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.

Position Overview

Uncommon Schools (Uncommon) is seeking a Chief of Staff and Strategy (CoSS) to drive organizational strategy and effectiveness through ownership of strategic planning, portfolio management and growth strategy, Executive Team and Uncommon Board structures, organization-wide culture and communications, and as a steward and thought partner to the Co-CEOs. The Chief of Staff and Strategy manages the General Counsel and the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Alumni Impact, and directly manages several high-priority initiatives each year. The CSO serves as a member of the Executive Team and reports to co-CEO Brett Peiser. Strong candidates will be seasoned professionals with senior leadership team experience who are skilled strategists, influencers, and communicators and who are also adept at problem-solving and execution. The ideal candidate is passionate about improving K-12 education, is an influential team and culture leader, is skilled at building effective relationships across diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders, and is actively committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Drive organizational strategy and effectiveness through ownership of strategic planning, portfolio management and growth strategy

• Own long-term and annual strategic planning and organizational priority-setting for Uncommon
• Oversee accountability and progress monitoring processes to ensure Uncommon meets its strategic organizational goals
• Lead portfolio management and growth strategy to facilitate key regional and school portfolio decisions (e.g., greenlighting), conduct regional assessments and landscape analysis, and evaluate ongoing school operational and financial health
• Ensure strong stakeholder management and effective cross-functional input and communication of strategic decisions

Enable and support senior leadership effectiveness through ownership of Executive Team and Uncommon Board structures and as a steward and thought partner to the Co-CEOs

• Drive successful Executive Team performance and health, including through design and implementation of meeting and planning structures and processes and supporting Executive Team hiring, onboarding and offboarding
• Ensure cross-functional collaboration and work with individual members of the Executive Team and other organizational and functional leaders as a thought partner and support to ensure accomplishment of strategic priorities
• Serve as a thought partner to the Co-CEOs and maximize their effectiveness, including through serving as a proxy and sounding board
• Be proactive around co-CEO’s priorities by staying ahead of and circling back on potential short-, medium-, and long-term opportunities and organizational risks
• Drive key senior leadership planning and decisions, including organizational structure design and succession planning
• Ensure excellent management and implementation of Uncommon Board of Trustees structures and processes, including meetings, communications, governance, membership, and performance evaluation

Help ensure effective organizational communications, in support of strong organizational culture and alignment

• Lead and support co-CEO communications, including overseeing development of and directly writing and editing leadership presentations and organization-wide messages
• Collaborate closely with co-CEOs, Chief External Officer, Marketing and Media teams to support effective external and internal communications as well as to leverage proactive media opportunities and ensure effective reactive response to external challenges
• Oversee initiatives and activities to strengthen organizational culture and pride through clear and effective communication 

Manage key Home Office functions through direct management of team leaders

• Manage Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Alumni Impact in support of organizational strategy and planning, as well as alumni network management
• Manage General Counsel, including development of Legal Affairs approach, labor relations and oversight of Uncommon’s intellectual property
• Directly manage several specific strategic initiatives each year (e.g., ESSER grant strategy and management, regional Board services agreement renewals)
• Manage or support management of additional Home Office functions as required

Provide organization-wide leadership as member of the Executive Team

• Drive organizational-wide strategy and accomplishment of goals as part of the Executive Team
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with the Executive Team and other senior leaders to identify and support their needs and ensure collaboration and coordination
• Drive organization-wide or cross-functional challenges, questions and issues to resolution, through direct leadership or through collaboration with functional leadership
• Serve as an organizational ambassador internally and externally; model Uncommon’s values and focus on building a healthy and feedback-driven organizational culture
• Embrace and operationalize Uncommon’s commitment to DEI, helping to drive success of a multi-year plan to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion 

• Passionate dedication to the mission of Uncommon Schools and a demonstrable commitment to leading for equity and social justice
• Experience as a trusted member of an organization's senior leadership team
• Exceptional and creative strategic, analytical, problem-solving and critical thinking skills
• Outstanding organization and project management skills – ability to see the big picture and to manage the small details;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to present effectively
• Strong change management skills, and the ability to influence and facilitate decision-making among multiple, diverse parties
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to build extremely strong relationships
• Experience managing multiple high-performing individuals and teams and building organizational culture
• Ability to multi-task, set and drive priorities, monitor progress towards goals, and utilize data and information
• Demonstrated ability to be proactive and take initiative
• A minimum of 10 years of leadership experience and/or 15 years of professional experience, ideally in strategy or operations
• Experience in K-12 schools strongly preferred.

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 compensation for this role based in New York starts at $240,000. The starting pay will depend on various factors that may include but are not limited to professional experience, education, training, certifications, tenure with Uncommon Schools, and work location.  Because one of the things that we value is staff tenure in a role, we do not currently cap salary ranges.  Please note: ranges may differ for staff who work from a location other than New York. 

Benefits: We offer comprehensive, flexible, and competitive compensation,  benefits and perks that support the personal health, wellness, and finances of our staff and their families.

• Comprehensive Health Insurance

• Financial Planning & Wellness

  • 403(b) retirement savings plan and/or region specific Pension plan 

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness  Program  & 529 Savings plan

• Generous Time-Off plan aligned with school calendars

• Leave of Absence

  • 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave +

• Mental Health and Counseling support

• Relocation Assistance

• Other Perks and Discounts

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 an exceptional team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. We also strive to ensure an inclusive community by creating a space for meaningful dialogue about issues of race and identity for our staff and students. As an equal opportunity employer, Uncommon provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We also ensure that individuals with disabilities receive all privileges and benefits associated with employment and are provided reasonable accommodations for the interview process and to perform core job functions. If you would like to request an accommodation, please email [email protected].