Operations / Administration Senior Director, New Communities
Job Description
Position: Director, New Communities
Reports to: Executive Director, Strategic Program Implementation
Location: Southeast region required
Status: Full Time, Exempt
Start Date: Immediately
The Opportunity:
Facing History and Ourselves is a global education non-profit organization that challenges teachers and students to use lessons of history to stand up to bigotry and hate. Facing History seeks a dynamic educational leader to lead our expansion into the Southeast and other new communities. Reporting to the EPD-SPI, the Director of New Communities will be responsible for executing the organization’s school and district strategy that results in increased and deeper systems-level work across the Southeast.
Launched in 2019, the New Communities Project prioritizes significantly increasing the number of educators in southern states who use our unique educator model to embed equity practices, social-emotional learning, and civics education into core history and English/Language Arts classroom content. The New Communities Project focuses in particular on schools and districts in geographically isolated, rural, and suburban areas in 12 southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Reaching educators and classrooms in the southeast and in new regions of the country, especially at a time when America is experiencing deep social and political divisions, is an essential focus for Facing History.
This key role will work cross functionally across a number of teams and partner with: the Director of District Partnerships to help inform and execute on Facing History’s new District Curriculum Partnership model; program leads on the organization’s whole school work, Schools Where We Belong; the Tennessee Program Director; and the Southeast Executive Director, who leads fundraising efforts across the southeast.
The Director of New Communities will supervise a small team of program staff who can be deployed across the area to deliver professional learning; in addition, this person will play a key role on Facing History’s organization-wide District team as the organization moves to scale its system work in school districts in the next several years. Between 15 – 20% travel in the Southeast will be required.
The Director of New Communities will be responsible for:
- Identifying, recruiting and tracking district relationships and opportunities throughout the 12 identified states in order to secure professional learning contracts with schools and districts.
- Driving all outreach efforts in the Southeast, including using educator, school, district, and state data to inform recruitment and outreach strategies, monitoring progress and impact
- Engage with systems-level senior leadership to raise awareness and identify potential partnerships
- Secure new and renewal contracts with schools and districts.
- Overseeing the New Communities budget and staff assignments.
- Provide program support to the Southeast development team as they engage local donors and create stewardship events on an as needed basis
Who we are: We are passionate educators and care deeply about our community. Innovative and entrepreneurial, we constantly look for better ways to serve our teachers, our schools, and their students. We have sought and continue to prioritize building a team that represents the diversity of the teachers and students we serve. We work closely together and depend on clear communication, commitment to each other as a team, and a positive work environment.
Who you are: You are an exceptional and experienced leader who has deep knowledge of Facing History’s pedagogy and the importance of our role in the fields of SEL, equity and civic education. You have a track record of systems-level leadership experience and an understanding of the headwinds and opportunities facing education today, including the anti-history movement and other curriculum and state policy implications. You are comfortable working with stakeholders at all levels, from communicating with a principal on a school campus, to meeting with superintendents, to presenting information to state legislators. You understand the changing educational landscape of schools, the educational market and the challenges schools and educators face. You are excited to seek out new business opportunities and seed partnerships with districts and schools leaders. You have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as critical components of strategy development and execution as well as key aspects of team culture and dynamics. You relish establishing strong, clear systems of working and communications channels. You thrive in dynamic environments and successfully chart strategic paths forward in collaboration with others.
Essential Skills/Qualities
Facing History understands that restrictive job requirements may exclude historically marginalized groups from applying to jobs for which they are qualified. We take an equitable and holistic screening approach. If you feel you have demonstrated experience and expertise relevant to perform this role, please don’t hesitate to apply!
- BA/BS; MA preferred.
- 10 years + Supervisory and Leadership experience in education required, with at least three years of school-based or district administrative experience, including direct supervision of staff, with proven success leading effective teams
- Experience leading professional development and/or adult coaching in educational settings required; secondary classroom (grades 7-12) teaching experience preferred.
- Knowledge of national and regional education trends and frameworks
- Knowledge of Facing History’s core content, social-emotional learning, school culture and civic education, and experience with culturally responsive teaching, equity and justice initiatives.
- Proficiency in using data to inform strategy and comfort with pulling information from multiple state and national sources
- Entrepreneurial and collegial style; ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
- Growth mindset in approaching new challenges and reflecting on past efforts; an interest to help drive the thinking of others, encourages others to think creatively.
- Ability to organize and execute tasks in a non-profit context.
- Passion for, and ability to, articulate the mission of Facing History.
- Comfortable working remotely, with ability and motivation for frequent travel
- Occasional evening and weekend work is required.
Preferred
- Business Development experience in education.
- Comfort with using digital platforms for professional learning (i.e., Zoom Meeting, Zoom Webinar, Google Classroom, Canvas LMS).
- Familiarity with databases and/or CRMs (i.e., Salesforce) to support engagement with educators, schools and district leaders is preferred.
- Online digital media literacy skills and comfort with integrating web-based and social media technologies for support of a global network of teachers and students.
Benefits Summary: In addition to meaningful and rewarding work, Facing History provides an excellent and competitive compensation and benefits package including medical with a health reimbursement account, dental, vision, life & AD&D, long-term & short-term disability insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with a discretionary organizational contribution, generous paid time off, an employee assistance program, travel assistance plan, pre-tax commuter spending accounts, flexible spending accounts, voluntary Colonial Life group plans, robust wellness programs through Welnys TV, aHealthyMe & weekly virtual yoga and meditation, WellCents 403(b) advisement, and a friendly hybrid work environment.
Facing History values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.
Facing History’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. At Facing History, we honor and value the uniqueness of each and every human being. Our strength as an organization that provides and distributes educational content and pedagogy to teachers across the globe is directly tied to our diversity of staff, leadership, educators, students, scholars, and volunteers. Our commitment is to treat individuals with dignity and to build and maintain a community of full participation, inclusive of the voices, needs, and contributions of all. As an organization, we are deeply aware of the legacies of injustices that persist in society and in the workplace, and we value and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in their association with excellence.
Covid Protocol at Facing History: At Facing History and Ourselves, we require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 including any boosters required to be “up-to-date” per current CDC guidelines. All new employees must provide proof of vaccination on their first day of employment. Requests for medical or religious exemptions should be directed to our Sr. Director, Human Resources.
