At Teach For America – Charlotte-Piedmont Triad, we’re working to strengthen our program and will spend the next year gaining clarity on the strategic bets we should be making about how leaders develop in our program throughout their journey as a member of our network. We will leverage our learnings from this year as the foundation of our ongoing program strategy.
In FY19, four Leadership Coaches will together shape a new way of supporting second-year corps members as they work to fulfill their visions for student outcomes in their classrooms. These coaches will also apply their learning to help shape the support for our 250+ base of alumni teachers. Each Leadership Coach will support a cohort of mostly second-year teachers (and possibly some alumni included or as a separate cohort) and their specific task is two-fold:
- Reconceive of how we support second-year corps members aligned to our theory of leadership development and strategic plan, and
- Coach their teachers to dramatically exceed previous years’ results.
The Leadership Coaches will play a critical role in our ability to develop a strong, localized theory of leadership development. They will especially problem solve, test, create case studies for our own learning and the organization’s learning, and improve upon our ability to create a program whose leaders are obsessed with collective impact. They will report directly to the Director, Leadership & Learning.
Coach and Empower Your Teachers as Systems Leaders (70%)
- You will be the fiercest and best advocate, champion and coach to your teachers and you will root your actions in what helps them achieve their visions for student outcomes while also broadening their perspective as to what it takes to achieve educational equity.
- You will observe their teaching, collaborate with their school administration and coaches, provide feedback and plan next steps alongside your corps members.
- You will lead coaching sessions individually and in groups that further learning and growth against both your teachers’ visions and our developing theory of leadership development.
- You will foster a learning environment in your cohort that embodies our core values, is inclusive, fosters group learning and accountability and drives stronger student and teacher outcomes.
- You will report and analyze data to ensure your teachers are making the progress necessary to achieve their visions and our collective goals.
- You will support your corps members in making meaning of their corps experience, their skills and passions and what that means for how they want to contribute over the long-term in the movement for educational equity. You will also partner with our alumni team to support your corps members as they transition to become alumni.
Collaborate in the Collective Action Working Group to Refine Our Knowledge and Practice (15%)
- On a regular basis, you will come together with your peer Leadership Coaches, the MD, Program Strategy, the Program Strategy Leadership Team, the Director, Alumni Engagement & Strategy, and the Executive Director to share what you’re trying with your cohort, what you’re learning, what you’re struggling with, and what you’re thinking about for the future in your cohort’s support, particularly as it relates to what will help inform our theory of leadership development.
- You will collaborate with the Director, Program Design & Data Strategy to use what you’re learning in leading your cohorts towards collective action (and our other bets) to inform the development of our localized theory of leadership development.
Engage in Regional Priorities and Activities (15%)
- You will feel on the hook for and support our broader regional efforts towards the creation of our 2020 Plan
- You will engage in and lead ongoing professional development with our team
- You will participate in shared regional commitments such as biweekly staff meetings, quarterly staff retreats, communicating regularly with incoming corps members, and interviewing applicants to Teach For America
- You will meet compliance expectations for timesheet, expense report, and performance management documentation and submission
- You will support and participate in regional events, requiring occasional evening and weekend work
To be the most successful candidate, you must be passionate about coaching others to achieve the outcomes they most desire for themselves, their students, and our community. You must lead from a place of constant positive regard for your corps members, peers, and colleagues. Because this role is also about redefining how we support second years and documenting what we’re learning, you must thrive in unknown environments, be open to coaching from your manager and others that don’t manage you, be self-reflective and driven, open and collaborative. You will come to the role with experience in the fight for educational equity and in coaching others to achieve ambitious outcomes.
Specifically, to be successful, you must be:
- A learner and iterator. You are hungry to learn and regularly seek out opportunities for feedback and growth. You see feedback as a path to strengthening your work, actively seek it out, and respond positively to it. You are open and collaborative and love working in a team environment to strengthen your practice. You view mistakes as a way to learn and are therefore eager to dissect them with peers to find a path for improvement.
- Passionate about coaching. You love your corps members, see their full potential (even when they themselves doubt it) and see your job as doing whatever it takes to help them achieve their visions. You are able to have high-stakes feedback conversations that drive towards outcomes, strengthen relationships and broaden perspectives. You define your success by how successful your corps members feel they are and actually are.
- A strong culture builder. You have experience creating a thriving, inclusive, connected culture amongst a group and believe it is mission critical to achieving short- and long-term success. You are passionate about creating a culture among adult learners where they are mutually accountable to one another and lead their learning amongst peers. You model our core values and regional values in all your interactions.
- Obsessive about outcomes. You have an incredibly strong past record of results of achieving ambitious goals, specifically in direct and lateral coaching engagements, despite obstacles and have experience doing so in complex situations with diverse teams. Your decisions are data-driven. You also have experience in change management and are motivated to achieve extraordinary performance and cultural outcomes in the midst of change.
- Self-driven and highly mature. You demonstrate an uncommon level of personal responsibility for achieving results, define broadly what is within your control persevere in the face of challenges and you’re exceptionally optimistic about what is possible. You take initiative to do what it takes to achieve success, including sharing your successes and failures openly and fully with your team.
- A conscious leader. You are always oriented towards social justice and equity. You have a pattern of modeling a set of values for others through self-reflection, curiosity and exploration, and an ability to connect and empathize with people. You have a history of operating in the spirit of our commitment to diversity and a strong understanding of the dynamics of race and class in America. You lead, and believe others must lead, through a culturally responsive lens and in a way that empowers staff, corps members, and alumni.
Professional Experience
- Have 4+ years of work experience, at least one of which includes successfully managing others to achieve ambitious results laterally or directly
- Have experience coaching adults, preferably in ways that rely on the group to learn from one another
Work Demands
- Ability to work an average of 50 hours per week, majority during business hours
- Some evening and weekend work required
- Some travel required (once per quarter)