Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit network of high-performing, public charter schools providing an outstanding K-12 education in historically under-resourced communities. We have proudly built schools that reflect our student population, with more than 60% of our teachers and staff across our network identifying as a person of color. Uncommon currently manages 53 schools serving more than 20,000 students in five cities: Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark and Rochester. We are proud that Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at five times the rate of their peers nationally. We achieve this by offering strong academic, co-curricular, and social-emotional learning that prepares students for success in college and beyond.

Location: Either New York, NY or Newark, NJ

Position Overview

The Special Assistant supports the Senior Director and Director of School Support. The School Support leaders manage our Principal Fellow and Dean of Students programs, two network-wide programs for developing strong school leaders with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles. The role will provide a unique opportunity to see and learn about school management and public charter school operations at the network-wide level. Location is flexible between Newark and NYC; travel between regions or to retreat locations may be required about 4-6 times annually.

Responsibilities

Administrative Tasks

• Ensure that time is increased and aligned with the organization’s priorities through calendar management, arranging meetings, and coordinating all details of travel and creating a comprehensive travel itinerary
• Provide support on financial operations, including credit card reconciliation, reimbursement processing, and administrative duties needed
• Create and maintain strategic trackers and metrics to ensure progress on high level work towards goals
• Exemplify a growth mindset through continuing to innovate and refine systems and templates
• Support in meetings when necessary, creating presentations or taking minutes

Program Management Support for Network-Wide Initiatives

• Lead a team of individuals to continuously build and maintain internal systems to track school data and information across the network
• Project plan and operationalize within Principal Fellowship and Dean of Students program
• Manage communication plan, drafts, and execution of large scale communications and smaller culture touchpoints
• Support in shaping a joyful staff culture within the President's team and/or school and Home Office leaders

• Bachelor’s degree
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Exceptional organizational skills that reflect an ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly and fastidiously all the way to completion
• Strong growth mindset with an inclination to reflect and improve
• High level of flexibility to reprioritize and pivot quickly with an enthusiastic and can-do attitude
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and remain detail-oriented
• An eagerness and confidence to propose new ideas and systems
• Very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with multiple stakeholders and teams
• Highly resourceful and problem-solving team player, and effective independently, as well
• MS Suite (Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel)

Our people are what make us uncommon. It’s important to us that our compensation practices align with our values and enhance our ability to attract and retain talent.  Our compensation philosophy is focused on equity and fairness, retaining our talented staff and valuing their expertise, and transparency and clarity.

Compensation for this position: The starting compensation for this role based in New York, NY or Newark, NJ is between $64,000 to $75,300 and generally, we expect that qualified candidates in this location will be made an offer between $64,000 and $67,800. The starting pay will depend on a variety of factors that may include but are not limited to experience, education, training, certification, and location. Because we value staff staying in their roles over time, we do not currently cap salary ranges.

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 meaningful 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.