Sr. Specialist, Office Administration & HR Operations in Arlington, Virginia at Communities in Schools

WHO WE ARE

In 2020, 11.6 million children in the U.S.—16% of all children nationwide—lived in poverty, and those children were disproportionately children of color. Students living in poverty often have physical and mental health, social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development needs that schools are not equipped to support. Rooted in community for more than 45 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. CIS Co-Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that transform children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.”

Bill Milliken’s vision is alive through a strong network of trained CIS staff imbedded in schools nationwide building support and relationships inside schools. Today, CIS serves more than 3,500 schools, the overwhelming majority are Title I-eligible schools across two channels: (1) independent affiliates and (2) licensed partnerships. Grounded in the power of transformative relationships to unlock a young person’s potential, CIS has a national, research-based history of delivering local results that support improved student relationships with adults, better-quality relationships with peers, and increased engagement and sense of belonging. These outcomes lead to improved attendance, improved academic success, and improved on-time high school graduation rates.

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do.

‘Within the national office, we foster a culture inspired by our mission, our values of integrity, accountability, equity, collaboration, and excellence, and a commitment to Equity, and Inclusion. Our culture is centered on three core tenants:

• We acknowledge contributions and perspectives.
• We collaborate across roles and departments.
• We honor a whole-person approach and encourage balance.

We aim to create a psychologically safe environment where relationships matter, and mutual respect is paramount.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Are you ready to be the go-to person who keeps our office running smoothly, our hybrid workplace welcoming, and our HR operations on track—all while bringing positive energy, independence, and a “I’ve got this” attitude?

This hybrid role includes commuting weekly to our Arlington, VA office (2 days onsite / 3 days remote) from within the DMV area.

The Sr. Specialist, Office Administration & HR Operations, is responsible for delivering reliable, high-quality office, facilities, and HR operational support that enables the efficient functioning of the CIS National Office and a positive employee experience across on-site, hybrid, and remote environments. This role serves as a trusted senior operational resource, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and responsiveness across office administration, HR systems, and employee lifecycle processes.

The Sr. Specialist, Office Administration & HR Operations acts as a primary administrator for HR systems and documentation, supports payroll and benefits coordination, maintains workforce data and organizational charts, and contributes to compliance, audit readiness, and continuous process improvement. In addition, the role provides administrative and operational support to the VP, Human Resources and HR team members, including the development and preparation of presentations, reports, and visual materials for leadership, board facing, and internal audiences.

This position requires strong attention to detail, technical proficiency, sound judgment, and discretion when handling confidential information. Sr. Specialist, Office Administration & HR Operations works collaboratively with internal stakeholders and external partners to maintain accurate systems, well documented processes, and a safe, efficient, and welcoming office environment.

PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Office & Facilities Management (50%)

• Oversee day to day office operations to ensure a safe, efficient, and welcoming work environment for on-site, hybrid, and remote employees.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for office and facilities related inquiries, ensuring timely resolution or appropriate escalation.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers (e.g., facilities, security, cleaning, maintenance, equipment), including maintaining service schedules and renewal timelines.
• Coordinate facility operations, including office access, parking, property management coordination, and facilities leasing support, as applicable.
• Support employee onboarding and offboarding logistics, including office access, workspace readiness, parking, equipment coordination, and supplies.
• Procure, inventory, and distribute office supplies, furniture, and shared resources, ensuring cost effective use and availability.
• Track and monitor office and facilities expenses against approved budgets; process and code vendor invoices and expense reports and flag trends or issues to HR leadership.
• Maintain office related policies, procedures, and guidelines, ensuring documentation is current, clearly communicated, and consistently applied.
• Support emergency preparedness, safety protocols, and business continuity activities, and communicate safety related updates to staff as needed.
• Maintain documentation related to office and facilities vendors, including contracts, service agreements, and key contacts.
• Support planning and execution of employee events, meetings, and engagement activities, coordinating logistics and space needs.
• Coordinate with IT and other internal partners on office technology, equipment inventory, and workspace needs, without direct responsibility for IT administration.
• Monitor office resources, shared spaces, and space utilization practices to support a positive and productive employee experience. ?

HR Operations & Administration (50%)

• Serve as the primary administrator for HR systems, including HRIS (Paylocity), performance management platforms, and employee engagement/recognition tools (WorkTango), ensuring accurate and timely processing of all employee lifecycle actions (e.g., new hires, transfers, promotions, pay changes, and status changes).
• Maintain accurate employee records and data integrity across HR systems by performing regular audits, updates, and reconciliations.
• Maintain, update, and prepare organizational charts for leadership, board-facing, and internal use, ensuring alignment with HRIS data, approved staffing changes, and version control.
• Prepare basic HR reports, dashboards, and metrics (e.g., headcount, turnover, training completion) for leadership and internal stakeholders, ensuring confidentiality and data accuracy.
• Support the VP, Human Resources, and HR team members in developing, designing, formatting, and updating presentations, reports, and visual materials for leadership and internal audiences, ensuring clarity, consistency, and professional presentation.
• Support HR compliance and audit readiness activities, including maintaining documentation, responding to information requests, and assisting with internal or external audits as needed.
• Support HR system updates or process changes, as needed, by assisting with testing, documentation updates, and staff communications.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable differently-abled individuals to perform the essential functions.

Required skills & qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred in Business Administration, Human Resources, Management, or related field or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
• 6–8 years of progressively responsible experience in office/facilities administration and HR operations and administration, supporting hybrid, federated network, or mission driven organizations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting employee lifecycle transactions, including onboarding, job changes, terminations, and employee records management with a high degree of accuracy and confidentiality.
• Hands on experience administering HRIS platforms and related operational tools, with responsibility for data integrity, audits, and workflow execution.
• Proven ability to support senior leaders and cross functional team members in developing, designing, formatting, and updating presentations, reports, and visual materials for leadership, board facing, and internal audiences.
• Experience demonstrating advanced judgment, independence, prioritization, and discretion when handling sensitive information and competing operational demands.
• Ability to convey experience in office/facilities management and working knowledge of HR operations best practices, including data integrity, documentation, audits, and compliance fundamentals.
• General understanding of federal and state employment laws, confidentiality standards, and data privacy requirements.

TRAVEL

Travel up to 10% is required including travel in the domestic United States with overnight stay(s).

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however, the national office is open and available for staff to use as appropriate.

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement programs, and much, much more!

Communities In Schools is committed to a workforce that is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. CIS prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our website.