School Network Staff Program Officer, Restorative Student Interventions
Job Description
About our foundation
The Chamberlin Education Foundation (CEF) is a nonprofit family foundation that advances student success in West Contra Costa, CA. The foundation’s grants and programs are designed to generate improved academic outcomes and long-term educational success for K-12 public school students — particularly Black, Latinx, and other historically under-resourced groups — across West Contra Costa’s 68 public schools.
CEF recently revised its strategic plan and has identified Restorative Student Interventions as a new funding area. Unlike punitive disciplinary practices that isolate students and interfere with learning, restorative approaches enable young people to strengthen classroom connections, engage constructively, maintain or regain academic ground, and continue their personal growth in the classroom alongside their peers. Our team seeks a Program Officer to lead our work in this emerging focus area.
The opportunity
The Program Officer, Restorative Student Interventions (RSI) will research, develop, and implement a comprehensive, multi-year strategy designed to bolster district-level policies and practices that promote restorative rather than punitive approaches to school climate and culture. We are currently seeking an inspired and experienced youth advocate who will study, co-design, support, and evaluate initiatives that lead to the wide scale implementation of restorative student interventions in West Contra Costa public schools and classrooms. Reporting to the VP of Academics, the Program Officer will build authentic partnerships with community based organizations, elevate youth and community voice, and develop a research-based perspective on the shifts in policy and practice that will most effectively drive systemic and sustainable change across the West Contra Costa educational ecosystem.
Candidate profile
The ideal candidate is an experienced systems thinker, adept at strategically evaluating and navigating partnership opportunities and converting complex goals into concrete, actionable steps that advance CEF’s work in this key focus area.
Candidates with 7-10 years experience in education, youth or community advocacy, coalition building, and managing and scaling complex youth-centered systems are encouraged to apply. Successful candidates will demonstrate a record of success creating new education policy or practices, a deep familiarity with the theory and methods of successful restorative practices, and experience working directly with youth, families, and educators.
Core responsibilities
The Program Officer, RSI will:
Research, develop, and present to CEF board a comprehensive, multi-year funding strategy for Chamberlin Education Foundation to support initiatives, partnerships, and advocacy efforts that will promote the wide scale adoption of restorative student interventions in West Contra Costa public schools
- Research and draft a landscape analysis that documents current RSI policies and practices in West Contra Costa public schools, identifying key gaps and opportunities
- Meet with community-based organization leaders, community advocates, and young people to learn about current efforts in this space, inform CEF strategy, and identify strategic opportunities for aligned action
- Serve as CEF’s resident expert on discipline policy, both within and outside West Contra Costa; research and identify promising innovations in restorative interventions in other districts across the country
- Develop and defend a perspective on the policies and practices that need to shift to enable schools to embrace restorative approaches
Support West Contra Costa education leaders (young people, community advocates, and educators) to advocate for RSI best practices and co-design innovative solutions
- Strengthen relationships and create opportunities to convene young people, educators, nonprofit partners and local leaders around RSI
- Elevate the voice of young people who are most harmed by the current policies and practices
- Champion effective RSI practices in WCC schools and encourage lead educators and community members to recognize their value for teachers, students, and schools
- Co-design promising solutions alongside young people and support the implementation, refinement, and measurement of these solutions
Build a system to manage community contacts, program data, and success measures for internal and external reporting
- Gather, organize, analyze, and report on project and program data and outcomes
- Generate reports and progress updates about RSI work for internal and external audiences
- Partner with CEF staff to reconsider and broaden traditional measures of student success to include measurements of well being and belonging
Embody the values and principles that align with CEF’s organizational identity and mission
- Represent the foundation in public settings and with key partners and stakeholders
- Champion the foundation’s core beliefs, strategic approach, and overall commitment to student success
- Encourage and generate positive experiences with CEF’s supported RSI programs, partners and practices
Support the CEF team in other areas of grantmaking, including, but not limited to:
- Community Giving Initiative, a program to support youth-serving community organizations in West Contra Costa
- Annual staff and advisory board discretionary grants
Candidate skills and attributes
This position is for you if you are:
- An experienced program leader with a track record of implementing restorative student interventions that led to measurable student achievement
- Driven to improve educational outcomes for all students with a particular focus on Black and Latinx students, and other historically underserved, high-needs student populations
- Passionate about elevating student and community voice and building inclusive classroom/school environments
- Excited about building a network of connected educators, nonprofit leaders, education researchers, and community-based organizations grounded in the importance of inclusivity and welcoming student environments, and ultimately in the impact on student success
- Strong operator who is able to plan and manage complex projects that include multiple internal and external stakeholders
- A highly relational professional with the capacity to build strong, trusting relationships with both staff, students and community stakeholders
- A strategist who is able to pursue the right research to arrive at an evidence based approach to making investments and supporting grantees
- A continuous learner and policy “enthusiast” interested in building deeper expertise around national, state, and district-level discipline policies and the promising innovations happening in the restorative intervention space
- Equally effective working independently and as part of a highly collaborative team that values flexibility, candor, humor, inclusivity, and open-mindedness
- Enthusiastic to deploy existing and emerging technology in service of CEF’s partnership, collaboration, and impact goals
Candidate additional qualifications
- B.A./B.S. degree from an accredited university
- Minimum of 7 years experience working with youth as a teacher, counselor, educational program specialist or related work experience
- Demonstrated familiarity or commitment to West Contra Costa (preferred)
- Spanish communication skills (preferred)
- Working proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Asana, and / or CRM platforms (eg. Hubspot, Salesforce, etc.) or demonstrated desire to quickly learn
What CEF offers
- Competitive salary of $100,000-$130,000 based on experience
- Generous benefits package including, medical, vision, dental, life, and long term disability insurance, and 401(k)matching
- Flexibility to work remotely two days per week
- An opportunity to design and build partnerships/programs from the ground up
- The room and resources to innovate and execute in partnership with a small, agile and supportive team
- An entrepreneurial environment with mission-driven colleagues who are as passionate and committed as you are
- Continued opportunities for professional growth and development
- The chance to make a difference
Relevant Policies at CEF
Chamberlin Education Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CEF is committed to providing a workplace free of unlawful harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, marital status, registered domestic partner status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
