Iconic San Francisco High School Hires Equity-Minded HR Manager
Lick-Wilmerding High School
Lick-Wilmerding High School is a private school with a public purpose, serving 550 students in grades 9-12 in San Francisco. Since its founding in 1895 as a vocational school, Lick-Wilmerding has built upon a long tradition of valuing and integrating the liberal arts, sciences, technical arts, visual arts and performing arts to offer a robust college-prep curriculum. Today, the LWHS curriculum is both a catalyst and a vehicle for civic engagement, and the Public Purpose Program offers students the opportunity to contribute their time, talent, and treasure through partnerships with community organizations. Students demonstrate an unparalleled commitment to their communities, the motivation to deeply explore their interests, and a desire to positively impact the lives of others.
Lick-Wilmerding High School sought an experienced human resources (HR) manager who would serve as the school’s primary HR representative. Working closely with the dean of faculty, director of athletics, and dean of equity and inclusion, the HR manager would provide hands-on support in the hiring, onboarding, and offboarding of faculty, staff, and coaches. The HR manager would also facilitate payroll and benefits administration, develop employee policies and procedures, and implement a staff performance management plan.
The HR manager would report directly to the chief financial and operations officer who oversees HR for the school in partnership with an external HR consulting firm. Once onboarded, the HR manager would ensure that HR functions remain primarily in-house, but still have access to external consultants for administrative support on specific HR-related projects. Likewise, the HR manager would work with the controller and staff accountant in the school business office to reconcile payroll and benefits.
In addition to having experience implementing HR best practices, successful candidates would demonstrate a commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion, and an eagerness to collaborate with colleagues as an active member of the larger school community. The growth path for this role would be a director-level HR position, which would come with expanded responsibility following a successful tenure as the HR manager. Lick-Wilmerding looked forward to welcoming an HR manager later that spring or early summer.
Lick-Wilmerding High School was thrilled to welcome Elizabeth Pulido to the position in the summer of 2024.
Meet the new leader
Liz Pulido is a Bay Area native and is passionate about building relationships and creating operational processes that positively impact the employee experience. She received a B.A. in human development from California State University, East Bay. During her time as director of human resources, she has approached her responsibilities with a growth mindset and has cultivated a strong practice of human resource administration, including compensation and benefits, learning and development, and the employee lifecycle from recruitment to exit. Her collaborative, people-centric nature, and compassion have allowed her to become a trusted thought-partner to the executive leadership team. She has focused on developing policies and procedures that positively impact the employee experience, addressing the needs of a multigenerational and culturally diverse workforce.
