Chief Human Resources Officer

McDonogh School seeks a dynamic, strategic, and people-centered Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) to serve as the School’s senior human capital leader. Reporting directly to the Head of School and serving as a key member of the Senior Administration Team, the CHRO will shape the workforce strategy, culture, and talent systems that enable McDonogh to attract, develop, and retain exceptional educators and staff.

This is a high-impact leadership role for an HR professional who thinks beyond compliance and administration, someone who sees people strategy as a driver of institutional excellence. The CHRO will be a trusted advisor, a creative problem-solver, and a visible champion for McDonogh’s commitment to a diverse, equitable, and thriving workplace.

• Partner with the Head of School, Division Heads, and Senior Administration to execute and improve the human resources function, ensuring it is aligned with the School’s strategic plan.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner on organizational design, staffing models, workforce planning, and change management initiatives.
• Use data and benchmarking to inform decisions on staffing levels, compensation equity, turnover trends, and workforce demographics.
• Lead the development of succession planning frameworks and talent pipeline strategies for critical roles across the School.

• Develop recruitment strategies that position the School as a sought after employer for top educators and administrators.
• Lead all recruitment efforts from job design through offer, partnering with Division Heads and department leaders to identify talent needs and build diverse candidate pools.
• Maintain and improve hiring practices, including structured interview training, implicit bias mitigation, and consistent candidate evaluation frameworks.
• Leverage data to continuously refine sourcing, selection, and offer processes for effectiveness and speed.

• Cultivate a workplace culture that reflects McDonogh’s values: integrity, respect, community, and a commitment to excellence.
• Design and lead employee engagement initiatives, including listening strategies (surveys, focus groups, stay interviews) that promote a sense of belonging and improves retention
• Serve as a visible advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, working with leadership to embed belonging into all HR systems and practices.
• Lead the Employee Wellness Committee and develop holistic wellness programs

• Develop and deliver manager effectiveness programming, including coaching on employee relations, performance conversations, and inclusive leadership.
• Partner with Director of Life Ready on faculty orientation and onboarding, and develop similar strategies for staff and administrative roles to ensure a welcoming, well-structured introduction to the McDonogh community.
• Assign, track, and ensure completion of required trainings (mandated reporting, sexual harassment prevention, and others) for all faculty and staff.

• Partner with the CFO and Associate Head of School to promote a compensation philosophy and structure that is competitive, equitable, and sustainable within the School’s budget parameters and Academic Strategic Plan.
• Lead annual salary benchmarking for all faculty and staff; in partnership with the CFO, prepare the annual compensation recommendation for the Board of Trustees, inclusive of COLA and merit adjustments.
• Oversee benefits administration in partnership with the Payroll & Benefits Manager; conduct regular due diligence on benefits offerings to ensure market competitiveness and employee value.
• Serve as liaison to the School’s retirement plan, respond to requests for information related to testing, audit processes, and maintain ERISA compliance
• Distribute annual compensation letters and manage all compensation communications via Paycom.

• Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to supervisors and Division Heads on employee relations matters, performance management, and disciplinary processes.
• Proc…