Employee Retention Specialist - 6 Month Contract

Inspire Young Minds. Build Your Career. Make an Impact. Are you passionate about working with children and helping them grow, learn, and thrive? At Inspire Early Education, we create a joyful, inclusive environment where both children and educators flourish. Inspire Early Education is a leading provider of nursery, preschool, and pre-kindergarten programs across the United States.

With over 70 schools nationwide, we are committed to nurturing curiosity, inspiring growth, and building strong educational foundations for children. Sweet Kiddles by Inspire’s Ohio schools are experiencing teacher turnover and position vacancy rates well above the network average — currently 77% turnover and 11% vacancy across the region.

The Employee Retention Specialist is a focused, time-bound role created to address this head-on: diagnosing the root causes of turnover and vacancy at the highest-need Ohio schools, then equipping School Directors with the coaching, tools, and corrective action plans needed to stabilize their teams. This is a narrowly scoped assignment that spends significant time on-site at a defined list of Ohio schools to understand what is driving departures and open positions before partnering closely with Directors to fix it.

Success is measured by measurable improvement in turnover and vacancy at the targeted schools — and by leaving Directors with sustainable practices and a documented playbook once the engagement ends. What You’ll Do: Root Cause Diagnosis Conduct on-site visits, confidential staff interviews, and stay/exit interview reviews at each targeted school, and analyze school-level HR data (turnover, tenure, time-to-fill, exit survey themes) to identify the specific drivers of turnover and vacancy.

Benchmark findings against company-wide and regional trends and document root causes for each school in a clear, prioritized findings summary. Director Coaching & Action Planning Partner one-on-one with School Directors at each targeted school to build a tailored corrective action plan, and coach Directors on day-to-day people-management practices — onboarding, feedback, recognition, scheduling, and team culture — that directly affect retention.

Align action plans with the VP of Human Resources and Ohio District Manager(s), and provide practical tools and templates Directors can use to sustain improvements after the engagement ends. Execution Support & Tracking Check in regularly with each Director to track progress on action plan commitments, remove obstacles, and adjust plans based on what is and isn't moving the needle.

Partner with Talent Acquisition to accelerate filling open positions at the highest-vacancy schools, and escalate systemic or cross-functional barriers to the VP of Human Resources when a root cause falls outside a Director's control. Reporting & Handoff Provide regular progress updates to the VP of Human Resources on turnover, vacancy, and action plan status for each targeted school.

Document effective interventions in a retention playbook and deliver a final summary report with outcomes and recommendations at the conclusion of the engagement.

Who You Are

3+ years of experience in HR generalist, employee relations, talent management, or organizational development, ideally within a multi-site or early childhood education environment. Demonstrated ability to diagnose root causes from qualitative and quantitative data and translate findings into practical action. Experience conducting stay interviews, exit interview analysis, or similar diagnostic work.

Strong coaching and business-partnering skills, with the ability to influence and support frontline leaders without direct authority over them. Comfortable working independently on a focused, time-bound assignment with a defined start and end date. Excellent organizational and communication skills; able to manage multiple school sites and relationships at once.

Based in or able to work from the greater Cleveland, OH area, with reliable transportation for regular travel to school sites. Experience in early childhood education, childcare, or another multi-unit, frontline-heavy industry preferred Join us at Inspire Early Education and become part of a diverse and inclusive community committed to providing the highest quality early childhood education.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. Inspire Early Education is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion. We provide accommodation for applicants with disabilities to ensure equal access to employment opportunities. If you require accommodation during the application process, please reach out to us at careers@inspireschools.

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