The Network Intermediary Community of Practice is meant to build the competency and capacity of organizations to support the network of secondary schools with whom they are working to best meet expected student-related outcomes. The Community of Practice Manager is responsible for designing and managing a community of practice with a culture that values collaboration, learning, constructive feedback and a belief in the power of peer exchange. To lead this work ably, an experienced candidate will need to focus on creating and executing relevant and engaging adult learning experiences, invest in and manage expert technical assistance partners to support the community of practice work and develop productive partnerships inside and outside of the Foundation. The focus of this role is to ensure organizations working with networks of middle and/or high schools are best prepared to ensure all students, especially those who are Black, Latino and low-income, have the education they need to succeed in college, career and life.
Areas of Responsibility:
- Plan, manage and execute a wide range of adult learning experiences (with support from TA partners to be identified by the Community of Practice Manager) – some standardized for all community of practice participants and some differentiated based on intermediary need – to support promising intermediaries.
- Lead the development of a rubric/framework for assessing key intermediary traits and competencies and refining it based on what is being learned.
- Conduct site visits, provide technical guidance and convene meetings to support intermediary learning and development as needed.
- Possess the knowledge and acumen to evaluate TA partner content expertise, adult facilitation skill and ability to foster trusting and reciprocal relationships.
- Refine and adjust community of practice tactics and intermediary learning agenda in alignment with our formative performance management processes to allow for regular reflection upon and refinement of effort to reach expected community of practice outcomes.
- Prepare and codify knowledge from the network intermediary community of practice work in conjunction with our internal knowledge management (KM) partners to allow for learning across the intermediary community, the place-based delivery team as well as the k-12 division. Provide written analysis of key topics for Foundation management and to enhance learning for the field.
- Work closely with Place-Based Delivery (PBD) Network Managers to ensure that the community of practice is and remains aligned with critical network intermediary needs and continues to expand their capacity over time.
- Review letters of inquiry and grant proposals, provide clear, concise and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding including drafting and editing proposal summaries and progress reports for prospective grantees associated with bolstering the intermediary community of practice.
- Participate in and contribute to PBD work groups and internal team learning processes.
- Support the pipeline intermediary development process as requested in collaboration with PBD teammates.
- Work collaboratively across the PBD team with Network Managers as well as k-12/US policy, advocacy and communication (USPAC) colleagues to ensure alignment of efforts to reach US program-wide outcome measures.
- This role is responsible for high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees and partners in the field and with Foundation staff. Candor, honesty and a deep sense of personal accountability and responsibility will be critical.
Skills/Experience:
Core Knowledge & Skills:
- Demonstrated success engaging adults as learners, developing adult capacity and/or running successful communities of practice within the traditional public and/or public charter school sectors with an emphasis on the secondary level and serving Black, Latino and low-income youth.
- Deep belief in the importance of equity and experience working on equity-related issues.
- Demonstrated success in working across public, non-profit and private sectors, including an ability to lead through influence, as opposed to relying on formal authority.
- Strong interpersonal, analytical, writing, verbal and listening skills for communicating with a broad and diverse audience, including stakeholders across the practice, policy, community and political sectors.
- Strong knowledge across relevant educational areas/expertise such as: middle/high schools, school-level leadership team development, continuous improvement processes, research-based solutions and interventions, high performing faculty, strong instructional systems, student-centered learning environments and family-community-school relations.
- Effective as a collaborator with different stakeholder groups with an equity-focused lens and skill in fostering organizational partnership.
- Ability to navigate through ambiguity and create structures and plans with limited direction.
- Extensive event organization, convening facilitation and project management experience.
- Works with efficiency and diplomacy and has strong navigation skills (i.e. politically, communication-wise).
- Problem-solving mindset and multi-disciplinary thinker able to make connections across various strands of work and across diverse communities of people.
Decision-Making:
- Work on complex problems and analyze situations or data that requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors.
- Comfort and skill in integrating feedback from multiple sources and making criteria-based decisions.
- Exercise judgment within broadly defined practices and policies in selecting methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for obtaining results.
- Help partners develop their own decisions based on the desired outcomes without forcing Foundation perspective.
- Comfortable evaluating risk and making recommendations in the absence of full information.
Typical Education, Certification and Experience:
- 10+ years of relevant work experience or equivalent.
- Experience in any of the following fields: K-12 Education, Higher Education, Non-Profit Education Work, Non-Education Organizational Effectiveness/Development.
Additional Information:
As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
Job Function:
Organization Info
Listing Stats
Post Date:
Nov 25 2017
Active Until:
Dec 25 2017
Hiring Organization:
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
industry:
Nonprofit