As Director, Regional Operations, you will lead out on operations that impact our full network - from matriculation through alumnihood - through best in class operations, logistics, project management, and external partnerships. The Director, Regional Operations (DRO) will play a critical role in supporting and enabling the work of our team and our participants, ensuring that they have the resources, experiences, and engagement needed to develop as leaders in this work, thereby enabling One Day in Miami-Dade.
The Director, Regional Operations is charged, in partnership with the MDSTO and other key stakeholders, in setting the vision for operations across the participant journey. You will work closely with members of the STO team, as well as the program continuum team to ensure that all of our initiatives benefit from and are enhanced by operational excellence. You will design and manage the systems, structures, and logistics; including session space, school sites, resources, external vendor relationships, and district requirements. In partnership with the Institute and Pre-Corps development team, the DRO will hire, train and manage the part-time summer staff who will lead these systems and logistics on the ground during summer, as well as work closely with the Resident of Special Projects throughout the year, to execute on events and experiences. Additionally, you will be responsible for building and stewarding relationships that steward our outcomes and enhance our brand with internal and external partners, including members of the district office, school administration and faculty, vendors, and others.
The future of Teach For America Miami-Dade will demand that team members take a collaborative approach to their work. Every team member, and especially our STO team members, must be fundamentally “we-oriented.” In order for Teach For America Miami-Dade and Teach For America nationally to reach strategic goals, all regions, sub-teams, and individuals must lean in to hard work “outside their lane” and inform/be informed by the theories of success of all other teams and roles. In this orientation, the Director, Regional Operations must be comfortable leading through ambiguity and be a design thinker at heart. The Director, Regional Operations will report directly to the Managing Director, Strategy, Talent, and Operations.
In Partnership, Set and Execute Vision for Regional Operations and Logistics (30%)
- Set and hold a compelling vision and goals for operations and logistics across the participant journey ranging in scope and complexity from individual events, weekend conferences, and summer-long programming such as Institute
- Develop and lead strong operational plans for lodging and food, transportation, communication, resource management
- Find, negotiate and manage event space for group experiences
- Cultivate relationships with external partners at summer school sites and co-plan school based systems to support corps members, students and staff
- Design and manage or delegate all other corps facing operations, including summer stipends, material resources, meals during sessions, etc.
- Develop systems that ensure compliance with state, federal and individual grant compliance
Manage Partnerships (15%)
- Work across the program continuum to understand team-wide needs and manage external partnerships
- Manage all relevant Miami-Dade County School District and University relationships ensuring that we have facilities, resources, and access to people
- Collaborate with continuum team and STO members to recruit qualified corps members and alums to part time institute roles
- Establish and maintain relationships with internal teams (in our region and across the organization) and people that facilitate knowledge and information sharing
Manage Part-Time Operational Staff (25%)
- Operate as a cultural leader by creating a strong part-time summer operations team culture rooted in our core values and reflective of our commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and equity
- Alongside regional Managing Director, Strategy, Talent and Operations, Managing Director, Institute and Pre-Corps Development, and our National Support partners assemble a strong summer operations team and ensure direct reports are maximizing their individual potential, leading through their collective responsibility, and (for managers) leading as organizational leaders
- Design and execute training materials and professional development for summer operations staff
Lead Across the Team and Build the Movement (20%)
- Collaborate with other regional functional teams to share stories and coordinate school visits to share our work in ways that move our collective work forward toward our vision and goals
- Build and maintain relationships that foster partnership and strengthen operations
- Maintain systems for data collection that ensure we can report out on progress and goals in a way that supports our collective work as a region
- Engage with continuum and STO team members to plan for regional institute and beyond, including but not limited to: collaborating on planning for summer engagement with new corps members, identifying and recruiting talent for part-time staff roles, and ensuring the alignment of our programming across the continuum
- Engage with continuum team members to support design of continuum experiences to ensure excellence and cohesion across the continuum, including but not limited to induction, all corps events, alumni events, and others
Collective Responsibility (10%)
- Participate in phone selection and/or in-person selection for up to three days each selection window (about 6-10 days total throughout the year depending on your role)
- Matriculate new corps members during 4-5 confirmation windows throughout the year
- Staff large-scale regional events (such as All-Corps, CM Orientation and Summer Training) often for a whole day or multiple days at a time.
- Attend all-staff meetings, retreats, and step backs throughout the year
- Ability to both set vision and translate it into strategy/action. You can envision new realities and make them come to life. You have a unique ability to take a program overview, vision, or direction and move it to action while maintaining alignment to our regional vision and TFA’s foundations, our brand and message, etc.
- Ability to manage complex projects and events. You can envision, develop project plans, manage execution, and reach desired outcomes of large and complex events.
- Ability to influence and motivate others to achieve results. You are able to clearly articulate measures of success and manage the work of others. You are able to translate a bar for excellence and attention to detail to everyone you manage: formally, informally, and laterally.
- Ability to accept and incorporate feedback quickly and smoothly. You operate with curiosity and consider new data and ideas shared with you. You welcome feedback and can quickly change course and incorporate new ideas without losing momentum/progress in the process.
- Ability to restore the appropriate sense of calm/urgency, prioritizing both results and relationships, when challenges arise.You can focus on the desired outcomes and goals in the face of barriers while also authentically and empathetically responding to participants’ needs
- Minimum 5-7 years of work experience
- Proven success in creating and managing operational systems and large scale, detail-driven projects to reach a larger vision/mission
- Ability to prioritize and juggle multiple projects at once using a sound decision-making process
- Exceptional ability to set vision and direction from the ground up with limited context
- Strength in cultivating new partnerships and building shared purpose across and within organizational lines
- Strength in managing teams and team execution
- Understands that operational support is critical to every powerful movement
- Teach For America staff experience, including previous summer institute experience strongly preferred
Skills
- Plays well with others: You know that collaboration is key to successful execution of experiences and events - and act on that belief. You see the connection between operations, logistics, culture and our ability to reach outcomes. Consistently orients to “our” work vs “my” work and holds an uncommon level of personal responsibility for our region-wide outcomes.
- Grace Under Fire: You are emotionally intelligent. You can read people/read a room and can restore equilibrium, grace, and positivity. You focus on de-escalating, simplifying, and neutralizing challenging or complex situations.
- Most likely to play MacGyver: You do not see the world as either/or. You consider all the shades of grey, considers alternatives, and are always open to mocking up and taking a different path as long as you get to your destination. You are a nuanced thinker and are also quick to take actions. Where others see roadblocks or challenges, you see solutions (and duct tape).
- Sees the forest and the trees: You sweat the small stuff, but do not get lost in details or go down detail-rabbit holes. You feel ownership over the sum, not the parts. You consistently orient operations back to the “why” of operations and are always thinking three steps - or three years - ahead.
- Customer Service is your Middle Name: You can authentically and empathetically respond to participants’ needs while focusing on our organization-wide mission, vision, and outcomes. You are people-centered with an eye for design thinking, customer-service, and cultural competence.
- Impeccable Judgment: You don’t need to be told when to consult with others, you are self-aware and know who to go to, at what level, and when. You can be trusted to lead with integrity, nuance and an org-wide orientation.
- Your Word is Your Bond: One of your core values is integrity. You are trustworthy. You can handle confidential information. When there’s talk at a water cooler, you walk away. You are who you are, no matter where you are.
- DEI is what we do and how we do: Aligned toward and resonates deeply with Teach For America's core values and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusiveness.
- An Enthusiast: You find joy in the work. You enjoys a good laugh. You like to be delighted and delight others.
Work Demands
- Ability to work 10-14 weekend days per year
- Ability to be fully present and completely available from June - September given that the majority of pre-corps development happens during these months
- Ability to work early morning and evening hours required during the June - early September period