The Director, Strategic Initiatives (DSI) is responsible for developing and leading a compelling network strategy that mobilizes participants across our continuum to pursue the leadership pathways we have identified as critical to our 2020 vision for Miami-Dade. We are at an inflection point in our path to One Day in Miami. As we shift our efforts we will focus on strategically addressing both the symptoms and root causes of educational inequity in ways that dramatically impact the opportunities and educational experiences of our students.
The Director, Strategic Initiatives will work alongside the Managing Director, Leadership Development to create and lead a network strategy responsive to the needs, talent and diversity of our participants and ensures dramatic and significant progress to our regional goals. The DSI will work with the Director, Teacher Leadership Development to cultivate internal and external relationships and networks, inspire and mobilize our participants toward opportunities, develop the individual leadership of our participants, and mobilize our network to take collective action on behalf of students and communities.
The Director, Strategic Initiatives will report to the Managing Director, Leadership Development and will work laterally with the Director, Teacher Leadership Development. Together they will form the Leadership Development leadership team and be responsible for ensuring we build and strengthen the culture of our network, design and evolve our model of leadership development, and ensure our network is centered on dramatically increasing the opportunities students have through their educational experiences and that our collective efforts advance educational equity in Miami-Dade.
Develop and Drive Network Strategy (50%)
- Design a comprehensive network strategy aligned to our regional and team vision that prioritizes our leadership pathways
- Design and lead participant experiences that offer engagement with and exposure to strategic high impact opportunities that drive toward our program goals
- Design and lead participant experiences that build participant's understanding of our Miami ecosystem and identify opportunities to accelerate progress to one day in Miami
- Ensure our network strategy maintains and evolves our understanding and work related to our theory of leadership development and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness
- Contribute to our regional and team understanding of how our theory of leadership development and high impact opportunities ensure that students have greater access to opportunities and have access to an excellent education
- Effectively manage team members in the design and execution of events or experiences for participants
- Continually seek to define and understand the impact of their work and adjust or evolve strategy so that we dramatically increase our progress as a team
- Ensure our network strategy is informed by a deep understanding of the interests and talent of our participants
Cultivate and Maintain Relationships that Propel Program Vision (50%)
- Build a wide range of relationships with participants that mobilizes their leadership given their interests, strengths, and passions
- Build and maintain strong relationships with networks and support networks in taking collective action with students and communities
- Build strong relationships with internal team members that fosters collaboration and draws on diverse perspectives in designing and leading events or experiences for participants
- Cultivate and maintain strong, mission-aligned external partnerships that are aligned to our leadership pathways and are based on our unique value-add in our community
- Develop and lead a strategy to ensure we understand the talent and interests of our entire alumni base and have an ongoing process to continually engage with this constituency
- Significant experience designing and executing multi-faceted professional learning for teachers and leaders grounded in best practices of adult learning
- Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships internally and externally to an organization in ways that achieve organizational vision
- Significant experience coaching and managing individuals and teams in complex situations with multiple channels of competing demands
- Experience building short and long-term strategic plans with defined outcomes, metrics, and benchmarks
Work Demands
- Some weekend and evening work required
Skills
- Visionary Leadership Ability to compel others to follow and embodies domains of culturally responsive leadership to catalyze our impact, both individual and collective, in the Miami Region. A desire to continually grow and learn as a leader.
- Team Management Ability to laterally manage a team toward excellence and execution; ability to build authentic relationships, motivate, and offer direct, critical feedback when necessary.
- Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness Demonstrate an orientation to placing individual’s identity at the center of all work and a commitment to individual and collective growth in Racial Identity Development and Sociopolitical Cultural Consciousness. Demonstrated experience in applying culturally competent practices in a management setting.
- Organization Excellent organizational and management skills and can apply best practices in time management, communication, and project planning
- Strategic Action Ability to make informed, clear decisions from a theoretical and practical perspective and identify actions that yield meaningful results
- Mission/Metrics Balance Ability to balance/manage the many numerical goals we have while keeping front-and-center the spirit by which they are designed.
- Conducting Analysis Analyzing data, develop hypotheses, and draw accurate conclusions that inform management strategy
- Cultural Leader Ability to influence others in a way that builds a strong, healthy culture ground in our core values, can work collaboratively across functional team and orient others towards our regional team vision and culture