a particular lens for talent and people strategy.
Talent Strategy and Planning: Aligned to KIPP CO’s 2025 plan, build annual and long-term KIPP Colorado human capital strategy and implementation plans that include the entire employee life cycle.
People Capacity and Systems: Ensure the region has the capacity, people systems, and support to achieve annual and long-term talent vision and goals, including through organizational design and resource allocation.
People Data: Ensure people systems and strategy is informed by data (qualitative and quantitative) including stakeholder feedback and performance metrics; implement strong data systems to support reporting, risk management, and decision-making. Ensures people data informs executive and leadership team decisions.
Design and build structures to support talent:
Organizational design: Establish org structures and staffing models aligned to organizational vision, goals, and purpose. Maintain clear, transparent, and strategy-aligned organizational structure and staffing plans annually.
Role and team design: In partnership with other chiefs, design roles, management, and team structures.
People management: Support and grow KIPP Colorado’s people managers to navigate adaptive management challenges; serve as a thought partner and provide oversight as needed on sensitive personnel issues.
Employee life-cycle: Ensures equitable design and implementation of all aspects of the employee life cycle.
Oversee and lead key talent functions:
Talent acquisition: Oversee systems to attract and hire strong talent that will thrive at KIPP CO and support the organization to achieve its goals.
Retention and development: Oversee all systems relating to retention, development (in partnership with content leads), promotion, pathways, and exits for KIPP CO staff; ensure that key junctures in employee experience are aligned to organizational values and priorities.
Compensation and benefits: Oversee the design and administration of all financial and non-financial incentives, including annual benchmarking, compensation analysis as necessary, and equity reviews.
Performance management: Build and maintain an equitable and high-quality performance management system for all KIPP Colorado staff members, including training on the system and overseeing implementation.
Human resources: Oversee the design and administration of human resources policies, employee relations, compliance, and risk management functions.
Lead talent teams:
People Department leadership: Build and support a strong, aligned, and healthy People Department, including supporting talent teams to achieve goals, aligned to human resources and recruitment scorecards and annual/strategic goals.
Recruitment and talent acquisition: Oversees and supports the Recruitment team and ensures that KIPP CO is able to attract and hire the top candidates for all roles, meeting ambitious annual and role-specific talent acquisition goals.
Human resources: Oversees and supports the HR team, ensuring strong employee experience, including onboarding and offboarding, policy design and implementation, and employee relations.
Policy, compliance, and risk management: Ensures organization, leaders, and staff are operating in compliance with ethical, legal, and compliance guidelines. Stays abreast of relevant laws and policy changes that impact labor and people systems and practices.
Support regional effectiveness and communications
Board of Directors: Serve as a critical steward of the KIPP Colorado Board of Directors.
Local and regional leadership: Participate in and contribute to KIPP national network and local charter network of talent, strategy, and leadership staff, accessing and sharing learning and support with peers in other organizations.
Executive Team career progression: Support executives to develop career pathways and succession plans for themselves and for all roles in KIPP Colorado
About the successful candidate:
KIPP CO seeks a CPO with demonstrated experience leading talent systems in structures in education, including building new systems and transforming organizations. An ideal candidate will be able to design people strategy for a mid-sized and diverse organization and create talent systems grounded in data, and lead effective people practices across KIPP Colorado schools, regional departments, the Regional Leadership Team, and the Board of Directors. The new CPO will be the talent expert at KIPP CO, championing talent strategies and practices that ultimately impact students, families, and communities. BIPOC candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Key Experiences include:
Minimum of 10 years of progressive work experience with 3 or more years of experience leading talent systems and an organizational level.
Demonstrated leadership in championing diversity, equity, inclusivity, and anti-racism at an education organization, including leading change efforts in DEI or anti-racism.
Strong experience in start-up, turnaround, transformation, and entrepreneurial environments; comfort and facility redesigning or launching new systems.
Excellent relationship builder with demonstrated experience managing diverse stakeholders, leading and managing change, and promoting strong collaboration across teams in service of the relentless pursuit of improvement and driving results through collective achievement.
Prior experience exhibiting exceptional use of judgment, as well as strategic thinking and analytical skills to solve complex problems and implement solutions
Record of results managing both the big picture and the details.
Deep understanding and experience supporting all stages of the employee life cycle, supporting talent systems to impact organizational performance, and creating a continuum of support.
Experience navigating complex legal, political, and community issues, including building and nurturing an inspiring and affirming culture within and across teams.
A hands-on approach to talent functions and experience creating and implementing top-notch systems, operations, and processes.
Experience interpreting and implementing talent practices and policies, and making personnel decisions in compliance with personnel and labor law.
Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing priorities; ability to multi-task and work in a fast-paced, demanding environment.
Experience as a team and people manager who can motivate, mentor, and build a high-performing team.
Key Attributes Include:
Strong commitment to the belief that all students can learn and to the mission of anti-racist, educational equity—required.
Thrives in an entrepreneurial environment; willing to learn and take on new responsibilities; comfortable with ambiguity; ability to balance urgency and the pace of change management, as needed.
High self-awareness, humility, and integrity; personally driven to be self-reflective, learn and grow; values enabling others to succeed.
Builds relationships marked by respect, trust, and integrity.
Has a strong equity lens when making resource allocation decisions.
Strong team player with excellent customer service orientation; ability to communicate, influence and build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups with self-confidence and initiative; ability to clearly communicate, teach and present to all levels of the organization and Board members.
Strong experience in facilitating, meetings, training, and professional development.
Education: Bachelor’s degree required & master’s degree strongly preferred (MBA or related field).
Travel: Travel within Denver to KIPP CO's network of schools.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary range is 123,000 -150,000 and is commensurate with experience.
Benefits package including medical, dental, and vision
Employee Assistance Program
Participation in PERA
Paid family or medical leave of absence
Paid time off
Relocation reimbursement (when applicable)
Stipend opportunities
Wellness reimbursement
Voluntary employee, spousal, and child life insurance
Voluntary long term disability insurance
Voluntary short term disability insurance
Optional 401(k)
Optional Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
All staff members are issued a laptop computer and cell phone.
Numerous professional growth and leadership opportunities within KIPP Colorado Schools.
KIPP Colorado Schools is dedicated to equal employment opportunities and fair labor practices. KIPP Colorado Schools, KIPP Denver Collegiate High School, KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School, KIPP Northeast Elementary, KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy, KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy, and KIPP Sunshine Peak Elementary provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on job-related qualifications, and the ability to perform a job without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religious creed, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, legally protected medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, or on any other basis made unlawful by federal, state or local laws. It is our policy to maintain a non-discriminatory environment free from intimidation, harassment or bias based upon these grounds.