Research and Policy Executive Director at Educators for Excellence, Los Angeles
Job Description
Background
Our nation’s education system is leaving millions of students—including an overwhelming number of students of color and low-income students—unprepared for college, career, and life. While research shows that classroom teachers are the single most important in-school factor in improving student achievement, their diverse voices are consistently left out of education policy decisions. For far too long, teachers have been treated as subjects of change rather than as agents of change.
Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence (E4E) is a growing movement of over 30,000 educators, united around a common set of values and principles for improving student learning and elevating the teaching profession. E4E works together to identify issues that impact schools, create solutions to these challenges, and advocate for policies and programs that give all students access to a quality education.
Educators for Excellence envisions an equitable and excellent education system that provides all students the opportunity to succeed and elevates the teaching profession. Educators for Excellence’s theory of change is grounded in two long-term goals that are inextricably linked: better outcomes for students and the elevation of the quality and prestige of the teaching profession. E4E achieves this by:
- Building a movement of forward-thinking teachers through grassroots organizing in communities across the country,
- Identifying and training teacher leaders within that broader movement to take on key positions of influence in their schools, districts, states, and most importantly, within their teachers unions,
- Creating teacher-led policy recommendations in order to bridge the divide between policymakers and the classroom,
- Advocating for implementation of teacher-generated policy ideas, and
- Scaling this model to reach critical mass in the communities it serves and across the country.
Opportunity
Educators for Excellence – Los Angeles has realized a number of critical achievements over the past several years, including growing from a staff of three to 12 in seven years and significantly increasing its impact in the local education landscape. E4E members now represent 20% of LAUSD’s workforce and have a presence in 40% of LAUSD schools. E4E teachers have prepared policy recommendations and driven major policy victories on issues including school discipline, teacher career ladders, and professional development, while meeting with key decision-makers and advocating for change on the local, state and federal level. Members have increased their representation in the union’s House of Representatives, won school board elections, and currently hold elected seats in their union governing body. LA teacher members have also led national initiatives including developing a nationwide teacher survey, advocating for DACA, and meeting with US Department of Education officials, like Secretary DeVos, to voice support for the 2014 discipline guidance. E4E continues to deepen teacher engagement and support its members who seek to improve the diversity, democracy and student focus of their union. As the national organization continues to expand, it will focus on bringing internal and operational systems to the next level to ensure it has the infrastructure, resources, and supports necessary to achieve ambitious goals.
E4E is seeking a dynamic leader to serve as the next Executive Director of its Los Angeles Chapter. This exciting role will set the strategic vision for the chapter while also leading a high-performing team. The Executive Director will have strategic and operational responsibility for programs, growth and execution of the mission to elevate the voices of teachers in state and local education policy, and to support teachers to become more active in their union. The Los Angeles chapter is championing the work its teachers have led to build a more diverse, democratic, and student-focused union. The Executive Director will engage with a wide array of stakeholders (e.g., donors, board members, district leaders, national and local partners, community leaders, teachers, etc.) to help set and execute a vision that elevates the teaching profession and improves student outcomes. This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced and entrepreneurial leader to play a critical role in the continued growth of a dynamic organization.
In the first year, the Executive Director will be expected to:
- Raise over $1 million towards the chapter budget to fund E4E-LA teacher’s policy and advocacy work,
- Lead a fully staffed team that rates E4E at 80% or above on staff satisfaction and engagement surveys,
- Oversee programming to engage a movement of 5,000 and growing union voting teacher members in E4E-LA’s campaigns, and
- Cultivate leaders to take on key positions of leadership in their schools, districts and union.
Responsibilities
Design and Execute a Local Strategic Plan
- Building on E4E-LA’s local impact plan, execute a local vision and strategic plan that works in concert with E4E’s national strategic plan and goals,
- Manage systems for evaluating progress toward strategic goals, ensuring that local objectives are met while also aligning efforts with the national organization,
- Lead the team to achieve chapter goals related to membership, teacher leadership growth and engagement, shape and lead campaign initiatives, and
- Fundraise over $1 million dollars towards the chapter’s annual budget.
Build and Manage a High-Performing Team and Quality Programming
- Be a model for strong team culture. Recruit, select, coach and retain talented team members, and manage towards ambitious goals, with a lens for equity, excellence, and inclusion,
- Coach and manage:
- The Los Angeles Managing Director of Outreach on the implementation of E4E’s grassroots organizing model executed by their team of outreach directors,
- The Los Angeles Managing Director of External Affairs in the execution of local policy priorities, including leading E4E–LA Teacher Policy Teams and advocacy campaigns,
- The Los Angeles Managing Director of Development in fundraising an annual local budget of over $1 million from a portfolio of individual donors and foundations, and
- The Los Angeles Chief of Staff to ensure a strong team culture, clarity of expectations, and effective implementation of all programs and operational systems.
Ensure Financial Security and Enterprise Leadership
- Develop and expand local fundraising efforts, with a strong focus on cultivating new – and leveraging existing – relationships with local foundations and individual donors, as well as diversifying E4E-LA’s local funding base,
- Administer the chapter’s budget to ensure fiscal responsibility,
- Accelerate the chapter’s path toward local sustainability by increasing its local revenue and decreasing reliance on national revenue,
- Build and manage a local Board of Advisors to support the growth and stability of the Los Angeles Chapter, and
- Serve as a member of E4E’s Senior Leadership Team, modeling the organizational core values and helping to ensure org-wide success and collaboration.
Be the Face of E4E-Los Angeles
- Give speeches, author op-eds, attend education events and conferences, work with media, and engage with teachers and the general public,
- Secure opportunities for teachers to share their voice directly in local media, with support and guidance from the National External Affairs Team,
- Work with the Managing Director of External Affairs to build and maintain relationships with local policymakers, union leaders, key stakeholders, interest groups, and elected officials, and
- Elevate the brand of E4E-Los Angeles as a go-to-source for the policy perspectives and leadership of progressive educators.
Qualifications
Experience
- At least ten years of professional experience, including experience leading others within the education, education policy, campaign organizing, and/or advocacy space, including at least two years of experience in one of the following fields:
- Pre-K – 12 education, classroom teaching experience preferred
- Community organizing, campaign organizing and/or union organizing
- Experience managing high-performing teams by setting clear, well-defined goals and managing to desired outcomes through layers,
- Political savvy and demonstrated track record of effectively navigating complex power dynamics and building coalitions,
- Demonstrated experience building partnerships; fundraising/development experience preferred,
- Experience serving as a face of an organization to external partners, and
- A track record of successfully overcoming obstacles in challenging environments.
Skills
- An ability to persuade, gain support and motivate others to action by leveraging strong internal and external relationships,
- A clear and effective communication style and an ability to empathize with and understand the perspectives of others,
- An acumen for building an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the organization,
- The ability to digest education policy information to inform organizational positions and stances, and
- The ability to build and maintain a deep knowledge of key Los Angeles and California legislation, economic, social, and political trends and developments, including deep knowledge of the educational landscape; and their impact on the organization, its strategy, and its internal and external stakeholders.
Mindsets/Values
- A passion for educational equity and alignment with E4E’s mission and vision,
- Belief in and alignment with E4E’s core values:
- Respect and Professionalism: We act with personal responsibility, respect, and commitment to high quality work, to our organization and to each other
- Solutions Orientation: We consistently approach even the most complex challenges with positivity, proactive solutions, and the assumption of best intentions
- Growth Mindset: We intentionally create opportunities to develop ourselves and others in order to learn and continuously improve
- Dynamic Leadership: We courageously take ownership, empower others, set bold visions, think strategically, and adapt to change
- Diversity and Inclusiveness: Educational inequity is linked to race, power, and privilege, and so we take action to shift this paradigm by reflecting on our own identities, creating an inclusive and diverse community, and leveraging our differences as strengths
