Associate Director, Employee Relations

At Rocketship Public Schools, we believe in the infinite possibility of human potential. We believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop their unique potential and it is our responsibility and our privilege to unleash the potential inside every Rocketeer we serve. Our non-profit network of public elementary charter schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. We are a collective of parents, teachers, leaders, and students working together to transform the future for underserved communities across our country. At Rocketship Public Schools, we are unleashing potential.

Position Summary
The Associate Director of Employee Relations serves as Rocketship Public Schools’ central subject-matter expert for complex, sensitive, and high-risk employee relations matters across our multi-state, non-union network.
Working closely with Regional Talent Leads, the Chief Talent Officer, organizational leaders, and employment counsel , and reporting to the Director of Organizational Effectiveness, this role conducts fair and impartial investigations, develops well-supported findings and recommendations, and helps ensure employment decisions align with organizational policies, applicable employment laws, education requirements, student-safety obligations, and Rocketship’s commitment to safe and equitable workplaces.
Managing employee relations (ER) for a large, multi-state, non-union charter school network requires balancing complex state labor laws with a deep mission-driven focus on student safety. In a non-union model, this role acts as the primary champion of organizational fairness, protecting school environments from legal risk while ensuring staff feel valued and supported.

The Associate Director also oversees key HR compliance operations across the network, including annual mandatory training completion, personnel records governance, internal compliance audits, and coordination of external audit and authorizer reporting requests. In partnership with Legal, Governance & Compliance, and Talent teams, this role identifies compliance gaps and coordinates timely corrective action to support alignment with applicable federal and state requirements.

The following are essential functions related to the position:

Multi-State Workplace Investigations

• Lead neutral, timely, and comprehensive investigations into complex or high-risk matters, including allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, serious misconduct, and significant policy violations
• Produce thorough, objective, and well-documented investigation reports, findings, and recommendations.
• Maintain complete and confidential investigative files that meet organizational, legal, and regulatory requirements.

Multi-Jurisdictional Regulatory Compliance