Reporting to the Vice President, School Design & Improvement, the Senior Director, Network for School Improvement (Senior Director) will lead City Year’s and its partner Johns Hopkins University’s effort to establish and facilitate a network of schools that will utilize continuous improvement practices to improve the on-track rates for eighth-grade students.
In close partnership with a City Year site and their Executive Director and Impact staff, the Senior Director will work with initially 5 and ultimately 10 schools, building relationships with each school and school leadership team, training teams in continuous improvement methods, and assisting school teams in utilizing those practices to shift the school’s on-track rate for eighth grade students. In facilitating continuous improvement cycles, the Senior Director will help school teams collect, leverage, and analyze data, identify and implement practices to address the data, and adjust or shift practices based on new data and progress monitoring of on-track rates.
The Senior Director will serve as the designer, convener, and facilitator of network roundtables, where school teams will gather to learn continuous improvement methods as teams as well as discuss progress or find shared solutions to improve on-track rates.
The Senior Director will use lessons learned from the implementation of the initial network launch to expand the network over time and to inform City Year’s and Johns Hopkins University’s shared goal to create networks for improvement in sites across the country.
Job Description
Responsibilities
- Establishing and launching an initial Network for School Improvement, comprising of 5-10 schools through deep partnership with the schools, district, and City Year site where the network is located
- Developing capacity for school leaders to drive improvement efforts within their schools, including
- Coaching school teams of educators engaged in applying improvement science to solve local problems of practice
- Advising on the overall improvement strategy and/or customized (individual) improvement interventions to support short- and long-term outcomes for the school, encouraging visionary, values-based thinking
- Designing, conducting, and facilitating effective group processes to ensure the uptake and use of improvement science that encourage self-reflection and leverage reflections into action
- Supporting asset-based personal and professional development of school teams on continuous improvement practices
- Helping school leaders and their teams within the network improve their school’s eighth -grade on-track rate by surfacing and responding to their strengths and needs by:
- Collecting, reflecting, and using formal and informal evidence to determine and design support for individuals, teams, and the network
- Developing relationships and the network with, among, and between school teams and the City Year site through:
- Identifying and/or developing resources to support knowledge management, system development, shared accountability, and continuous improvement among multiple schools and establishing processes to deliver these resources to schools in an impactful and efficient manner
- Convening roundtables of schools in the network to share and exchange knowledge, data, and practices
- Developing and sustaining field/domain content knowledge in the area of eighth-grade on-track rates
- Developing and using internal knowledge management systems of schools, sites, City Year, and Johns Hopkins University
- Providing training and support for school leaders, their teams, and the City Year site to develop and sustain continuous improvement capacities (culture/mindset; tools & processes; partnerships), including;
- Designing and teaching workshops for network school teams focused on the methodology and application of improvement science (or continuous improvement practices)
- Providing guidance in key areas of continuous improvement practice (e.g. Plan Do Study Act cycles, evidence collection, reflection, use)
- Clarifying milestones or measures of success and holding school teams accountable
- Overseeing project management aspects of improvement projects as required (e.g., facilitating information flow, etc.)
- Teaching and sharing specific improvement strategies & tools as required
- Designing and teaching workshops for network school teams focused on the methodology and application of improvement science (or continuous improvement practices)
- Progress monitoring and reporting results against a City Year and Johns Hopkins University constructed results framework for the network’s success, as well as adjusting practices and efforts as needed to meet the outcomes established in the framework.
- Engaging with members of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other Networks for School Improvement nationwide to share experiences and learn promising practices.
Qualifications
- Experience in education, working in a school, preferred
- Understanding of research and methods of continuous improvement
- Understanding of research and best practices around network building around improvement
- Knowledge and skill in school design and/or practice development
- Knowledge and skill with collecting, analyzing, and reporting on school-based data, on an individual, subgroup, and whole school levels.
- Demonstrated experience with or capacity to learn continuous improvement methods with positive results
- Demonstrated experience bringing together diverse groups of individuals for a common purpose with positive results
- Strong strategic thinking, communication, project management and creative problem-solving skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Superior writing abilities and experience summarizing complex concepts in presentations, briefings and reports
- Ability and experience working in an entrepreneurial, dynamic organization
- Flexible, persistent and resilient
- Ability to prioritize and take initiative in fast changing environment
- Process and detail oriented
- Experience working collaboratively and in team environment
- Desire to work in a fast-paced environment
- Sense of humor
- A demonstrated passion for work that directly benefits communities
Compensation and Benefits
Full time employees are entitled to compensation commensurate with experience. Benefits for full time employees include health insurance with Flexible Spending Account, paid vacation, holidays, parental leave, 401K, and more.
City Year is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse workforce. Individuals from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, including persons with disabilities and veterans.
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