About CSS
Center for Supportive Schools (CSS) is a fast-paced, collegial, and team-oriented organization wholly committed to helping schools become places where students want to be. CSS is driven by the vision that one day, all students will thrive in schools that graduate them prepared for the rigors of college and lives filled with meaningful work, active citizenship, and personal fulfillment.
Our work directly addresses student disengagement, a root cause of diminished academic performance, students dropping out of school, and other high-risk student behaviors. Founded in 1979, we are a national organization currently impacting 65,000 students annually and committed to supporting every K-12 school in the country.
We know that we can only be truly mission-oriented by first building a safe, supportive, engaging, and inspiring internal culture. Thus, we focus on creating the conditions for staff to bring the full weight of their brilliance, skills, and past experiences, and to thrive personally. We work to ensure that all staff feel accepted, valued, affirmed, connected, safe to grow, and encouraged to advocate for progress.
For more information, please visit www.supportiveschools.org
The Role
The full-time Senior Director will lead the day-to-day operations of CSS WEST.
This position builds on the success of CSS partnerships on the West Coast, with Oakland, California, serving as the anchor city. The Senior Director will advance growth efforts and program fidelity by delivering coaching, mentorship, and technical assistance in collaboration with National Trainers and other key CSS colleagues. The Senior Director will also support continuous improvement efforts to expand and strengthen CSS’s impact on youth.
Key Job Responsibilities
Program Leadership and Fidelity
· Build and maintain strong relationships with and among CSS team members and provide ongoing direction and coaching to support continuous improvement of excellent service provided to schools
· Create and/or adapt tools and systems to support effective project management and implement continuous improvement practices
· Partner with National Trainers to identify and deliver technical assistance and consultation among partner schools, including the development of action plans for responding to identified school needs
· Provide leadership and execution of needed consultation and support among school partners to maximize their implementation success, including troubleshooting implementation obstacles or supplemental training needs ensuring program sustainability and fidelity
Growth Strategy: School Partnerships and Fee-for-Service
· Build and maintain collaborative working relationships across the K-12 school ecosystem in Oakland, and expanding throughout the San Francisco Bay area and the greater CSS WEST geography as the strategy advances
· Conduct regular business development meetings and site visits to increase awareness among new and referred school partners to grow fee-for-service revenue opportunities
· Collaborate with CSS Program Excellence colleagues to ensure CSS WEST Veteran School engagement, as schools complete implementation experiences
· Partner with CSS Core Programs colleagues to articulate and/or identify opportunities for custom professional development experiences among CSS WEST new and veteran schools, thus creating conditions for continued program implementation and success
· Engage CSS External Affairs & Engagement team to amplify marketing needs and resources to support school partner recruitment and other business development and marketing initiatives across Oakland, and expanding to the broader CSS WEST geography
Upon growth of CSS WEST:
§ Provide coaching and mentorship to Program Managers (PMs) serving CSS WEST
§ Assist Program Managers (PMs) in identifying technical assistance and consultation needs of partner schools, leading to the development of action plans
§ Model for PMs the necessary consultation and support to ensure highest degree of program fidelity and implementation success
§ Ensure PMs maintain regular contact with partner schools: completing in-person visits and observations; tracking individual school progress; collecting program implementation data and student demographic data from each school; and supporting program evaluation activities
§ Ensure PMs offer our school partners creative solutions and support at exceptional levels of quality
Growth Strategy: CSS WEST Champions
· Provide leadership and ongoing engagement opportunities among key stakeholders across the CSS WEST educational ecosystem, including, but not limited to the following stakeholder groups: superintendents and charter system leaders; school leaders; key state-based and regional coalitions and associations; educators; PGC Peer Leaders; and other school-based champions
· Partner with the Office of the CEO and External Affairs & Engagement team to cultivate and steward the Local Advisory Board, engage key CSS National Advisory Council members, and, where appropriate, CSS Board of Trustees
· Identify, engage, and cultivate potential donors with support from CEO and Advancement colleagues
· Partner with the Office of the CEO and External Affairs & Engagement team on thought-leadership opportunities, including, but not limited to: conference presentations; opinion pieces in local news outlets; social media campaigns; and geotargeted advertisements and amplification of impact
Training Facilitation and Evaluation
· Facilitate content for training experiences and lead partner schools through stakeholder team institutes establishing core program implementation
· Fully participate in and contribute to internal preparation and debrief sessions connected to training experiences, among other key learning opportunities—internal professional development opportunities, feedback, and coaching sessions
· Partner with the Office of the CEO and Program Impact teams to support grant management, data and evaluation efforts, as well as key program implementation narratives for grant/investment annual impact and fulfillment reports
Qualifications and Experience
Education: Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree strongly preferred in a related field, such as Education, Social Work or a similar discipline. An equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
Professional Experiences and Personal Qualities/Skills: The ideal candidate would have a minimum of 5 years of experience in classroom instruction, educational coaching and/or training facilitation, including experience working in non-profit organizations. The candidate is desired to have extensive knowledge of and experience working in Oakland public schools, or in surrounding school districts within the San Francsico Bay area and have a greater understanding of the education ecosystem within the State of California.
In addition, the candidate has the following experiences and/or has demonstrated the following attributes:
· Exceptional problem-solving, planning, and prioritization skills
· Knowledge of education reform and student support services
· Experience managing multiple projects in a fast-paced environment
· Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
· Ability to build relationships with internal and external partners while leading effective teams
Location
The candidate selected must reside within reasonable commuting distance of Oakland, California, or be willing to relocate before employment begins. Ability to travel throughout Oakland, the San Francisco Bay Area, and other locations within the CSS WEST region is required. Occasional overnight travel may be expected.
Work Environment/Physical Requirements
This position requires the following:
· Frequent written and verbal communications with school partners and colleagues, including videoconference meetings
· Regular travel to school sites
· Prolonged periods of sitting and computer work
· Ability to transport training materials up to 25 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $90,000 – $120,000 annually. Actual compensation will be based on qualification, experience, skills, internal equity, and geographic considerations. CSS offers the following benefits:
· Comprehensive and competitive benefits plan, including health, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts, commuter and transit accounts for employees who meet the eligibility requirements
· 403(b) plan with employer match
· Generous paid time off
· Paid holidays and winter break
· Flexible work option based on job role eligibility
· Employee Assistance Program
· Reduced schedule on Fridays during summer months
· Phone stipend
To Apply
Interested candidates are requested to apply by emailing a cover letter and CV/résumé to [email protected]. Please include (1) the title of the position in the subject line of your email and (2) where you found the position posting in your cover letter. If possible, please email all documents in PDF format.
Center for Supportive Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to inclusive hiring and employment practices. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation during the application process should contact the CSS People & Culture Team.
Pay: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 403(b)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
