Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the fourth-largest school district in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600 schools and employing nearly 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. To fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are part of the Department of Early College and Career Education (ECCE) within the Office of Career and College Success (OCCS). CTE programs for CPS high schools serve students across over 80 schools to enhance student preparation for college and career success, as evidenced by increasing graduation rates, college enrollment rates, employment rates, and earning levels of CPS CTE students. The Manager of Career Connected Pathways leads several distinct workstreams and will be responsible for supporting the strategy and implementation of CTE and other career-connected programming at 11 high schools that each have a Career Connected Pathway Specialist. This role will help lead the CTE strategy for the department and work to implement that strategy in a way that is reflective of the unique needs of each of the 11 schools and their communities. This person will manage a team of school-based Career Pathway Specialists and will report to the Director of Career and Technical Education.

The Manager of Career Connected Pathways will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Develop and manage the implementation strategy, programmatic support, and deepening engagement around Career & Technical Education programs, work-based learning, and industry certification attainment at impacted career-connected high schools.

• Build and strengthen relationships and communication structures, and build capacity with internal departments and industry partners around CTE and other career-connected programming, models, and engagement.

• Provide leadership, mentoring, development, and supervision to a team of Career Connected Pathway Specialists, including performance management and RISE evaluations, to ensure the team provides quality support and develops and attains goals that support ECCE strategy and operational excellence.

• Support career-connected high schools and Career Pathway Specialists in the development of KPIs and increasing student outcomes related to CTE and other ECCE programming.

• Drive collaboration between ECCE, schools, and other district teams to support joint initiatives across ECCE and OCCS, including Early College, CTE, the Chicago Roadmap, and Work-based learning.

• Support CTE strategic planning both internally and with external partners.

• Work to build capacity at career-connected high schools to successfully implement the ISBE College and Career Pathway Endorsement, where appropriate.

• Serve as a primary liaison between career-connected high schools and ECCE.

• Serve on the CTE Leadership team.

• Other duties and workstreams as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Education for Employment Manager must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree in education, social sciences, business, public policy, or related field from an accredited college or university

• Master’s degree preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of career program management or career program support experience is required

• Experience in Career and Technical Education (CTE), whether in a classroom teaching capacity and/or leading the administration of CTE programs is preferred

• Team leadership experience is preferred

• Experience in a large organization, managing complex projects requiring significant cross-functional collaboration is preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to resolve issues and conflicts within the project team and manage project dependencies and critical paths.

• Demonstrated ability to engage with multiple stakeholders.

• Ability and willingness to learn and adapt in the midst of new and shifting priorities with a ‘can-do,’ solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving.

• Strong written and verbal communication, organizational, and technology skills.

• Strong project management skillset, including the ability to coordinate multiple projects and stakeholders in order to successfully complete time-sensitive projects and/or reports.

• Ability to collaborate and communicate with school leadership, partners, and other key stakeholders to facilitate successful implementation and execution of projects and initiatives.

• Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success.

• Knowledge of CTE, including employment trends and/or educational best practices preferred.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.

• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.