School Network Staff Managing Director
Job Description
About SF Parents
SF Parent Coalition is a 501c3 nonprofit with a political affiliate arm, SF Parent Action. Our parent advocacy collective was formed during the summer of 2020, in response to the pandemic education crisis when, in San Francisco, local education leaders were ignoring family voices and disregarding the needs of students. The grassroots movement began by going out into communities, listening to parents of all backgrounds, and then lifting up their concerns and desires to school district leaders and the S.F. Board of Education. In just a few months, the group grew from 100 parents to more than 1,000, with members from more than 70 schools in SFUSD. We now have more than 5,000 parents and supporters who subscribe to our newsletter, more than 2,000 people in our private Facebook forum, and we have parent representation from 110 local public schools in San Francisco within our network. We advocate for issues that resonate most with our families, currently with an active early literacy campaign underway. Through our political affiliate we elect school board leaders who will focus on student outcomes and enact student-centered policies.
Vision and Values
SF Parent Coalition / SF Parent Action envisions a future where San Francisco is one of the best places in the country for children and youth of all races, socioeconomic backgrounds and abilities to grow up and get an excellent public education.
- We connect and empower parents across San Francisco.
- We center the needs of children and youth.
- We believe in the vital importance of public education.
- We advocate with integrity.
- We hold decision-makers and ourselves accountable, particularly to equitable outcomes for SFUSD students.
- We build community with joy, one conversation at a time.
SF Parent Coalition is in support and alignment with SFUSD’s equity values that provides all students the quality instruction and equitable support required to thrive in the 21st century.
Position Summary
The Managing Director plays a key role responsible for enhancing the internal organization and infrastructure necessary for SF Parent Coalition’s / SF Parent Action’s continued success and growth. The Managing Director is primarily an internal-facing leader, coach, and planner who works with the leadership team and staff to achieve organizational goals. They will play a critical role within the team to improve internal systems with an eye toward future strategic needs and budget realities. They are a strong communicator and have a get-things-done kind of attitude. SF Parents’ Managing Director will support an inclusive culture at SF Parents, built upon trust and integrity as we partner with parents and caregivers to advocate for a thriving, equitable school system. The Managing Director will directly supervise one full-time and two part-time employees: Organizing Director, Operations Manager, Outreach Associate, as well as several contractors who contribute to our work and advocacy. Some of these contractor and part-time roles may turn into full-time roles and direct reports as we grow the organization.
The Opportunity & Responsibilities
- Strategy development. Collaborating with E.D., board, staff and parent/community network to develop an annual strategic plan.
- Strategy implementation. Monitoring implementation of annual strategic plan, leading quarterly planning to ensure full and effective implementation of strategic plan. Oversight of communications and events implementation, as relates to organizational strategic plan and key program/advocacy areas.
- Operations oversight. Develop internal systems and procedures to streamline and ensure overall smooth organizational operations and effective project management. Ability to manage a complex organization with multiple structures (nonprofit 501c3, nonprofit 501c4, and political action committee) with resource-sharing across affiliate organizations and important firewalls in place. Ensure proper and timely legal, accounting, and compliance reporting. Oversee and work with part-time operations manager staff.
- Budget oversight. Monitor budget and ensure spending matches priorities, develop quarterly reports for board(s) on how budgeted compares to actuals.
- Team management. Manage the team of full-time and part-time staff, volunteers, and contractors who together constitute the SF Parent Coalition/SF Parent Action team. Determine and implement a performance management system and ensure staff are meeting their goals in a timely and effective manner.
- Campaign monitoring and implementation. Work closely with Director of Organizing to develop and monitor issue/advocacy campaigns (e.g. improving literacy outcomes at SFUSD, fixing our budget, Board of Education voter/election awareness), along with other staff and parent volunteers supporting the work, always attuned to and reflecting the positions of our base: our grassroots parent network.
Strengths or Areas of Responsibility Already Existing on Team
- Grassroots parent power
- Organizing
- Overall Strategy & Direction
- Grasstops Relationships
- Legal (outside counsel)
- Bookkeeping (outside contractor)
Essential Qualities/Qualifications
- Parent Voice Advocate: Demonstrated commitment to the critical role that parent voice should play in public education systems.
- Values & Policy Alignment: Deep alignment with the mission, vision, values, and policy priorities of SF Parent Coalition.
- Experienced Leader: At least 7 years of experience in a leadership role with at least some experience as a direct manager and/or hiring manager.
- Effective Project Manager & Logistics Leader. Enjoys creating, implementing and streamlining multiple projects and systems into a seamless operation. When facing a complex issue or project, instinct is to break it down into manageable pieces to determine the most efficient solution — and then prioritize against competing project needs in order to execute effectively and drive results. This person is often referred to as “highly organized” by those around them. Identifies potential pitfalls in a project and finds a way to avoid or fix them.
- Politically confident: Comfortable working on local political issues around education, including endorsement of candidates.
- Culturally Competent. Thinks and speaks about issues of race, class, gender, and other forms of identity thoughtfully and with compassion. Actively supports SF Parent Coalition’s efforts to undo institutional racism.
- A Collaborative Advocate. Works with a collaborative spirit with community partners, school district and elected leaders. Understands the importance of relationships in gaining influence and power to make change for students and families.
- Gets Things Done. Demonstrated experience accomplishing important goals, and can play the roles of individual contributor on our small team as well as managing and directing the work of others and delegating effectively.
- Excellent Communicator. Able to communicate internally and externally with a high-level of effectiveness.
Desirable Qualities/Qualifications (Not Required)
- Advocacy Structure Experience. Has some experience working with the complexities of 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and political action committee nonprofit and political structures. If this experience is not part of a candidates’ background, they should be excited to learn and implement in this area.
- Experienced Public Speaker. Interest in and experience as an organizational spokesperson is desirable, but not required, for this role.
- Education Experience. Experience working in and around education, either in a school or policy setting, would be ideal in this role.
- Lived Experience. The ideal candidate will have shared life experiences and/or identities with the families we work with here in San Francisco and in SFUSD.
- Political Experience. Experience working or volunteering in or around the political scene, especially in San Francisco, is a plus for this role.
- Strategy and Budget Leadership: Our ideal candidate has led strategy processes or conversations and budget processes and has demonstrated experience connecting strategy to budget decisions.
- Development Experience or Connections: As an early-stage organization, candidates who bring fundraising experience and/or connections would contribute a valuable set of skills to our team.
Compensation
Compensation for this role will depend on experience within the range of $110,000-120,000 and includes health benefits.
Anti-Discrimination Policy and Commitment to Diversity
SF Parent Coalition seeks individuals of all backgrounds without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, marital status, genetics, or any other factor that the law protects from employment discrimination to apply for this position. We are committed to ensuring diversity within our organization and network, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort.
About SF Parent Coalition
Founded in the summer of 2020, San Francisco Parent Coalition (formerly Decreasing the Distance) is a collective of 5,000+ San Francisco public school parents, students, teachers, and community supporters. We center the needs of children and youth in San Francisco public schools by bringing together a diverse network of parents and caregivers to advocate for a thriving, equitable school system.
SF Parent Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that undertakes policy advocacy and public education efforts. Donations to SF Parent Coalition are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
SF Parent Coalition is related to SF Parent Action, a separate 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that engages in lobbying, ballot measure, and partisan elections work. Donations to SF Parent Action are never tax deductible. SF Parent Coalition and SF Parent Action have the same overall missions and share office space and employees. They maintain separate boards of directors. The person filling this position will be hired by SF Parent Coalition, but will often perform some or all of the duties described above for SF Parent Action.
