The Senior Program Officer, Network Manager role reports to a Place-Based Delivery Deputy Director. Responsible for developing and managing a portfolio of complex grants focused on testing and validating the hypothesis that secondary school (grades 6-12) leadership teams who engage in data-driven continuous improvement can improve student outcomes (middle school and high school indicators predictive of post-secondary readiness and success). In this model – which we seek to prove and refine – intermediary organizations (i.e. school districts, non-profits, education regional service centers, CMOs, technical assistance providers, etc.) work with networks of schools to identify root causes of problems faced, develop clear and measurable goals, and use improvement cycles to adopt promising practices that strengthen key school elements and drive student results.
While this role is anchored in investing in and supporting school networks, the portfolio also includes making connections to other components of the K-12 strategy: interventions, tools, and new approaches; and enabling supports for scale and sustainability.
This senior level role is an ideal for someone who enjoys relationship building, problem-solving, work-related travel, teaching, learning and coaching while also bringing along stakeholders across the K-12 team and in the field. It is great for inquisitive, multi-taskers who have worked an idea all the way through to implementation at an organization, institution or system.
- Contribute to the design, integration and improvement of strategies, collaborations and implementation plans to ensure long-term sustainability and impact of investments.
- Manage external relationships and portfolios to maximize impact of investments, projects, and leveraging learning. This role is responsible for high-quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees and partners in the field including strategic relationships with K-12 leaders as well as other funders and shapers of K-12 reform. This may include: site visits, providing strategic thought partnership, joint planning, coordination and convening meetings of key stakeholders.
- Review letters of inquiry and grant proposals; provide clear, concise and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding including drafting and editing proposal summaries and progress reports for existing grants for review by Foundation leadership.
- Manage internal processes and portfolio progress while ensuring appropriate documentation for formative performance management purposes, grant budgeting and reporting. Prepare and codify knowledge from the network intermediary work in conjunction with our intern knowledge management partners to allow for learning across the place-based delivery team as well as k-12 division. Provide written analysis of key topics for Foundation management.
- Support the intermediary development pipeline and support processes as requested and needed.
- Demonstrated successful multi-year experience as a senior leader in the public-school sector with an emphasis on the secondary school level (grades 6-12), serving low-income, black or Latino youth, advancing equity agenda, and working with multiple schools or school networks. Especially interested in individuals who have run regional or local non-profit “school improvement organizations” with a record improving secondary school level outcomes and organizational growth.
- Deep knowledge across one or more educational areas such as: middle/high schools, school-level leadership team development, continuous improvement processes, strong instructional systems, student-centered learning environments and family-community-school relations.
- Operational and/or consulting experience supporting organizations in strategic planning and/or organizational development and growth.
- Exceptional analytical, writing and verbal skills for communicating with a broad and diverse audience, including stakeholders across the practice, policy, community and political sectors.
- Ability to prioritize, focus and achieve results, including strong ability to source and analyze data and ability to rapidly learn, organize, and synthesize information.
- Problem-solving capacity that makes connections across various strands of work.
- Ability to effectively work and lead in a highly dynamic matrixed organization across a range of internal and external colleagues and partners. Ability to lead through influence, as opposed to relying on formal authority.
- Superior judgment and ability to maintain professional, upbeat attitude and sense of humor under tight deadlines. Ability to stay calm and poised under pressure and remain focused in a rapidly changing environment.
- Senior level experience designing, leading and/or supporting secondary schools is required (i.e., school districts, technical assistance, and curriculum provider).
- Hands-on engagement directly supporting schools and systems that serve low-income, Black and Latinx students.