Teach For America is seeking a managing director of teacher leadership development (MD, TLD) for the Southwest Ohio region. The MD, TLD is charged with leading a team of teacher coaches to ensure that the students in corps members’ classrooms experience path-broadening academic growth and meaningful, expanded opportunities in life. The MD, TLD is also charged with ensuring that the same team inspires corps members (because of their experience in our region) to become lifelong advocates for educational equity. The MD, TLD will manage two teacher coaches (and likely support a small number of corps members directly); collectively, they will support 50 corps members to reach over 2,500 high poverty students across Greater Cincinnati and Dayton each year.
The MD, TLD will be a leader on the Southwest Ohio team and ensure that the region achieves its vision. The role is pivotal in our region’s ability to meet its ambitious student achievement and alumni goals and also plays a key role on the regional leadership team. This person is a mission-critical senior leader and manager on our regional team and in our organization. The MD, TLD will report directly to the executive director.
Craft annual priorities, goals, and strategies grounded in regional vision for impact:
- Anchor team’s annual strategic planning process in a compelling vision focused on path-broadening impact with children in the classroom and life-changing learning and conviction for corps members
- In consultation with the executive director and the TLD team, set an ambitious set of annual goals aligned to that vision (inclusive of classroom impact, culture, retention)
- Develop strategies and tactics that will lead corps members and the TLD team to an ambitious set of annual goals, including an updated regional scope and sequence for CM development
Team leadership
- Inspire the TLD team and corps to internalize the possibility of achieving ambitious goals related to student outcomes, realize their potential to expand dramatically the options students can exercise, and claim their role as leaders in the movement for educational equity
- Set expectations for two direct reports who coach and support corps members that is grounded in the region’s vision and goals: for annual individual goals, for how they can apply their time to drive results (for student outcomes, for corps member leadership development, for corps member culture and retention)
- Monitor team progress toward those outcomes through careful collection and analysis of data (as well as qualitative observations and meaning making)
- Cultivate good judgment in your team about trends and causes in classrooms and lead them to take actions that result in significant positive changes in classrooms
- Foster a culture of excellence on the team (i.e., committed to high quality work, supportive and affirming of one another, inclusive and equitable across lines of difference, deeply grounded in TFA’s core values)
- Hire and onboard new TLD staff members; support their ongoing professional development and performance
Regional Leadership Team
- Align decisions, actions and priorities to the greater interests of Teach For America – Southwest Ohio
- Ensure strategic alignment and coordinated execution across functional groups to achieve organizational goals.
- Own and support broader regional and organizational priorities (i.e. help recruit, select, and retain new corps members, support regional alumni initiatives, attend major regional events)
- Serve as a leader for regional culture and collaboration, including personal commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness
- Model a strong commitment to the core values of Teach For America and professional learning and growth, including participation in national training and consulting opportunities.
- Engage in Regional Leadership Team meetings and other related structures
Prior Experience
- Prior experience in designing and executing curriculum and programming for corps members or beginning teachers is required
- Prior experience as at least one of the following is required: an instructional coach, school administrator, TFA summer institute staff member, MTLD/CM Coach/PD.
- Strong record of achieving ambitious outcomes with adults over a sustained period of time
- Strong background in teaching and learning (e.g., academic rigor, culturally responsive pedagogy)
Work Demands
- Willingness to work some weekends and evenings
- Ability to travel efficiently across the region
- Ability to travel to national conferences or trainings 2-5 times per year
Skills
- Vision-centered, with ability to balance strong outcomes-orientation
- Managing others to effectively track tasks, assess progress, and follow through on execution of plans, coaching and developing throughout
- Demonstrated commitment to leading in regard to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness
- Demonstrated ability to effectively coach others while managing long and short range planning
- Analyzing data to draw accurate conclusions and to inform team management approach
- Able to build deep relationships with all types of people in all types of contexts (and the ability to coach others to do the same)
- Making informed, timely decisions and using sound judgment to prioritize actions
- Deep commitment and proven track record of understanding the perspectives of others
- Strong, demonstrated commitment to learning and continuously improving
- Believes deeply in the Teach For America theory of change – that the two years of teaching must both make an immediate impact for kids and catalyze a life-long commitment to working on some part of what it will take to make educational equity a reality in this country
- Deeply values a corps culture that is grounded in the core values of Teach For America, as well as a shared sense of pride, joy, optimism about the solvability of this problem, support for one another, and collective impact