School Network Staff Director of Denver Programs
Job Description
YOUR PROFILE
You are committed to changing the context in which teachers join the profession, take their first steps as teachers, and develop as educators. You believe attracting local, diverse young people into teaching, providing highly structured and strongly mentored training, and facilitating supportive placements can transform initial teaching experiences and long-term retention. You enjoy independently creating materials, trainings, and systems, and collaboratively developing partnerships, training participants, leading programming, and building a growing national organization. You live our core values:
• Belonging: Your interactions with team members, partners, and constituents demonstrate your commitment to investing in the empowerment and evolution of others.
• Investment: Your work is core to your personal life mission. You aren’t looking for a job but a chance to engage whole-heartedly in the shared belief that better is possible, and you are part of a communal solution to challenges which require collective, collaborative effort.
• Initiative: You have a strong locus of control, view challenges as opportunities, and anticipate what needs to happen when. Comfort with and mastery of technology are critical for virtual work; balancing independent work with team collaboration is essential.
• Growth: You embrace a growth mindset for yourself and your team members. You seek, embrace, and implement feedback and invest in the growth of others.
• Excellence: Your written and verbal communication, materials, and presentations are characterized by creativity, technical perfection, thorough research, and thought leadership in the field.
You are seeking a long-term home where you can grow and contribute to the growth of your team and the organization.
OUR WORK
Although as many as 42% of high-school graduates enter college interested in teaching, fewer than 10% pursue careers in education. Of those who do, one third leave within their first three years, and nearly half depart by year five. The Generation Teach Summer Teaching Fellowship is an unprecedented opportunity to invest young people in teaching at a critical time and to equip them with the experiences essential for success on day one of a teaching career.
Generation Teach launched in Denver, Colorado in summer 2014, expanded in Denver and opened in Boston in 2015, grew in both cities in 2016, and opened in Western MA and Providence, RI in 2017. We believe teacher development should start earlier and occur in concert with schools. With our partners, we build local pipelines of diverse teachers with the experience, coaching, training, and records of effectiveness necessary for success in the classroom. We are a national team, driven by five core values and committed to partnering with local communities to build diverse, place-based pipelines of exemplary educators who are invested in the students, schools, and communities they serve.
YOUR ROLE
Recruitment
• Lead local outreach to achieve ambitious recruitment goals for students, fellows, coaches, deans, and directors
• Lead local selection and matriculation
Partners
• Manage communication with Denver partners
• Secure Denver partners to meet student enrollment goals
Alumni Support
• Provide career counseling, including letters of recommendation and practice interviews, for Denver Teaching Fellows who are applying to jobs
• Maintain consistent contact with Denver senior fellows to complete placement processes
Denver Programming
• Select Denver participants – fellows, coaches, directors – in collaboration with team
• Recruit, enroll, and schedule students
• Set high expectations for student and Teaching Fellow performance, and provide support, encouragement, and accountability to achieve those expectations
• Direct a Denver site each summer, ensuring a strong, safe, and excellent program culture and developing leadership, coaching, and teaching teams to ensure student achievement and success
• Analyze constituent outcomes post-summer to report to partners
Team Support
• Support teammates in achieving ambitious goals
• Follow team processes for knowledge management, team leadership, and investment in the success and experience of others
• Participate fully, positively, and thoughtfully in weekly Staff Meetings and Work Sessions, Quarterly Team Work Sessions, and other organizational development initiatives
• Contribute to annual initiatives, such as special event planning, team work sessions, and fundraising initiatives
• Provide other support, as requested, including but not limited to translation, best practice research, piloting of technology platforms, and writing of collateral, reports, and proposals
• Contribute to a dynamic, fast-paced environment in which all team members are invested in each other and the success of every community GT serves
• Complete weekly check-ins with GT manager
OUR VISION FOR THIS ROLE
The Director role is a leadership position that requires an individual invested in building the capacity and engagement of national team members while fostering a workplace that is flexible, inspiring, and supportive of individuals’ personal and professional growth. Comfort with and mastery of technology are critical for virtual work; balancing independent work with team collaboration is essential. The Director will drive Denver programming, with support, engagement, feedback, and collaboration from team members. Ideal candidates will meet or exceed the following qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred
• 4+ years of relevant professional experience, including at least 2 years of teaching experience
• Proficiency in Spanish preferred
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to engage multiple constituencies on a variety of levels
• Strong commitment to and/or familiarity with the Denver community
• Strong writing, time management, and communication skills
• Unshakeable growth mindset, ability to engage and implement feedback, passion for driving work and contributing to the work of others, and commitment to excellence
• Ability to manage ambiguity, work on multiple projects, and adjust quickly to shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Exceptional self-motivation, drive, and team orientation
• Willingness to work effectively as a member of a remote team and skillfully manage the opportunities and challenges of virtual collaboration, including use of Dropbox, FluidReview, ProsperWorks, and Google docs, email, and calendar
• Successful experience as a member of a small team in a start-up environment
• Experience partnering with, supporting, and developing undergraduate students in service of future teachers and students
• Master teacher and strong public speaker
• Warm, authoritative presence and ability to be omnipresent and attuned to all participants
• Experience developing adults as an instructional coach, department chair, grade-level leader, dean, team leader, assistant principal, or other leadership role
• Successful experience leading field trips or special events for an entire grade level and/or leading out-of-school time programming, such as after-school programming, expeditionary learning, summer camp, or another program with accountability for the safety, supervision, and positive experiences of a large group of students and young professionals
• Deep-seated commitment to the mission of Generation Teach
• Demonstrated commitment to living the core values of Generation Teach
Generation Teach offers a competitive salary for all employees.
