Ignite Reading teaches kids to read.
Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when you are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.
Ignite teaches kids to read by providing 15 minutes a day of 1:1 virtual reading instruction. We focus on the reading fundamentals (letters, phonics, and sight words) kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Our program accelerates reading progress 2.4x and we are disrupting how schools think about reading instruction.
Ignite launched our first school implementation in the fall of 2021. Sixteen months later, we will have grown our number of schools and students 35x.
Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Your Role
Reporting to the Vice President, People Operations, the Director, People Business Partner is a new, exempt role on a People team of 8. This team member will work closely with senior leaders, people managers and employees to ensure a positive, joyful, collaborative culture and execution of key elements of our people strategy, in support of scaling Ignite Reading to serve 20,000 students in the next year and beyond. The Director will be a key player in driving our company culture, talent development, and organizational effectiveness.
As the first People Business Partner at Ignite Reading, responsibilities will include a focus on traditional business partner activities while building the function’s processes and procedures, and over time as we grow, leading the team:
Strategic People Partnership:
- Collaborate with leadership to understand business goals and develop people strategies, grounded in equity and inclusion, that support them
- Provide guidance and support on organizational and team design, workforce planning, talent management and succession planning
- Act as a trusted advisor to managers and employees on all people-related matters
- Facilitates people operations initiatives and special projects as needed
Talent Retention and Engagement:
- Implement initiatives to retain and develop top talent, differentiated by team as needed
- Work collaboratively with People leaders to analyze engagement data and drive improvements
- Monitor and analyze employee turnover data to identify trends and develop retention strategies
Employee Relations:
- Foster a positive and inclusive workplace culture through effective communication, mediation, conflict resolution and investigative processes as necessary
- Build and manage the employee relations function, ensuring best practices, thoughtful policy creation, and fair and consistent application
Performance Management:
- Support the implementation and management of human-centered performance review processes and tools
- Provide coaching and feedback to managers on performance management and employee development
- Support the development and delivery of training programs to enhance managerial and leadership capabilities
People Compliance and Administration:
- Ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations
- Support compliance resourcing and training, working with legal partners as needed
Culture and Engagement:
- Collaborates to co-create key elements of Ignite Reading’s culture
- Supports the development of Ignite organizational habits, such as operating norms, regular staff meetings and staff retreats
- Drive initiatives that promote employee engagement and well-being
- Organize company events, team-building activities, and recognition programs
- Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the organization
Competencies
- 10+ years experience in people and culture work, with 3-5 years as a people manager
- Previous experience as a people business partner for a growing organization
- Strong understanding of equitable people best practices and employment law, rooted in inclusion
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills - ability to build strong, trusting relationships with employees at all levels of work, experience and identities
- Exceptional facilitation skills
- Data driven in everything you do, you love problem solving and digging into details to make systems and processes more efficient
- Exceptional attention to detail, impeccable organizational skills, and ability to manage multiple strategic projects while also executing portions of the work with a start-up mentality
- Strong emotional intelligence, judgment, and integrity
- Ability to be self-managing and flexible while working in a remote environment
- Experience in a start-up or fast-paced environment is a plus
- Bonus: Experience working in education, ed-tech or tutoring organizations and/or have worked in a start-up environment; experience as a people business partner in one of these organizations
At Ignite Reading, we’ve decided to embrace a transparent compensation structure for a few reasons:
To promote fairness and equity: This approach supports fairness within our structure. When everyone knows how compensation decisions are made, it reduces the likelihood of pay discrimination based on factors like gender, race, relationships, or negotiation skills.
To provide accountability for our approach: The same role receives the same compensation, with no negotiation.
To build trust within the organization: When employees understand how their compensation is determined, they are more likely to trust organizational structures and decisions, which can lead to overall better culture.
To support legal considerations: Many states are moving to requiring compensation listed on job descriptions and we want to follow these rules.
Salary: $130,000
We also ensure you have the tools you need to thrive both in and out of work.
- Employee Stock Options
- Medical, Dental, and Vision (80% employee coverage, 50% dependent coverage)
- Short-term disability (100% employer paid)
- Technology Stipend
- Unlimited PTO + 12 paid holidays
- Professional Development Stipend
- Wellness Reimbursement
- Internet Stipend
- 12 Weeks of Parental Leave
- Yearly Staff Retreat
- Voluntary Life Insurance
At Ignite Reading, we believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!
We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.