Operations / Administration Director of Operations and Special Projects
Job Description
Position Summary
You will work at the Zone-level to provide operational, administrative, and project management support to ensure strong execution of Zone strategy, including leading a variety of special projects. You will serve as a critical connector between staff, families, community members, and partners in service to ensuring that all students are set up for success.
Reports to: Zone Chief, South Bend Empowerment Zone
Start Date: Immediately
Location: South Bend, IN
Compensation: $60,000-$75,000/annually, depending on prior experience/skill
Who We Are:
In the spring of 2019, The Indiana State Board of Education (SBOE) approved the creation of the South Bend Empowerment Zone due to persistent and chronic low levels of student achievement and growth. The South Bend Empowerment Zone is comprised of Wilson, Warren, Harrison, and Coquillard Elementary schools, and Navarre Middle school. Our charge from the SBOE is to dramatically transform student achievement and growth at our schools over the course of the five-year intervention.
During the five-year period, we will tackle a variety of important bodies of work:
Year 1 (2019-2020) Establishing a Vision/Building a Strong Foundation
Year 2 (2020-2021) Building Systems of Support & Developing Community
Year 3 (2021-2022) Developing a Robust Enrichment Model (including NAEYC-Accredited Early Childhood Education
and gifted/talented education)
Year 4 (2022-2023) Pursuing Deeper Learning/Reimagining schooling
Year 5 (2023-2024) Refining Deeper Learning/Reimagining schooling
The central philosophy of the South Bend Empowerment Zone is the centering of the student- and family- experience via the empowerment of leaders and educators at each school to respond to their needs in service to stronger academic, social, and emotional outcomes for our students.
Theory of Action: South Bend Empowerment Zone 2020-2021 (Year 2) Strategy
IF we…
- Shift prevailing deficit beliefs to acknowledge and honor student/family assets & strengths (BELIEFS);
- Overcommunicate the “vision of excellence” and design a staffing model that maximizes support for staff and students (SYSTEMS);
- Align school-level strategy to Zone overarching strategy and deliver strong execution of 1) strong instructional leadership, 2) developing trust while remaining student/family-centered, 3) modeling/living the “warm demander” (high relationship + high expectations) approach for their staffs (SCHOOL LEADERSHIP);
- Ensure that school physical environments communicate value and care, staff are living into the “warm demander” approach (high relationship + high expectations), instructional practice is departmentalized and de-privatized, and we move towards a strong collective learning culture (INSTRUCTION);
THEN…
- Student learning (growth and achievement) will be maximized via regular progress-monitoring and intensive academic tutoring provided during the instructional day, and rigorous standards-aligned classroom Tier 1 instruction. Students will be enabled to meet the student Vision of Excellence. (LEARNING)
Who You Are:
- You are aligned to the Zone’s core beliefs and philosophy, including the belief that every child can grow and excel academically, socially, and emotionally, and that every family deserves partnership and respect
- You have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, and strong interpersonal skills
- You thrive in a fast-paced, complex, and ambiguous environment
- You are a strong strategic thinker with superior problem-solving capabilities
- You have superior project management skills and a demonstrated ability to consistently deliver high-quality work
- You have excellent organizational abilities and an ability to organize your workload independently and set priorities, adapt quickly to changing priorities, and perform multiple interrelated tasks under deadline pressures
- You identify as a servant leader and people who have worked with you before highlight the strength of your credibility and your low self-orientation (ie. “we” is greater than “I”).
- You have a keen ability to build and cultivate relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
- You are relentlessly focused on results, committed to continual improvement/believe in continuous learning, and have a strong sense of ownership over outcomes connected to your work.
- Ideally you are fluent in oral and written Spanish
What You’ll Do:
You will serve as critical support to the Zone Chief, schools, and families. You will be expected to lead and engage in three core functions with responsibilities that include but are not limited to: Operational support, administrative support, and leadership of a variety of special projects. Major responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to:
Operations Support
- Serve as the primary point of contact for families, community, and the Corporation
- Execute a high-quality monthly Zone staff newsletter, Zone family newsletter, and Zone community partner newsletter
- Coordinate visits from external parties or other district members to zone schools
- Support the management of our social media presence, as directed by the Director of Systems and School Supports
- Create Zone-level budgets, forecasts, and reports and coordinate with our accountant
- Ensure accurate accounting, bookkeeping, and expense reimbursement for the Zone
- Manage contracts, procurement, and grant flows as needed
- Coordinate with the South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) finance department as needed
- Coordinate with South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) personnel regarding school facilities issues as needed
- Coordinate with South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) transportation, food service, maintenance, and IT departments as needed
- Coordinate with South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) Human Resources to execute talent decisions as needed
- Set-up and manage Zone data systems and integration with South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) sources/requirements
- Prepare reports on school performance data as needed
Administrative Support to the Zone Chief
- Manage Zone Chief’s calendar, scheduling, and travel
- Support the Zone Chief in frequent meetings with a variety of stakeholders. Support may include taking careful notes, circulating next steps, and monitoring specific action items
- Support Zone Board meeting preparation & execution, including attending monthly Board meetings in the evening and taking notes (approximately 8 meetings per year)
- Support in preparing for professional development sessions with educators, including sending meeting invitations, agenda-setting, room set-up, etc.
- Support Zone Chief on ensuring strong follow up on critical tasks
- Follow-up with Zone Chief to ensure prompt decisions on time-sensitive items and support information-gathering to ensure decisions are appropriately informed
Leadership of Special Projects
- Serve as the key owner/driver of a variety of special projects that arise (highly variable in nature/scope)
THE SOUTH BEND EMPOWERMENT ZONE IS AN
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
