Director of Human Resources - River Rd Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Description · Holton-Arms is a college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3–12 dedicated to excellence in teaching and to empowering students to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the world. With approximately 190 full-time staff, 40 part-time staff, and 200–250 ...

Job description

Description

Holton-Arms is a college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3–12 dedicated to excellence in teaching and to empowering students to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the world. With approximately 190 full-time staff, 40 part-time staff, and 200–250 seasonal employees, the school is grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a highly collaborative campus environment. As Director of Human Resources, you will play a central role in supporting and strengthening this community by ensuring Holton Arms attracts, develops, and retains exceptional faculty and staff aligned with its mission.

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer and leading a small team, you will serve as the school's senior HR leader, providing strategic direction while remaining closely connected to the daily rhythms of campus life. You will lead the full scope of human resources operations, including talent management, employee relations, total rewards, compliance, and HR administration, ensuring systems and practices align with the school's mission and evolving organizational priorities. This role is designed for an experienced HR leader who thrives in a lean environment and is comfortable balancing long-term planning with hands-on execution.

Holton-Arms is currently engaged in a strategic planning process that will include refining role design and compensation frameworks to better support faculty and staff in delivering a dynamic academic program. Early priorities include phased work to strengthen recruiting practices, implement a formal performance management approach, and optimize benefits partnerships to ensure high-quality, sustainable offerings.

A visible and accessible presence across campus will be central to your success in this role. You will partner closely with faculty, staff, and leadership as a trusted advisor, engaging directly in conversations that shape workplace culture, support effective collaboration, and address complex challenges with professionalism and care. Through these daily interactions, you will gain insight into evolving needs across the school and use that perspective to refine HR practices, enhance the employee experience, and reinforce a cohesive, mission-aligned community.

How You'll Make an Impact

Building on a strong existing foundation and aligned with the school's strategic planning efforts, early success in this role will focus on advancing key initiatives that strengthen HR practices, support Holton's evolving academic priorities, and deepen a collaborative, mission-aligned workplace.

• Maintain and expand a visible, accessible HR presence across campus, strengthening trusted relationships, supporting proactive decision-making, and equipping managers to navigate personnel matters with confidence.
• Strengthen core HR systems and infrastructure, including implementation of a cohesive performance management approach, refinement of benefits and total rewards practices, and development of scalable processes that support consistency and long-term organizational effectiveness.
• Partner with school leadership to advance thoughtful role design and workforce planning aligned with evolving academic priorities, ensuring organizational structures and talent strategies support future growth.

Work Environment, Salary, and Benefits

• This position is full-time, 5 days a week on our Bethesda, MD campus. Additional time outside of office hours may be required to address urgent issues.
• The budgeted salary range for this position is $150K–$170K with a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance with a generous employer contribution to medical, dental, and vision; life and disability insurance; 403b retirement savings with an employer match and non-elective contribution; employee assistance program, tuition remission for eligible children; professional development opportunities; paid parental leave after one year of employment; paid vacation, sick and personal days; and lunch is provided on school days.
• Holton-Arms cherishes the uniqueness of each member of our community, including current and former students, faculty, and staff. We seek to create an inclusive environment that sees, values, and supports diverse identities and experiences, cultivates engaging discourse, and empowers our students to be thriving members of the global community. At Holton-Arms, each of us is responsible for fostering an equitable, respectful, and just community.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Talent Strategy

• Serve as the school's senior HR leader and primary advisor on people strategy, partnering closely with leadership on workforce planning, policy decisions, and long-term organizational priorities.
• Establish and refine HR systems, policies, and processes to bring greater structure, consistency, and scalability to HR practices.
• Lead talent strategy and workforce planning, including recruitment approach, employer branding, role competency development, and retention initiatives.
• Manage the HR budget and ensure responsible stewardship aligned with school priorities.

Compensation, Benefits & Compliance

• Lead compensation and benefits strategy, including plan reviews, renewals, vendor relationships, and cost stewardship.
• Maintain benefit plan documentation, summary plan descriptions, and required regulatory filings.
• Partner with auditors and external advisors to prepare regulatory reports such as EEO-1 and Form 5500 filings.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws and regulatory requirements.

Employee Relations & Organizational Effectiveness

• Serve as the primary advisor on employee relations matters, providing direct support in situations requiring discretion, diplomacy, and sound judgment, including coaching managers, mediating conflicts, conducting investigations, and developing action plans.
• Build strong working relationships across all levels of the school, helping to strengthen workplace culture, collaboration, and an inclusive employee experience.

Operations & HR Administration

• Mentor and support a small HR team, including direct supervision of HR staff.
• Maintain accurate and comprehensive personnel records across the employee lifecycle.
• Provide oversight of payroll operations, including year-end processing, supplemental payrolls, W-2 reporting, ACA filings, and other required documentation.

Qualifications

HR Leadership & Functional Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in HR or related field; 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience across talent management, employee relations, performance management, and benefits administration. HR certification preferred.
• Experience operating as a senior HR leader within a lean team structure, demonstrating the ability to set priorities, build systems incrementally, and balance strategic leadership with day-to-day execution.
• Strong knowledge of employment laws, HR best practices, and payroll considerations.

Leadership & Relationship Management

• Supervisory experience developing and leading HR or payroll staff, with the ability to set clear expectations and maintain accountability.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to establish credibility, build trust, and influence stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership.

Communication & Professional Judgment

• Exceptional communication skills across written, verbal, and facilitation settings, including the ability to navigate sensitive conversations within a close-knit academic community.
• High degree of discretion, sound judgment, and commitment to confidentiality when handling sensitive matters.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and confidential resource, exercising sound judgment to balance discretion with transparency, and knowing when to maintain confidentiality and when to elevate sensitive issues appropriately to senior leadership.

Systems & Technical Skills

• Proficiency with HRIS systems and Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel; familiarity with Google Workspace preferred.

About Holton-Arms School

Founded in 1901, Holton-Arms School is a nationally recognized independent school for girls in grades 3–12 that encourages young women to approach the world with curiosity, courage, and a sense of responsibility to use their talents for the greater good. Rooted in a long legacy of excellence and guided by future-forward thinking, Holton offers a vibrant, purpose-driven learning environment where students, faculty, and staff bring deep engagement, spirit, and passion to their work.

To Apply

Please submit your application to Staffing Advisors through this link: Director Human Resources.

Staffing Advisors is committed to reducing bias in every aspect of the hiring process. We have long recommended a competency-driven approach to hiring. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position description; we will consider people from a variety of backgrounds and career experiences.