Teach For America Kanas City seeks a Manager, Strategic Initiatives who will work closely with the Executive Director and the Director, External Affairs to launch a new collaboration between TFA and Sprint’s 1 Million Project (1MP), aiming to increase at-home internet access for high school students directly or indirectly served by TFA corps members and alumni across the country. The ideal candidate will thrive in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment and is motivated by achieving ambitious results. They will also be highly self-organized and collaborative with a strong ability to build relationships (oftentimes virtually) and influence others to achieve outcomes. The Manager, Strategic Initiatives will create and execute against strategies for device distribution (e.g. cell phone, tablet, hot spot, etc.) and device usage amongst low-income high school students served by TFA in Kansas City and in a number of other cities across the country in which TFA operates. The Manager, Strategic Initiatives will lead recruitment efforts for teachers and students to participate in this program, manage temporary staff in key target markets, travel and make pitches directly to groups of promising candidates, and motivate TFA staff in regional field offices to help advance these efforts. The position will report directly to Director, External Affairs while also working closely with the Executive Director.
Develop and Execute Strategy for the 1 Million Project/TFA Collaboration (70%)
- Create strategies designed to distribute 10,000 devices to low-income high school students served in proximity to TFA teachers and to ensure that these devices are used regularly (2G/month) by students
- Build strong external relationships with other TFA regional staff, CMs and alumni who may be involved in connecting 1MP devices to low-income high school students who need them
- Network with TFA regional staff, CMs and alumni in person and virtually toward the end of cultivating strong candidates for and champions of the 1MP/TFA collaboration.
- Lead a team of remote, part-time, in-market consultants toward a common, shared vision of excellence and towards ambitious yet achievable program goals
- Evaluate program outcomes routinely with the aim of constantly improving performance and adjusting strategy as needed in the early months of this program launch
- Develop systems to track and manage execution of this service offering
- Coordinate all major internal and external communications regarding the 1MP/TFA partnership
- Build out and manage programmatic elements of the 1MP/TFA collaboration
- Collaborate with regional TFA staff across the country to ensure that the 1MP/TFA collaboration supports TFA corps member and alumni culture strategies already being executed
- Create and manage mass communications to stakeholders of this partnership
- Create reports used by the Executive Director to manage the relationship with Sprint and to report on our progress to date
- Liaise with employees of Sprint’s 1MP directly in order to execute on the established goals
Design, Coordinate and Execute Professional Development (20%)
- Design, promote and facilitate virtual and in person group professional development on relevant topics for teachers and students on the use of mobile technology to advance instruction and learning
- Routinely collect, analyze and share data as to the effectiveness of the professional development sessions
Execute Regional Team Responsibilities (10%)
- Participate fully in KC Regional Team meetings, events and duties
- Participate in regional and national efforts for the recruitment, selection, and matriculation of new corps members
- A results-oriented problem-solver. You set inspiring goals based on current reality and an inspiring and aspirational vision of where we want to go. Your decisions are driven by data, and you stay focused on your ambitious goals regardless of the day-to-day challenges you might encounter. You consistently track your progress, step back from where you have succeeded and where you have fallen short, and adjust course to better drive towards meeting the goals you have set for yourself. You have a demonstrated record of success in your work despite obstacles.
- A strategic communicator. You work across multiple stakeholders to ensure consistency and quality of internal and external communications and you can easily take an idea, build upon it, and execute it at a high level. You can weave a story from a list of key points or you can take a large-scale idea and communicate its essential content effectively, and you are able to accurately determine what is required in a particular context.
- A catalytic relationship builder and connector. You can quickly forge strong, trusting relationships with diverse sets of people and readily inspire others to action. You are naturally empathetic, can quickly understand people’s needs and aspirations, and can leverage this strength to push through and beyond tension towards alignment and investment. You are fueled by connecting people, collaborating, and forging communities in pursuit of something bigger.
- A visionary who is innovative and flexible. You see beyond what currently exists and are in constant pursuit of game-changing breakthroughs. You’re comfortable with risk. You adjust course easily and view each experience (no matter how successful) as a chance to learn and improve.
- Self-driven. You have impeccable written, organizational, and project management skills. You work with the highest degree of integrity, and follow-through on all facets of your work. You demonstrate a very high bar for the quality of your work. You demonstrate intense personal responsibility and take initiative to do what it takes to achieve success. You consistently seek out and act on feedback from a variety of stakeholders.
Prior Experience
- 4-7 years of work experience preferred
- High School teaching experience and/or TFA alumni status preferred but not required
- Sales experience preferred but not required
- Experience managing direct reports remotely is preferred
- Proven ability to build and leverage relationships, including across long distances
- Ability to influence and motivate teachers and students toward set goals
- Entrepreneurial orientation to build, test, iterate and execute on strategies in real time
- Fluency in tech, digital, mobile device terminology and solutions preferred
- Established national network within the TFA staff, CM and alumni community is preferred
Work Demands
- Based in Kansas City Office required
- Infrequent weekend and evening work required
- Overnight travel required – approximately 1x/month