As the Senior Managing Director of Leadership Development, you are a critical leader of Teach For America – South Carolina. The Leadership Development program drives the individual and collective leadership development of all of our members. This team works alongside our partners across the state in districts, higher education, local community leaders, students and families to realize our vision that every South Carolina student reaches their full potential and chooses their life path.
As the Senior Managing Director of Program (SMD, Leadership Development) you will work closely with the Executive Director and leadership team to design and implement our member theory of leadership development across the program continuum. You will be responsible for stewarding our theory of leadership development across constituents - with our team, our corps members, alumni and partners to significantly increase the individual and collective leadership capacity of our members. To be successful you must thrive in an entrepreneurial environment, be innovative and creative in your approach to leadership and have the skills to lead a team successfully to our vision. The SMD, Leadership Development will report directly to the Executive Director.
The role responsibilities for the Senior Managing Director, Leadership Development will include:
Program Design, Management, and Strategy (60%)
- Set the vision and direction for the entire Leadership Development Team that supports corps members across the state to fulfill our mission.
- Continuously inform your assessment of the current impact of our program through rigorous collection and analysis of data -- quantitative and qualitative.
- Determine most critical learning questions facing our region as we live into our organizational breakthrough results and Ten Year Anniversary Vision.
- Model our core values in action and reflection, serving as a key internal and external leader for all members of Teach For America – South Carolina (corps members, alumni, staff, partners, and supporters).
- Develop structures and strategies that support an inclusive, learning culture.
- Manage MD, Coaching and Programming to re-imagine approaches to build the mindset, skill, and student impact of our leaders – both classroom teachers and others continuing their commitment in SC in other roles.
- Manage MD, Institute to execute plans to bring Institute to South Carolina.
- Manage the Director, Incoming Leadership to ensure our organization remains in good standing with the South Carolina Department of Education and that we are contributing to the future of educator preparation in the state.
- Manage our Director, Regional Recruitment to ensure we are attracting a diverse, homegrown corps that arrives at summer training with a passion for our work.
- Consistently arrive at insightful and creative solutions that drive our program forward.
- Ensure that our theory of leadership development includes a specific focus on equity leadership mindsets and actions, with a lifelong commitment to dismantling race’s predictable outcomes in education.
- Track our region-wide performance against the Ten Year Vision and Priorities and organizational Breakthrough Results.
- Engage a broad constituency in addressing our most difficult program challenges, including peers in other regions, colleagues on the national team and Teach For All team, members of our Regional Board, experts at other institutions.
- Serve as a member of South Carolina’s Senior Leadership Team.
Team Leadership: Attract, Develop and Retain a highly effective team (20%)
- Cultivate, hire and retain an effective team.
- Build a functional team culture of trust, collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation in service of our core values, Diversity Statement and the Ten Year Vision and Priorities of the region.
- Coach and develop direct reports to ensure value add to their current and future professional goals.
South Carolina Regional Team Responsibilities (20%)
- All team members meet submission requirements for reimbursements (monthly), timesheets (weekly), and Bank of America reports (monthly, as needed) to support the organization’s financial standing.
- Participate in either selection or regional matriculation efforts.
- Participate in and complete Staff Meeting pre-work and attending monthly regional meetings.
- Support and participate in regional events.
- Drive own professional development with support from manager and others to include mandatory PD requirements of the region (ie: Racial Equity Institute trainings).
- Engage in community opportunities that have personal meaning/connection.
- Understand and effectively communicate Teach For America-South Carolina’s programmatic initiatives, goals, and impact externally and internally.
- 5+ years of relevant work experience
- Knowledge of South Carolina education landscape and Teach For America’s theory of change preferred
- Strong ability to set vision and direction and invest others in that vision
- Exceptional leadership coaching skills and demonstrated ability to coach others to achieve ambitious outcomes
- Creative thinker with a strong learner orientation
- Strong ability to conduct research and translate into program design
- Knowledge of and experience with adult learning theory a plus
- Strong ability to prioritize tasks and demonstrate good judgment and integrity
- Strong ability to build relationships and tailor approach toward the perspective of others across a variety of stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to lead, and a belief that others must lead, through a culturally relevant lens and in a way that empowers and supports, staff, corps members, alumni, students and communities
Work Demands
- Willingness to work some weekends and evenings to attend or facilitate external or TFA-SC corps member or regional events
- Ability to travel by car to in-person meetings in various South Carolina cities regularly
- Must be willing to work from the Teach For America - South Carolina Office in Charleston, SC