Who we are?Ethical Culture Fieldston School is a progressive PreK-12 independent school that has been serving students from throughout New York City and the surrounding suburbs since 1878. ECFS offers a rich curriculum in the arts, sciences, and humanities. A co-ed, nonsectarian school, it serves a diverse community of about 1,700 students on two campuses -- one in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and the other in Manhattan. The Upper School, located in the Bronx, is comprised of approximately 600 students and 80 faculty members.

What is essential about working at our school?The Ethical Culture Fieldston School has a long history of equity and inclusion deeply rooted in our mission and the educational philosophy of our founder, Felix Adler. We embrace diversity of ancestry, family, identity, culture, and beliefs and seek a student body and faculty that reflect the pluralism and socio-economic diversity of metropolitan New York. We affirm both our differences and commonalities and strive to balance individuality and community. In keeping with our progressive tradition, we are dedicated to increasing our students’ cultural literacy to help them understand multiple perspectives and see the world beyond the self.

We expect members of our community to engage in open dialogue about living and learning in a diverse environment inside and outside the classroom. We see this work, with its creative tensions, as a catalyst for individual and collective growth. On a daily basis, we are committed to making this vision of a democratic, pluralistic, and progressive school a reality.

Position SummaryThe Assistant Director of Belonging and Social Impact is a full-time 12-month position. This role is tasked with ensuring a welcoming, safe, and inclusive community for all. This role will assist the Executive Director of Community and Social Impact with creating, implementing, and managing programs intended to value all types of diversity. They will help foster an environment that embraces the big eight identifiers along with belonging, empathy, and mutual respect among the student body, faculty, staff, and parent community. Additionally, their responsibilities will include working on a divisional and an all-school level to oversee the development of social and academic programs designed to support all constituents in EC, Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. The Assistant Director of BSI will work with a team of five Belonging and Social Impact Leads, across four divisions to partner with, the community and inclusion liaison, human resources, admissions, division principles, assistant principals, and chairs in order to support and retain a diverse faculty, staff, and students population, and develop professional development to enhance cultural understanding and competency within the community.The hiring range for this position is $120,000-135,000. When determining the salary for an offer, ECFS considers factors including, but not limited to: the scope and responsibilities of the position, internal peer equity, key skills required for the role, the candidate’s work experience, education and training, as well as market and organizational considerations.Please note that this is an onsite role and not performed remotely. Ethical Culture Fieldston School retains its right to modify job duties in accordance with changing operational needs.

ResponsibilitiesSpecific responsibilities of the Assistant Director of Belonging and Social Impact will be:

• Collaborating with various internal and external stakeholders to facilitate trust-building, relationship-building, and cultural competence as it relates to the Belonging and Social Impact vision;

• Attending various school meetings and also serving as a member on search committees;

• Problem-solving with fellow BSI leads, administrators, teachers, students, health and wellness team, and parents when dealing with sensitive issues around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging;

• Partnering with admissions and communications teams to attract and engage underrepresented and culturally diverse families;

• Leading community initiatives and working in tandem with the Support and Wellness team on issues pertaining to inclusivity and bais;

• Monitoring and enhancing the support mechanisms in place for underrepresented student groups;

• Monitoring and reviewing all school communications to ensure they reflect our diverse student body;

• Supporting student enrichment and social emotional learning through programs and activities;

• Creating and leading a more robust training for all employees across all levels (including new hires) to intentionally drive restorative justice, cross cultural dialogue, anti-bias training, expanding the understanding and inclusivity as it relates to the big eight identifiers, such as: ethnicity, race culture, religion, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomics and ability;

• Regularly meeting with Executive Director of Community and Social Impact and Executive Director of Student Support and Wellness to create and enhance support systems to promote the social emotional learning/growth of children;

• Developing BSI metrics and goals that align with school objectives and support the BSI vision;

• Regularly monitoring and communicating the progress toward achieving the BSI strategic vision as well as the execution of strategies that map to those objectives;

• Providing oversight of organizations and programs such as SoCM, CARE, Bridge to Bridge, student affinity groups, student mentorship programs, and conferences in all divisions;

• Partnering with supporting divisional chairs and teachers in the enrichment and refinement of curriculum through an inclusive, equitable lens;

• Attending Parent Multicultural P&T meetings and monitoring goal setting, programming, and other topics of interest;

• Partnering with colleagues to plan and support community time/assemblies, trips, and retreats to enhance community understanding and support positive identity development;

• Teaching independent and collaborative lessons about belonging and social impact as needed;

• Serving as a member of the MS Discipline Committee and US ARC; 

• Performing other duties, projects and tasks as assigned. 

Position RequirementsThe successful incumbent will possess the following:

• A Bachelor’s degree, Master's preferred;

• At least five years of professional experience in program development and implementation; especially as it relates to DEIBJ;

• Experience teaching and developing curriculum in a PreK-12 school is essential;

• Previous experience in a progressive school a plus;

• The ability to inspire, influence and motivate others to create positive change;

• High emotional intelligence and cultural competence;

• The ability to be highly detailed oriented, organized and resourceful;

• Experience with independent school admissions process a plus;

• The capacity to confidently collaborate and build relationships with faculty, administrators,the student and parent community;

• The ability to handle confidential material with discretion and possess the highest degree of integrity;

• Excellent written and oral communication skills to effectively communicate initiatives, facilitate discussions and present to various levels of stakeholders

• The capacity to work some evenings and weekends;

• Respect and appreciation for diversity in all of its forms;

• The ability to listen effectively and be receptive to feedback.

To ApplyAll candidates should visit our employment page at www.ecfs.org to apply. Please submit a resume, along with the contact information for at least three professional references.EEOECFS is an equal opportunity employer. Our goal is to be a diverse community of professionals that broadly reflects the people of the metropolitan New York City area, our students, and families. We aim to align our hiring process with our mission and institutional goals. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion or religious practices, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, age, ability status, military status, unemployment status or any other category protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. ECFS takes affirmative action in support of its policy to employ and advance all qualified candidates.