Manager of Family and Community Engagement, OECE

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 340,000 students in 600 schools and employing nearly 36,000 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. In order 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.

Job Summary:

The Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) supports students and families by providing early learning programs for children from birth to second grade in a variety of settings. OECE’s mission is to provide all children and their families with access to high-quality, equitable early learning experiences leading to success in elementary school and beyond.

Under direction of the Program Director, the Manager of Family and Community Engagement works with the OECE leadership to develop and directly supervise the Family Engagement (FE) team which includes the Family Engagement Team Lead and a team of Family Engagement Coordinators to build schools’ capacity to develop and implement high-quality family and community engagement strategies through the tiered model of supports. Additionally, the Manager provides technical assistance, training and support to the FECs.

The Manager of Family and Community Engagement will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Develop, implement and evaluate a clear and coherent approach for providing technical assistance, training and support to schools in the areas of outreach, comprehensive family engagement, attendance and community engagement.
• Set the vision and support implementation of the day-to-day work of the Family Engagement Coordinators.
• Set the vision and support implementation of the day-to-day work of the Family Engagement Team Lead.
• Establish and oversee the Family Engagement (FE) team budget and day-to-day operations.
• Support schools in building effective strategies for engaging community partners, as needed facilitate dialogue to ensure pertinent information related to programming and services is shared with school staff
• Support FE Team to successfully build strong partnerships with community organizations, city/state departments, etc.
• Support FE Team to build schools’ capacity to support family needs holistically.
  • Work closely with school stakeholders to develop structures and systems to identify resources and activities that connect and engage families.
• Support the FE team to address parent concerns within their portfolio of schools:.
  • Respond to all parent concerns in a timely manner when applicable.
  • Facilitate meetings between concerned parents and school administrators with goal of finding a resolution
  • Act as a family and community engagement liaison for networks implementation of the school’s strategic plan for family and community engagement
• Provide support for events and activities connected to family engagement across networks
• Develop and lead implementation of a district-wide tiered outreach strategies for FECs in collaboration with district and city partners.
• Serve as an internal and external liaison around early childhood outreach and enrollment efforts.
• Serve as a strategic partner for internal and external stakeholders in developing and coordinating
• Performs other duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Manager of Family and Community Engagement must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services or related field
• Previous experience driving multiple collaborative projects within a large organization
• Previous experience in a public sector organization or education is a preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum 5 years experience working in the field of child and family engagement
• Minimum 2 years experience in a supervisory or management position
• Minimum 2 years experience with federal, state, and local regulations

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to meet all deadlines
• Knowledge of principles and practices of adult learning theory
• Work effectively with stakeholders from multi-culturally and economically diverse backgrounds
• Ability to direct, problem solve, develop and delegate as situations dictate
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing with all stakeholders; able to present to various audiences (families, school and network staff, funders, community members, etc)
• Ability to work evenings and weekends

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. Unvaccinated staff with an approved exemption must submit to weekly testing.

CPS Non-Union Job Grade: S08

Estimated Annual Salary Range: $76,000 - $100,500

Final salary offers are dependent upon candidate qualifications.