The Managing Director of Strategy, Talent, and Operations (MDSTO) will work closely with the Executive Director to chart TFA Miami-Dade’s core strategies and will ensure that the regional team has the talent, structures, and resources to achieve the regional vision. The MDSTO will advise senior team leaders on strategic direction, lead out on team talent development and performance management, maximize synergies and support projects across the team, and ensure efficiency and accuracy around the region’s critical finance, operations, and administrative needs.
The MDSTO is an organized, natural self-starter with a strong orientation to culture, systems-level thinking, team management and team-wide operations. An obsession to detail, the ability to anticipate problems, a collaborative work ethic, and a high bar for excellence are critical. The MDSTO must bring strong political acumen and emotional intelligence and leverage those skills both within and outside of the organization in order to ensure TFA Miami-Dade is meeting the demands of complex and dynamic landscape, including innovating and evolving the way the team works (such as through the implementation of agile frameworks); understanding the team’s positioning in the broader community and elevating our brand and presence, and ensuring that we understand and can communicate our impact.
This position is an unparalleled opportunity for individuals with superior organizational, critical thinking, communication, creativity, and relationship-building skills to ensure TFA Miami-Dade’s enduring place in the community and to maximize Teach For America's impact in Miami-Dade. The MDSTO will work closely with the Management Team and collaborate and support on a number of cross-cutting initiatives. The MDSTO will report to the Executive Director.
Strategic Support
- Manage region’s annual and multi-year strategic planning process inclusive of talent and budget planning ensuring diversity, equity and inclusiveness are at the heart of our work
- Drive the process for regional vision setting, strategic planning, talent planning, and financial budgeting processes to push forward Teach For America’s regional vision and lead to an enduring institution
- Manage reporting and analysis frameworks to facilitate ongoing progress monitoring across key regional goals and initiatives
- Identify and maximize cross-team synergies and opportunities for collaboration, leading out on our region’s focus on working together to achieve team-wide outcomes
- Act as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director and feel fully accountable for the achievement of the region and STO goals
- Act as a “jack/jill of all trades”; embody desire and flexibility to do what it takes to get the job done and do it at an exceptionally high level
- Jump in and quickly take on work when urgent needs arise, as well as planning and executing special projects as needed
Operations, Budget, Compliance, and Risk Management
- Set the vision and bar for excellence on all things operations-related, ensuring that we have best-in-class operations that touch participants, staff-members, and external partners.
- Lead, support, and manage the STO team to execute strong operations, logistics, branding, systems, and compliance on the day-to-day level, while also anticipating longer-term needs
- Act as a liaison to building management, local vendors, and TFA’s national support teams, such as technology, facility, real estate, talent, budget planning, auditing and administration
- Design and oversee the execution of a budget management plan for non-payroll local spending to ensure all functional teams meet budget goals, are apprised of their expenditures and ensure compliant fiscal stewardship of our organization, and are driving toward regional vision and priorities
- Create standards, trainings and procedures to ensure staff members meet all deadlines for processing of receipts and reimbursements; work across functional teams to meet 100% of compliance goals.
- Track financial expenditures and calculate variances from the budget monthly in order to forecast in-year and out-year budget needs for the region and functional teams.
Talent Recruitment, Performance Management, and Retention
- Support the Executive Director and managers in driving toward all human assets goals, including staff diversity, retention, and staff engagement
- Manage a comprehensive performance management plan including and learning & development for staff
- Create plans to fill roles, inclusive of part-time summer Institute roles, in partnership with hiring managers, by creating pathways to development to entry-level roles and building benches for key full-time roles; identifying places to market roles; reviewing prospects who could be a match for the profile with a keen eye toward diversity; and developing hiring and onboarding plans plans
- Coach hiring managers on best hiring practices (e.g., directing them to resources) and providing feedback on hiring materials (e.g., interview scripts) and the overall hiring process
Regional Leadership
- Lead as a member of the Regional Management Team to influence decisions with region-wide impact, set quarterly priorities for the region, identify region-wide risks and opportunities, and strengthen the overall team
- Operate as a cultural leader by creating a strong team culture rooted in our core values and reflective of our commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and equity
- Work nimbly and collaboratively across regional functional teams including the advancement team, program continuum team, and the executive director in pursuit of regional goals, priorities, and outcomes while also strengthening relationships and culture
- Hold a clear, personal vision for impact and how it relates to your goals
- Seek ways to expand your impact and your leadership based on reflection and feedback
- Sustain yourself in this work, and model this for your team and corps members
Collective Responsibility Regional Projects
- Participate in phone interviews and/or in-person interviews with corps member applicants for up to three days for each selection window (about 6-10 days total throughout the year depending on your role)
- Matriculate new corps members during 4-5 confirmation windows throughout the year
- Staff large-scale regional events such as Corps Member Interview Days often times for a whole day or multiple days at a time.
- Participate in diversity and inclusiveness programming throughout the year
- Attend all staff meetings, retreats, and step backs throughout the year
- Minimum 5-7 years of professional work experience
- Teach For America staff experience highly preferred
Work Demands
- Willingness to work some weekends and evenings.
Skills
- Plays well with others: You know that collaboration is key to successful execution of experiences and events - and act on that belief. You see the connection between operations, logistics, compliance, and culture and our ability to reach outcomes. Consistently orients to “our” work vs “my work” and holds an uncommon level of personal responsibility for our region-wide outcomes
- Grace Under Fire: You are emotionally intelligent. You can read people/read a room and can restore equilibrium, grace, and positivity. You focus on de-escalating, simplifying, and neutralizing challenging or complex situation.
- Most likely to play Macgyver: You do not see the world as either/or. You consider all the shades of grey, considers alternatives, and are always open to mocking up and taking a different path as long as you get to your destination. You are a nuanced thinker and are also quick to take actions. Where others see roadblocks or challenges, you see solutions (and duct tape).
- Sees the forest and the trees: You sweat the small stuff, but do not get lost in details or go down detail-rabbit holes. You feel ownership over the sum, not the parts. You consistently orient operations back to the “why” of operations and are always thinking three steps - or three years - ahead.
- Impeccable Judgment: You don’t need to be told when to consult with others, you are self-aware and know who to go to, at what level, and when. You can be trusted to lead with integrity, nuance and an org-wide orientation.
- Your Word is Your Bond: One of your core values is integrity. You are trustworthy. You can handle confidential information. When there’s talk at a water cooler, you walk away. You are who you are, no matter where you are.
- A systems thinker: Seeks to elevate the current development opportunity for the greatest impact tomorrow, next year, and five years from now. Works to fully integrate strategy across sub-teams for seamless external stakeholder engagement.
- A concise communicator: Analyzes, synthesizes, and prioritizes large volumes of information into consumable chunks.
- Loves puzzles: Can proactively seek out missing information, identify discordant views, and build a recommendation for the next right step.
- DEI is what we do and how we do: Aligned toward and resonates deeply with Teach For America's core values and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusiveness.
- An Enthusiast: You find joy in the work. You enjoys a good laugh. You like to be delighted and delight others.