Director of School Leadership

Independence Mission Schools provide sustainable, affordable, high-quality Catholic education to children of all faiths in underserved urban neighborhoods, through a new model of governance, funding, and accountability for the member schools.

As a member of the Academics central office team, the Director of School Leadership directly manages 5-9 schools in collaboration with the Deputy Chief of Schools, Deputy Chief of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, and the Chief of Schools. The Director serves as a liaison between the schools and the central office, working closely with all central office departments to deliver on the promise of an excellent education in their schools. The Director is responsible for developing success metrics in support of these efforts, tracking data to measure efficacy and correcting course when needed. The Director reports to the Deputy Chief of Schools.

Key Functions

Provide coaching and support to schools in alignment with school and network priorities:

• Manages the performance and development of 5-9 IMS schools and principals - developing and/or implementing management routines to provide coaching and growth opportunities to achieve school and leader performance goals grounded in the IMS Principal Competencies and IMS Exemplar School Rubric.
• Coaches and builds the capacity of leaders in a differentiated manner in order to achieve expected outcomes set forth on the school action plan. 
• Provides on-demand support for the talent management efforts of schools (e.g., by providing an objective opinion on teacher performance, feedback on performance improvement plans, etc.)
• Works cross functionally with other central office team members to ensure both network and school initiatives are in alignment and goals are set and achieved. 
• Works with schools to resolve parent concerns that are relayed to the central office
• Manages our knowledge-base and sets guidelines to help our school leaders run academically rigorous Catholic schools. This includes developing, facilitating, and following up on professional development for leaders at monthly leader meetings and leader learning sessions.
• Reviews and codifies best practices from our schools so that tomorrow’s Catholic school leaders benefit from the accumulated wisdom of our network, which includes management of the network leader drive.
• Creates and manages systems to share these learnings with schools
• Diagnoses school management challenges and works with school leaders to define network guidelines and/or policies that best support student learning (e.g., student retention, student acceptance, etc.)
• Becomes adept at understanding data systems and support leaders’ abilities to read and use reports in network platforms (e.g. MAP, TADS, Educate, Paylocity, Avid, etc.)
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• An individual of strong Catholic faith (preferred) who is possessed of a growth mindset, mission-driven, and committed to serving children of all faiths
• Demonstrated experience as a successful principal including knowledge of and experience with high-quality, Common Core-aligned curriculum, effective instructional practices, analyzing, interpreting, and using data to drive results, and leadership development
• A proven track record of improving student outcomes for historically underserved populations of students
• An orientation towards outcomes and the flexibility and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve them – which includes the need for patience in times of change
• The ability to build, develop and maintain relationships with internal and external constituents including school leaders, teachers, parents, and community stakeholders
• Strong leadership and staff development skills including the ability to motivate staff, manage conflict, and grow teams
• Self-directed with the ability to prioritize among competing responsibilities and use good judgment in an entrepreneurial environment
• Strong project management skills including establishing outcomes, determining evaluative measures, tracking progress, and course correcting when necessary 
• Exceptional design & facilitation of adult professional development programs & sessions as well as the ability to coach and develop others on their design and facilitation 
• Ability to evaluate deliverables for strengths and areas of risk to provide high-quality feedback both verbally and in writing 
• Ability to coach and influence school leaders across the network 

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from 4-year college or university or equivalent experience
• Google apps skills - Expert level
• Keen attention to detail is a must, critical thinking and analytical skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to interact with all levels of the organization
• Solid written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to consider diverse perspectives and find common ground
• Excellent organizational skills
• Flexibility to work effectively in an extremely fast-paced environment and adaptable to change
• Demonstrated positive attitude

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.