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.

GENERAL SUMMARY: 
Uncommon Schools is creating and implementing IT and Data Governance Strategies that enables the organization to better meet the expectations on data to drive decisions for students, staff and the broader organization. Data is a critical component for any organization, and that opportunity is particularly important at Uncommon Schools where we utilize data to meet the organization’s important mission. This role will lead the organization’s efforts in enabling data to be an asset in the execution of this strategy.

The role of Director of IT and Data Governance responsibility includes leading the IT and Data Governance team within the broader Data & IT function. The individual will develop a deep understanding of the current usage and potential needs of data and systems across Uncommon’s Schools and Operational functions. This knowledge will then be utilized to frame the governance approaches required to drive better, faster and more effective technology and data enablement across the organization. The individual will also be responsible for driving various data and system projects.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

• Data Governance Leadership: Management and alignment of internal assets and process
  • Evangelist: Represent the opportunity and value Data Governance best practices bring to Uncommon among the organization’s leadership.
  • Partnership with Data & IT and Data Analytics: Establish highly effective approaches in working with functions that are critical the delivery of quality data across Uncommon 
  • Strategy: Establish the methods and processes to mature the data management activity at Uncommon Schools
  • Expertise: Lead/facilitate Data Governance activities across the organization
  • Recommendations: Provide alternatives and recommendations to data management approaches for strategic activities within schools and Home Office functions.
  • Alignment: Coordinate alignment and decision-making around data and process standards by working with staff across the schools and regions.
  • Data Support: Provide support for various data projects including new data collection and new data solution implementations.
  • Data Issue Resolution: Strong analytical skills as well as hands-on experience with data-related issue analysis and development of solutions to resolve data quality issues
  • Data Analysis: Performing ad hoc data comparisons and analysis for various Uncommon stakeholders. 
  • Author and Review Materials: Create and review material created by Stewards, Regional or Functional experts to confirm they meet organization objectives
  • Process Improvement: Reviewing existing processes and continually improving them. This includes reviewing lessons learned from each initiative within the team and providing regarding process improvements. 
  • Change Management: Obtaining signoffs and managing change requests.

• IT Governance Leadership

  • Evangelist: Represent the opportunity and value IT Governance best practices bring to Uncommon among the organization’s leadership.

  • Partnership with Data & IT, functional teams, and vendors: Establish highly effective approaches in working together that are critical to highly functioning, sustainable, technology ecosystem. 

  • Strategy: Establish guidance and processes to mature IT capabilities at Uncommon Schools

  • Expertise: Lead/facilitate IT Governance activities across the organization

  • Recommendations: Provide alternatives and recommendations to move the agenda of IT governance forward  for strategic activities within schools and Home Office functions.

  • Alignment: Coordinate alignment, decision-making, and policies around technology and process standards by working with staff across the Home Office schools and regions.

• Projects: Act a resource for various projects requiring IT or data perspective
  • Expertise: Providing leadership and training the teams on technical or business concepts and in Governance best practices. 
  • Relationship Management: Developing and maintaining strong relationships, and keeping stakeholders informed and engaged throughout the entire project lifecycle.
  • Requirement Gathering: Gather Requirements from functional and school-based teams to establish necessary 
  • Scope/Expectations: Establish IT and data governance expectations for new projects or solutions including contributing as a Governance Subject Matter expert within a project team
  • Rollout: Work closely with Project Management teams to collaborate on the roll-out and support of any new technology platforms and any data integration work.
  • Training: Providing leadership and training the team on technical or business concepts and in Governance best practices. 
  • Communication: Developing and maintaining strong relationships, and keeping clients informed and engaged throughout the entire project lifecycle.
  • Project Work: Collaborate with relevant stakeholders such as Regional and Functional leaders, other technology teams and project managers to ensure timely completion of the planned book of work
• Team Management 
  • Team Leadership: Provide a clear vision and objectives for the IT and Data Governance team and its role within Uncommon.
  • Oversight: Guide and review team member contributions to Data Governance activities and project work
  • Professional Development: Support the team members individual growth within Uncommon and the K-12 Data and technology space

Educational background:

• Bachelor’s Degree Required, Advanced Degree Preferred

Experience:

• 5-7 Years data-related experience (e.g., data quality, data compliance, data systems)

• 3+ Years managing enterprise IT systems in a complex environment (outsourced managed services, AWS, Azure)

• Experience in K-12 Education data, or experience in learning/understanding cross-industry data sets

• Experience in the creation or roll-out of Data Governance capabilities within an organization

• Experience in delivering quality technology solution through partnering with Technology functions and end users

• Experience in Project Management of small-to-medium size project across multiple stakeholders

• Experience applying  IT Governance best practices

• Experience building enterprise data systems (ODS, data warehouse, data marts…)

• Experience managing a complex enterprise architecture and associated policies and processes

Required knowledge, skills & abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to lead a team of technical experts

• Solid written and verbal communication skills

• Strong relationship management skills and end-user orientation; deep concern and empathy for users and internal stakeholders

• Demonstrated track record in driving impact and leading and managing significant, complex efforts, robust process, and project management skills

• Excellent organization, time management, and tenacious follow-up skills; ability to prioritize and demonstrate an appropriate sense of urgency

• Expert understanding of Data Management Lifecycle

• Familiarity with both business and technical metadata concepts.

• Ability to identify and describe the complex interplay between data in the various systems of origin and final use (e.g., reporting, decision-making, regulatory compliance, etc.)

• Ability to understand the implications of data quality issues and explain the impact that technology, organizational structure and business practices have on data quality

• Ability to interact with cross-functional and quality improvement teams at every level of the organization

• Familiarity with data governance tool components (e.g., Lineage, Metadata & Dictionary, Data Catalog)

• Experience with Collibra’s Data Governance Center is a plus

• A self-starter with the ability to work effectively both individually as well as part of a team

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.