Managing Director/Director Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion (Dei)

Organization: Excel Academy Charter Schools
Campus Location: Network Team
Job Title: Managing Director/Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Reports to: Chief Schools Officer
Organization Overview

Excel Academy was founded in 2003 with the mission to provide a high-quality, free, and public education to students in East Boston and Chelsea Massachusetts, communities that are predominantly low-income and Latinx and historically have faced significant social and educational barriers. Our success in Massachusetts is proof that the opportunity gap can be closed and we opened a new school in Rhode Island in 2022. At Excel Academy Charter Schools, we believe that when a student has the support and tools to pursue a productive post-secondary pathway aligned to their personal identity and values, it can fundamentally change their life trajectory.
At Excel Academy we learn from our students, families, and staff and make improvements. We have increasingly adapted to provide a holistic education that values our community as collaborators in the learning process, social-emotional support, equity for diverse learners, and fosters identity development. We prioritize an approach that is both rigorous and inclusive. Our team of passionate, intelligent, driven, and loving staff are at the core of the work we do.
Growth Happens Here.
About the Role

Excel Academy has built an exceptionally strong academic program that has garnered national attention for producing exceptional student results. Excel Academy Rhode Island (EARI) opened in August of 2022 with 120 5th graders. At scale, in the 2030-2031 school year, we will serve approximately 2,200 students total from Providence, North Providence, and Central Falls in grades K-12 and we will continue to run our program for 1,400 students in Massachusetts. But in the meantime, there is still work to do and growth to be made. Joining an organization at an inflection point of growth, the Managing Director/Director of DEI will support the continued development of Excel Academy Charter Schools.
After conducting stakeholder surveys, interviews, and focus groups with the support of TNTP and Trajectory of Hope; seeking community feedback from faculty, staff, and school leaders; and aggregating relevant data points, our team has identified three priority growth areas in which the Managing Director/Director of DEI will lead and support. These three priority growth areas are:

• Teacher and Leader Development
• Retention of Teachers and Staff from Historically Marginalized Populations
• The Creation of a Safe & Brave Work Environment

The Managing Director/Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) provides focus and specialized support to lead, foster and grow our schools’ and network’s expanded DEI work. They are responsible for both defining and implementing an overarching vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Excel that lives across departments and people. Furthermore, this position ensures that DEI lives within our decision-making processes, strategic long-term planning, approach to learning and training, talent hiring and retention, and management. The Managing Director/Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will report to the Chief Schools Officer and is part of the Network Leadership Team.
Salary Range: $90,000-$150,000 (depending on experience and title)

Essential Functions & Responsibilities
Develop and Oversee Implementation of Strategic DEI Vision and Plan
Priority Alignment: The Creation of a Safe & Brave Work Environment, Retention of Teachers and Staff from Historically Marginalized Populations

• You will collaborate in the creation of a long-term strategic plan for equity across the Excel Network rooted in our mission, vision, theory of action, problem statement, and evidence-based research in order to advance our network priorities.
• Strategic Long-Term Planning:

• Decision-Making, Communication & Progress Monitoring:

• You will be responsible for developing communication systems to share best practices, highlight bright spots, and keep staff apprised of key initiatives and activities to advance our commitments to transparency and exemplify our stance as a growth-oriented organization.
• You will be responsible for auditing and providing a protocol for how to make and evaluate all network decisions and processes through a lens of equity and inclusion.
• You will be responsible for staying abreast of research and best practices in equity and inclusion with the ability to infuse/adapt to the Excel context in order to advance our work as a leader in DEI practices and procedures.

• School & Network Policies & Practices:

• You will be responsible for examining existing structures, practices, tools, and systems (behavioral, academic, operations, management, and hiring) throughout the Network through an anti-racist lens to evaluate aspects of racist and white dominant culture that need to be systematically dismantled.

• Hiring & Retention Protocols:

• You will be responsible for examining hiring protocols and questions through an equity lens and evaluating how DEI does and does not live in current recruiting, retention, and performance management strategies by working with the Director of Talent toward the outcome of advancing our priority of retaining teachers and staff from historically marginalized populations.

Curate and Execute Professional Development
Priority Alignment: Teacher and Leader Development, The Creation of a Safe & Brave Work Environment

• You will be responsible for using evidence-based research and best practices from diverse practitioners and researchers to create a DEI framework for thinking that includes mindsets and behaviors essential to an anti-racist leader and educator toolkit in service of our priority of furthering teacher and leader development.
• DEI-based Leadership and Instructional Competencies:

• Network Professional Development:
• You will be responsible for providing professional development sessions for network and school-based leadership teams on unconscious bias, racism, microaggressions, and multicultural approaches to school and regional practices in order to support the creation of a safe & brave work environment.
• You will be responsible for the development of a Network DEI scope and sequence for PD: differentiated for regional and school-based leaders and staff across schools and regional departments to advance the unique work of each school campus and region.

• Cultivation of a Safe & Brave Work Environment:
• You will be responsible for managing relationships with external partners and presenters as needed to deliver PD, training, and support to achieve our goals.
• You will be responsible for training regional and school-based leadership teams on cultural change and issues of power, privilege, and oppression in order to advance their work of creating a more equitable work environment for all faculty and staff.

Develop and Coach Leaders and Leadership Teams
Priority Alignment: Teacher and Leader Development, The Creation of a Safe & Brave Work Environment, Retention of Teachers and Staff from Historically Marginalized Populations

• Leader, Team, and School Development and Support:

• You will work directly with school leaders and school-based leadership teams to examine themselves as equitable leaders and support leaders to ensure a clear vision for their school is rooted in equity, honoring all identities.
• You will work with network academic leaders to support the development of culturally relevant K-12 pedagogy and curriculum, in order to continue our work in garnering exceptional results for students.
• You will work with network and school leaders on DEI growth plans for programs, and teams, ensuring an equity lens is used by leaders as they make decisions across a wide-range of topics and initiatives.

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Qualifications*

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A proven track record of success in teaching and/or leading in schools;

• 7+ years of experience in schools or direct work with families and historically marginalized communities;
• Demonstrated ability to indirectly manage and influence teams and individuals, in particular school-based and network leaders, to meet specific and strategic outcomes;
• Ability to design adult learning and teaching of the content and skills associated with operating with an equity lens;
• A commitment to and belief in all students and the mission of Excel Academy Charter Schools, including Excel’s values and educational model;
• An entrepreneurial spirit that reflects an openness to change, a willingness to problem-solve, and an interest in developing new ideas & programs;
• Preference will be given to applicants who share points of intersection with our students, such as speaking a language in addition to English at an advanced level, being first generation college graduates, or having grown up low-income.
• At least 3 years of experience developing and implementing DEI programs and experiences;
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to quickly establish credibility to develop and manage productive relationships with internal and external individuals and stakeholders; and
• The ability to focus and thrive in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment;
• Ability to engage with diverse staff and leadership to promote trust, collaboration, and partnership between departments and levels of leadership;

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $90,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year