Teach For America seeks a Managing Director, State & University Partnerships to lead on all facets of work with two of our most important external constituents. In this role, you will work closely with our partners at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to ensure we are delivering a high-impact Initial Licensure program to our corps members, and that we are meeting all related points of compliance. As the liaison to our university partner, the Boston University School of Education, you will collaborate regularly with faculty directors, deans, and university staff to craft a best-in-class experience for our corps members as they pursue their teaching credential. Both of these relationships are critical to our ability to license corps members in Massachusetts, a key pillar of our regional talent strategy.
To succeed in this role, you are comfortable operating both internally and externally. Among your colleagues on the regional team, you are the consummate collaborator, managing up and laterally to ensure that all staff who support our corps members’ training and development are aligned on key requirements for licensure. Beyond our walls, you’re a smart, pragmatic, and creative relationship manager, troubleshooting challenges, effectively sizing opportunities and risks, and serving as a key representative of our regional team.
The Managing Director, State & University Partnerships reports to the Senior Managing Director, Teacher Preparation.
University Partnership Management
- Manage our relationship with Boston University School of Education, including regular meetings with university faculty and staff to ensure a mutually smooth and effective experience
- Partner with the Dean of Student Affairs to investigate and address any opportunities for growth in the corps member experience
State Partnership Management
- Maintain strong relationships with officials in relevant divisions at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE)
- Plan, execute, and manage compliance-related systems as a state-approved Licensing body, including implementation of the RETELL course and CAP process
- Partner with the Director, Teacher Preparation Program, the Teacher Leadership Development (coaching) team, and others to ensure a smooth integration of key licensure components into the arc of corps member learning and development
- Communicate regularly with state officials about ongoing requirements and trainings
- Serve as point person for our periodic state review process, a high-stakes audit of our work that maintains our continued status as a licensing body
AmeriCorps Partnership Management
- Lead and execute on key priorities related to AmeriCorps, a national service program that is critical to our ability to maintain an economically diverse teach corps
Regional Team Responsibilities
- Support, attend, and/or participate in regional team activities, including regular staff meetings and retreats, and regional pre-service (one week in June).
- Participate in team-wide initiatives and campaigns, such as interviewing and matriculating corps member prospects and outreach to our local alumni
- Sit on the regional management team
- 7+ years of relevant professional experience
- Experience as a TFA corps member/alum preferred
- Prior experience in relationship management preferred
- Experience with, or strong working knowledge of, Massachusetts state education licensure policy and process a plus
Work demands
- Role is scoped to 50-55 hours/week.
- Occasional day travel throughout the Massachusetts region, including our Western Massachusetts and South Coast sub-regions, is required.
- Regular day travel to our Summer Institute (June/July, in Lawrence/Lowell, MA)
- Rare overnight conference travel (1-2 times per year)
- Occasional evening or weekend work throughout the school year
Skills
- Uncommon level of personal responsibility with strong goal orientation and a proven track record of success
- Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders and move past challenges to mutually beneficial solutions
- Strong orientation towards collaboration with colleagues, with a proven ability to effectively manage up and across to ensure key actions or issues are addressed
- Unwavering ability to meet high-stakes deadlines
- Motivated by achieving results through others and able to manage towards outcomes
- Demonstrated ability to design and implement strong, intuitive data tracking systems
- Critical thinker who displays strong judgment in prioritizing problems to solve and opportunities to pursue
- Highly organized with exceptional detail orientation and demonstrated ability to manage a high volume of work
Technical Skills
- Familiarity with MS Office and Google Doc applications required
- Knowledge of Salesforce or other CRMs preferred