Uncommon Schools is a non-profit network of 53 outstanding public charter schools in grades K-12 across New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Our mission is to start and manage outstanding urban public charter schools that close the achievement gap and prepare students from low-income backgrounds for success in college and beyond. We are accomplishing that mission every day, with a college graduation rate that is well above the national average and thousands of stories of our students and alumni achieving their dreams.

Position Overview

The Director / Senior Associate Director of School Management Strategy is an essential member of the Uncommon Schools’ K-8 Chief Schools Officer (CSO) Team and will focus on supporting and systemizing the management of our schools. Managed by the Chief of Staff-K8, the role will drive strategy and operation for our school management team and work closely with all of our Assistant Superintendents in all of our regions.

Responsibilities:

 Strategic Planning and Project Management

·         Advise Chief of Staff-K8 on school management and school initiatives

·         Project manage Chief Schools Officer (CSO) strategic plan and select initiatives

·         Drive and manage Regional Assistant Superintendents and Principal instructional strategic planning process and execution

·         Develop materials and deliverables to support initiative/project rollout, execution, and monitoring (e.g., dashboard, key performance indicators, templates, etc.)

·         Support innovation projects and processes

School Management and Support

·         Supervise Regional School Coordinators that support Assistant Superintendents: includes providing professional development and codifying systems

·         Develop and monitor tasks and key performance indicators for strong schools and initiatives

·         Identify and problem solve school management issues and codify best solutions/practices

·         Develop data reports and stronger systems around data; working with Data Analytics team

·         Drive, consult and support school inspection (evaluation) process

Chief Schools Officer, Team Support and Management

·         Manage CSO communication: creating and managing plan, drafting internal and external messaging, operationalizing the plan, managing stakeholders

·         Develop materials for CSO presentations: executive, senior leadership, and team meetings

·         Gather input from instruction, operations, and HO functions for decision making and business improvements

·         Operate CSO talent work around instructional school leadership: rubric, performance review, recruitment/hiring, etc.

·         Administer CSO, office operations including owning the budget, on-boarding, and home office ad hoc requests

·         Support R&D on best practices and innovation

·         Exceptional and creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and strategic planning skills 

·         Facility to move comfortably between high level strategic thinking and intricate details 

·         Ability to translate and structure complicated or a lot of information in order for effective decision making and progress towards goals

·         Strong project management as well as time and task management skills, enabling multiple and large scale projects to be completed on time 

·         Ability to learn quickly, to pivot when needed, and to be effective in a fast-paced, dynamic, entrepreneurial environment

·         Able to work autonomously and thoroughly with independent self-reflection, as well as take direction as needed 

·         Outstanding ability to lead and drive change, including influencing and motivating others through relationship building

·         Alignment to and urgency around Uncommon’s mission 

Educational background:

·         A Bachelor’s Degree required, Advanced Degree preferred (MPA, MBA,  or other relevant degree)

Experience:

·         Minimum 5 years of working experience managing complex and/or cross-functional projects

·         Experience in project management, manager, consulting or other relevant field

·         Education background preferred but not required

This role may require occasional travel to all Uncommon regions

Uncommon Schools offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package.  Aside from extensive professional development, all our staff members are equipped with a laptop computer, email, and all necessary supplies.

Uncommon believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization that enables our students and staff to thrive. We are committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. At the same time, we work to ensure an inclusive community through creating a space for important dialogue about issues of race and identity for our staff and students.  As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.