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Saturday, December 6, 2014

FACES: NYC DOE Human Resources Director Felicia Ramirez

Felicia Ramirez
 Summary

Human Resources Director with over 10 years of comprehensive human resources experience including recruitment, retention, conflict resolution, change management, employee relations, and human resources systems. Proven experience collaborating with senior management to conduct Human Resources strategic planning in order to support and further organization goals. 

I am currently looking to make the move from public back to private organization with the eagerness to create strong partnerships across the lines.

Experience




July 2011 – Present (3 years 6 months)New York, NY

Rejoined the Department of Education as a HR Director for the Children First Network supporting Principals and other school official/ staff. Primarily focused on establishing and communicating HR policies/procedures, resolving on-going employment matters, participating in recruitment events and providing strategic coaching regarding the alignment of human resources to student achievement/instructional goals. 

• Recruitment – With specific focus on time-sensitive classroom positions, provided principals with highly qualified candidates in 2011, 2012, 2013 by establishing relationships with central office staff and education focused colleges. Ensured candidates moved through the hiring process efficiently and with constant follow-up.
 

• Training – Identified professional development opportunities in human resources areas such as a payroll or HR systems needs for the principals support staff. Designed and delivered training in the HR areas of needs for school based professionals.
 

• Employee Relations – Proactively engaged with school officials to deliver guidance and counseling on a variety of NYCDOE employee relations issues. Partnered with legal counsel to ensure successful resolution of complex employment matters.

• Organizational Change – Serves as an advocate for schools, engaging CFN Leadership and Central HR in human resources policy changes resulting in direct compliance increasing the human resources capacity of the school.
Allen School of Health SciencesAllen School



June 2010 – June 2011 (1 year 1 month)

Entered an organization undergoing rapid expansion as the first ever HR Director; lacking in organizational effectiveness, with no established HR practices, built HR department from the ground up to implement HR standards and compliance, revamped employee handbook, policies and procedures, job descriptions and introduced a performance management system.

• Recruitment – Restructured recruiting efforts for multiple locations across the country through the creation of an interview guide, applicant guide and recommended channels for candidate recruitment; integrated to intranet for easy accessibility by all directors which streamlined the process and saved 30% in recruiting costs.

• Change Management – Participated in the selection of third-party outsourcing partner and worked with managers to communicate decision to displaced employees. Partnered with department throughout transition period to ensure proper hand-off of responsibilities while also paying close attention to employee morale issues.

• Benefits Upgrade- Reduced overall company benefit costs by 11% after researching and implementing plan and tier changes; made recommendations that were accepted, to initiate a 100% employer paid benefit plan for a final savings of 8%. Included in this expansion of services were Domestic Partner benefits and an Employee Assistance Program that included dependents of domestic partners as well.

• Performance Appraisal / Review – Oversaw execution of the full-cycle annual review process. Organized and attended committee meetings where employee performance appraisals were presented to executive level management for content and merit increase approval.

•• Training – Developed employee relations and legal training for non-exempt employees, and created a management training series to assist newly promoted managers in delegation, coaching, and developing their own talent.

NYC Department of Education



September 2005 – June 2010 (4 years 10 months)Brooklyn, New York

Joined the NYC Department of Education as part of a new business initiative under the Bloomberg Administration. Partnered with Principals to administer Human Resources to teachers, support and administrative staff. Communicated policy changes and assisted schools with reaching compliance for Central and State departments. Counseled principals on staff performance and personnel issues, managed school vacancies through planning and recruitment with principals. Managed a 20+ FT and PT staff of certification and licensing specialists to assist the instructional community with their certification needs. 

• Project Management-Oversaw the implementation of New York City’s strategy to comply with “No Child Left Behind” Highly Qualified Teacher guidelines for over 80,000 New York City teachers; raised “No Child Left Behind” compliance by 10%.

• Analytics- Analyzed certification completion and communication strategies aimed at New York City teachers and administrators by trouble-shooting certification issues, certification renewal, and making recommendations for necessary projects and improvements. Teacher staff “in danger” of being laid off because of expired certificates were greatly reduced by 50 % from the prior year.
 

• Partnering- Compiled briefing documents for senior management created for successful lobbying purposes with the Department of Education and the State Education Department to suggest certification changes.
 

• Employee Relations – Partnered with Senior Legal Counsel to advise Principals on staff issues and performance to dramatically decrease grievances and a focus on rating appropriately as well as granting tenure.

• Recruitment- Reduced the number of time-sensitive vacancies by screening out resumes and contacting candidates before they reached the principal.



October 2004 – June 2005 (9 months)

Managed HR functions for 4 Brooklyn branches. Assisted and supported management and the leadership team with handling and resolving Human Resources issues. Assessed recruitment needs; proactively recruited candidates through direct recruitment, internet mining and other creative methods, performed screening, interviewing, applicant assessment and presenting of candidates to Hiring Managers to finalize the recruitment process and assisted in hiring decision. Conducted orientation for new hires and counseled employees on career development, benefits, leaves of absence, short term disability, Family and Medical Leave Act, and workers compensation. Revamped compensation system including merit salary increases and compensation adjustments to correct up to 85% of staff raises, by utilizing feedback gained from meetings with hourly employees and managers.



September 2003 – October 2004 (1 year 2 months)

Supervised and maintained human resource information systems platform by developing innovative solutions for improved data collection, error reduction, increased productivity and enhanced reporting. Prepared and analyzed metrics, turnover, promotion, retention, compensation and demographic analyses.



January 2001 – January 2002 (1 year 1 month)

Coordinated International Assignment process involving 400 international employees and 100 transfers to and from foreign countries each year. Managed and administered 2002 employee benefit enrollment for all expatriate and international employees and counseled international colleagues on a variety of employee relation issues. Managed the human resource information systems database for expatriate and international employees including the processing of monthly audits, ad-hoc reports and queries. Created international compensation analysis spreadsheets, which included monthly and quarterly commissions, wage and salary administration, and cost of living and housing allowances.
J.P. MorganJ.P. Morgan



January 2000 – January 2001 (1 year 1 month)

Media and Technology Investment Banking
Involved self with recruiting process by reviewing and selecting undergraduate and graduate applications for management review and coordinating interviews.
Assisted Vice President in administrative duties such as answering phones, preparing reports and business letters, created power point presentations.

 

FACES: NYC DOE Employees Niki Stanley, Former Director of the ATR UNIT, and Tracy Brisson, Teacher Hiring and Support Center


Niki Stanley
Director, Teacher Recruitment and Strategic Staffing at the NYC Department of Education
Current
  1. NYC Department of Education
Previous
  1. NYC Department of Education, 
  2. Time Warner Cable,
  3. MediaMind
Education
  1. Coro Leadership New York 24

Summary

Human Resources generalist with 10+ years of progressive experience in leading regional and global human capital initiatives. Consistently exceeds expectations by implementing data-driven decision-making and ensuring that HR practices and policies reflect the company’s mission, values and business needs.

Specialties: Human Capital, Education, Talent Acquisition, Recruitment, Recruitment Branding, Employer Branding, Global Human Resources, Vendor Management, Interactive Advertising, Technology Recruitment

Experience

NYC Department of Education



January 2013 – Present (2 years)

Using a global perspective on the various staffing resources and school-specific hiring needs, manage special projects in research and development of new supports including new vehicles for recruitment, hiring support and onboarding of new teachers to the system.

•Ensure that Teacher Recruitment and Quality’s (TRQ's) service delivery is seamless and maximizes the full spectrum of tools, supports, and systems for optimal school staffing.
•Manage a portfolio of 109 schools and associated networks to drive “strategic staffing” support where needed.
•Lead R&D on how to best design staffing supports (includes, design, implementation, and continuous improvement).
•Facilitate feedback and focus group sessions to gather a deeper understanding of how to better position TRQ in support of schools.
•Partner with the Executing Director in order to review where staffing falls within the Department of Education’s Quality Review and how can this be better leveraged across divisions.
•Increase TRQ’s role in new teacher onboarding and its impact on retention by designing a formal system-wide onboarding program for new teacher hires.

NYC Department of Education



August 2011 – January 2013 (1 year 6 months)NYC Department of Education

• Founding Director and implementer of the newly created division to manage the strategy, policy, operations, and communications between key stakeholders and senior leadership around pedagogues in the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) pool.
• Lead 8 member team to oversee the weekly rotation of teachers in the ATR pool; realized lowest ever rate of the # of ATRs by way of 70% + reduction in the pool since the spring of 2011.
• Manage 8 permanent and 12 seasonal call center staff.
• Develop job search support strategy to pedagogues at closing schools; realized 87% satisfaction rating.
• Serve as expert on policies related to internal teacher populations (transfer and excess) and provide guidance to key divisional leaders.

NYC Department of Education



April 2009 – August 2011 (2 years 5 months)

• Oversee hiring support and internal marketing to current teachers seeking school transfers as part of the mutual consent placement agreement between the NYCDOE and United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
• Create and deliver professional development content, webcasts and events, resulting in 80% recommendation of services by users to their colleagues in the Center’s first year
• Coach teachers to become more student focused through use of data
• Produce reports against established metrics and benchmarks to strategically differentiate services
• Developed and manage complex data collection system to track the progress of internal teachers seeking transfers to new schools, achieving 90% accuracy in Center’s first year
• Oversee marketing activities, including internal branding, creation of website, and Google analytics
• Manage contract with CRM technology vendor, including bugs, updates and data imports
• Manage seasonal 12 person ambassador call center including scheduling, payroll and issue resolution
• Collaborate with HR Directors and principals to resolve staffing issues appropriately

(Open)1 recommendation

  • Tracy B.


Niki has worked for me for the last year and launched our Teacher Hiring Support Center to support internal teachers seeking new opportunities in other schools. She has provided insight and strategic planning well above my expectations, and has...View

Recruitment and Talent Development Consultant | Trainer | Career Coach | Author | Teacher Advocate | Entrepreneur
Current
  1. The Opportunities Project, 
  2. Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter, 
  3. Savannah Custom Weddings &
  4. Elopements
Previous
  1. New York City Department of Education, 
  2. Syracuse University,
  3. The Princeton Review
Education
  1. New York University
I love considering all sorts of unconventional opportunities- don't hesitate to contact me to discuss yours. 

I am the Founder of The Opportunities Project, a national talent development, recruitment consulting & career coaching agency. I'm also the author of the books Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter: How to Create an Extraordinary Resume and Hook Your Dream Job, and Create Your Own Opportunities: Coach Yourself to Career Success.

I became an entrepreneur to change the national conversations about work, education and success, and serve the individuals who want to live their best professional lives as well as the organizations who hire them as employees or service providers. Through The Opportunities Project's talent development and coaching work, we've helped 1,000+ individuals reach career success through speaking engagements, workshops, and one-on-one and group coaching since opening in 2010. Through our recruitment consulting, we have helped clients hire 900+ new team members.

Before starting my company and becoming a certified coach, I spent a decade successfully working in recruitment and education, including serving as the Director of Teacher Recruitment for the New York City Department of Education, one of the largest employers in the United States. I supervised the recruitment, selection and hiring of 5,000+ teachers annually and led my team to a second place victory in the annual Best Employer Brand contest sponsored by ERE, an international recruitment association. 

My career advice regularly appears in national media outlets, including Mashable and CBS MoneyWatch, and I've been a featured speaker at many conferences, including the Brazen Careerist Social Recruiting Conference, CollegeRecruiter.com FedCollege Conference, #140edu, and TEDx. I also serve as a career expert for Rising Tide, a new initiative that brings guidance to help you achieve your best in life as part of the Tide brand's commitment to service. 

RECRUITMENT CONSULTING:

- Train recruiters on marketing, recruitment and selection best practices
- Create an applicant experience that attracts high quality talent
- Execute targeted branding, marketing and social recruiting campaigns 
- Design data-driven & efficient selection processes
- Coach recruiters & hiring managers on the interviewing process
- Implement recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) models focused on building organizational capacity

We managed a 2 year 900+ hire RPO model for Newark Public Schools sponsored by the Mark Zuckerberg funded Foundation for Newark's Future, and have worked with charter schools nationally. 

CUSTOMER SPECIALTIES:

- Aspiring entrepreneurs
- Women or other individuals underrepresented in their field (e.g., STEM, politics, etc.) 
- New leaders & managers
- Teachers & education professionals

- Large organizations hiring 200+ new employees seeking to scale their approaches
- Small organizations building recruiting infrastructures while conducting their first searches
- Organizations who want to maximize their recruitment department's performance 
- Schools, districts and charter management organizations