Managing Director, Leadership Development

TEAM: National Team
REPORTS TO: Anna Shurak, Executive Director AND Alex Jones, SMD, Leadership Development
APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 21st at 11:59pm EST
LOCATION: Must be located in Greater Philadelphia
THE ROLE:
As MD, Leadership Development, you will be the primary success partner for ensuring that a cohort of CMs (25-28) and incoming CMs (10-15) are positioned to access what they need in order to impact our 10 year goal, and enter alumnihood with a clear vision for how they can continue to contribute to One Day from the matriculation phase through their two year commitment. You will lead the development of an individualized and customized plan of support for each corps member, drawing on their strengths, interests, and needs to propel them towards exceptional results with their students in their classrooms. In partnership with your Regional Point(s) of Contact, broader regional team(s), and fellow MD,LDs you will work to steward progress towards the 2030 goal in-region by ensuring that each participant can navigate through their ecosystem of support receiving a standardized, customized, and personalized experience.
From the beginning you will steward corps members through confirmation and matriculation as the primary relationship holder, working closely with the region’s MD, Matriculation Generalist as they support incoming corps members through the logistics of matriculation and onboarding. Through pre-service you will holistically support the corps members and cohort experience by leading community gatherings, facilitating coaching spaces, and working alongside your regional team(s) and national partners to design the practicum experience. During their corps experience you will work with each corps member to evaluate inputs to assess root causes, connect them to specific people and resources to address needed learning and growth, support them in making sense of both their ecosystem of support and their broader experience, and overall serve as an executive and leadership coach to each of them.
The ideal candidate is passionate about supporting corps members to achieve strong results with students through building relationships, making connections to people and resources, supporting reflection and data-informed decisions, and analyzing student learning to determine recommended supports in service of driving continual learning and improvement. You enjoy being a partner and guide in the vast ecosystem supporting corps members. You have a systems-level understanding of the moving pieces and the critical thinking skills to help them navigate the ecosystem to maximize learning. You are experienced with leadership coaching and are confident advising adults.
THE PERSON
In this role you will:
Overall

• Deeply know each participants' experience, goals and potential barriers to completion
• Be able to apply knowledge of participant policies and procedures to navigate CM concerns and de-escalate risk. This includes drafting, managing and executing improvement plans, seeking consultation from internal partners (SMD, LD, CMPP, National Mental Health Consultant, Legal Affairs, regional point of contact, etc) when barriers or incidents arise with participants relative to their experience, impact, and/or retention
• Connect CMs to appropriate resources, based on individual CM needs and development plans.
• Maintain a deep understanding of all supports available to CMs in their regions, their placement community, CM wellness resources, external instructional supports, and their alignment to the CM Roadmap for Development.
• Manage the relationship and retention of CMs from Matriculation to Alumnihood
• Participate in select regional staff events (retreats, staff meetings, regional corps member events, etc)
• Set the vision and direction for a portfolio of approximately 40 participants by serving as primary relationship holder, sense-making partner, connector, and leadership coach through each phase of their journey.

Additional Details:
Matriculation (20%)

• Partner with your region(s) to execute a placement strategy that accelerates us toward the 10 year goal; seek and secure placement opportunities aligned to that strategy, and do what is needed to ensure ICMs are set up for success.
• Serve as the primary success partner to assigned matriculants with the goal of helping each matriculant understand the regional context, feel connected to the region and organization, and successfully matriculate.
• In conjunction with MD, Matriculation Generalist, analyze inputs to identify key trends and adjust strategies between each confirmation window to ensure we’re matriculating the maximum number of corps members to your region(s), in alignment with the placement strategy.
• When needed: Track confirmation and onboarding progress and/or communications updates in appropriate tracker, ex: unique circumstances, any information we need to know to manage them through the onboarding process.
• Work in conjunction with the MD, Matriculation Generalist to ensure incoming corps members can make sense of required action items, understand who to go to for what, and have the information they need to confidently join the corps.
• Examples include: interview prep, strategic connections to schools/interviews, scheduling, etc. (paperwork/materials submissions needed to qualify for an interview handled by MD, Matriculation Generalist).

Pre-Service (10%)

• Once determined, support the Leadership Development-Operations team in planning and execution of in-person practicum.
• Facilitate regional community building, support CMs to make sense of their experience and the ecosystem of supports around them, and provide ongoing support to CMs in determining strengths, areas for improvement, and root causes for identified issues to strategically connect CMs with the most relevant supports.
• In conjunction with the Regional Point(s) of Contact, undergo a rigorous process to determine a location for pre-service practicum that is best aligned with the regional strategy.

In-Service (50%)

• Maintain school-based relationships to steward partnership, elevate needs, and support retention efforts.
• Attend staff training and facilitate CM sessions aligned to the student surveys.
• Implement CLASS assessment for all CMs in prek-grade 3 classrooms.
• Help CMs develop an understanding of what their CLASS scores mean.
• Partner with each corps member to develop an individualized coaching and support plan involving determining strengths, areas for improvement, and root causes for identified issues to strategically connecting CMs with most relevant supports (including additional classroom observations as needed).
• Support CM to make meaning of their CLASS scores in connection to prioritized actions to take to improve their practice.
• Complete CLASS certification prior to the first CLASS observation (training provided by TFA).
• Evaluate CM teaching practice with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) through in-person or virtual classroom observations.
• Analyze trends in learning and support needs across CMs experiences in order to communicate with those building group learning experiences, and play a role in designing and implementing the Equity Driven Teaching & Learning Summits
• Connect CM to resources across the ecosystem of support in alignment to the areas of strength and areas of growth surfaced through their CLASS scores.
• Support CM leadership development in utilizing the CLASS to reflect on their impact and continuously increase their effectiveness.
• Support CMs in the implementation and sense making of Cultivate and/or other student surveys.
• Partner with our external instructional coaches, local principals and local instructional supports to create individualized plans for CMs.
• Support the development of the revised CLASS 2025 tool for prek-grade 12.

AmeriCorps (10%)

• Complete AmeriCorps evaluations at the middle and end of the program year; as needed, and help secure principal forms. Support documentation collection processes for status changes.
• As needed and directed by the Manager, Leadership Development-Operations (M,LD-Ops), follow-up with incoming CMs and current CMs to complete AmeriCorps action items.
• Monitor CMs enrolled in AmeriCorps on AmeriCorps requirements; as needed, inform principals of requirements.

Other (10%)

• Serve as an “all hands on deck” team member willing to support your program team in various ways as needs and opportunities arise including selection.
• Complete general administrative responsibilities accurately and on time.
• Engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations for ongoing personal reflection and learning, acknowledging that we are never done learning and growing.

Your Experience
Your areas of knowledge and expertise that matter most for this role (minimum qualifications):

• Certification: Complete CLASS certification prior to the first CLASS observation (training provided by TFA), hold an executive coaching certification, or be willing to acquire one (at TFA’s expense) in the first year of the role.
• Bachelor’s degree
• Willing to work flexible hours with some nights and weekends
• Travel: Ability to travel to in-person meetings in various U.S. cities 2-3 times/year, and regions supported - depending on number of regions supported (at least one - no more than 2)
• 5+ years work experience, including at least 2 years classroom teaching experience

BONUS (preferred Qualifications)

• Skilled in conducting needs assessments, analyzing complex landscapes, and deriving a set of strategic levers to support prioritized needs
• Skilled in creating and upholding accountability practices to ensure enterprise success
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills - with orientation to proactive communications with managers about progress and potential areas of concern
• A track record of getting results while managing multiple large-scale projects simultaneously Skills & Orientations:
• High skill and orientation towards managing up. (thinking specifically about the need to be explicit with two different managers on their needs, questions, etc)
• Belief that there is a place for both standard and customized approaches to supporting CMs across our enterprise
• Deep commitment to being an anti-racist leader through grounding in our commitment to diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion
• Strong sense of self-awareness and understanding of strengths and areas for development
• Work with a significant level of autonomy, and make strategic decisions in varying and nuanced situations
• Demonstrated ability to:
• Love of thinking across the enterprise and considering multiple levers and ways of operating that benefit multiple regions, not just one - feeling “on the hook” for success in all regions
• Have energy for/get joy from supporting CMs in their ability to determine and assess what they need to succeed vs nitty gritty instructional coaching
• Listen, learn, and earn credibility with all constituencies, then decisively move forward to implement agreed-upon solutions
• Strength in critical problem solving such that your manager is a thought partner, not a problem solver and you can plan independently and at a high level with baseline information (templates/examples not needed) High willingness to leave many components of past programming behind and adopt something new
• Experience coaching and advising capable and competent leaders through complex challenges towards impact.
• 7+ years experience, with specific experience in leadership coaching and/or leading adults
• Manage multiple priorities, prioritize effectively, and alternate fluidly between thinking about the big picture and executing on specific strategies
• A belief that the focus is not only on the success of the region (or group of regions) you support, but that we are on the hook for the success of the organization at large
• Exceptional relationship builder with CMs and school leaders and external partners
• Develop and cultivate effective relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders and support them in contributing to a shared goal
• Deep commitment to being an anti-racist leader and building these orientations among your corps member cohort, grounded in our commitment to diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion
• Deep investment in Teach For America’s core values and mission
• Desire to be on the hook for ensuring each candidate has the strongest possible offer and work with your team to identify needs, address them, and be responsible for changes

YOUR FUTURE TEAM
As a MD, Leadership Development, you will be a member of both the Teach For America Program team and of the region(s) you support. The Program Team is responsible for defining the type of systems-change leadership required to reach “One Day” and how to best develop that leadership through the act of teaching. We provide, develop, and or connect people to resources and experiences of superior quality, relevance, and efficiency that empower and support regions in optimally developing leadership through the act of teaching in ways that can be adapted to their specific contexts. As a result, our teachers are more likely to feel part of a connected and thriving community, increasingly achieve meaningful and enduring impact, and commit to systems-change leadership in their work for educational equity.
Your Compensation
The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. The expected salary range for this role is $101,700-$146,900. This range may be modified in the future.
You can view which tier applies to where you plan to work here. If your location is not listed, please click here for additional total rewards information.
THE PERKS
By joining staff, you join a network of individuals committed to pursuing equity for all students and developing themselves as professionals in the process. We as an organization value the longevity of our employees and offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits plan. The salary range for this U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands.
NEXT STEPS
Interested in this position? Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Apply. For questions about Program Prototype roles, reach out to [email protected]. If you have questions regarding other non-Program Prototype roles, please reach our to the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected] or visit www.teachforamerica.org/about-us/careers.