Director, Community Schools Initiatives

ABOUT ALLIANCE COLLEGE-READY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is one of the largest and most successful nonprofit public charter school networks in the nation, operating 26 high-performing, middle and high schools that educate nearly 13,000 scholars who make up the heart of Los Angeles’ Latinx, Black, and recent immigrant communities. Alliance schools have been recognized as among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, the U.S. Department of Education, and the California Department of Education. Since opening our first school in 2004, 95% of Alliance scholars have graduated from high school. We strive to uplift our scholars and their communities by fostering unparalleled educational opportunities that encourage scholarly thought, resilient learning, powerful communication, mind-body wellness, and community advocacy. To learn more, visit www.LAalliance.org.

ROLE SUMMARY

Alliance’s Director, Community Schools Initiatives serves as a pivotal member of the Scholar, Family, and Community team, responsible for the effective leadership, management, and supervision of three Managers overseeing the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP). This role requires a dynamic individual with a proven track record in school or nonprofit program development and implementation, strong supervision/development of direct reports, strategic planning, collaborative partnership building, and government funding management. They ensure successful, goal-oriented program activities to maximize program impact, manage compliance with all agency and funder regulations, as well as provide the Community Schools team the roadmap for the achievement of strategic plan objectives.  Alliance’s Director, Community Schools Initiatives is responsible for the implementation, integration, alignment, and coordination of the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) and will lead community school strategy with participating school sites (23 LEAs in school year 24-25). Will work closely with local schools, community-based organizations, elected officials, community leaders, and residents to implement collaborative solutions to meet student and community needs.  Will engage cross-functional teams in promoting awareness of Alliance’s community schools approach in alignment with the org mission and seek input and feedback on implementation to inform plans. Will develop and directly manage a subset of schools alongside the three managers to model collaborative school support without formal authority, in an effort to improve each school’s coordination of grants, programs, and services which will benefit scholars, parents, and community members.  The CCSPP supports schools’ ongoing efforts to partner with community agencies and local government to align community resources to improve scholar outcomes. These partnerships provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement. 

The ideal candidate has a collaborative leadership style with a minimum of 5 years experience leading school and/or nonprofit program development and implementation, demonstrated ability to develop collaborative partnerships, a successful track record of leading others in strategic and project goals and objectives, experience giving updates and feedback to school leaders, strong working knowledge of outcomes management principles, and experience with government funding from proposal to final reporting and contract monitoring. The Director, Community Schools Initiatives, will report to the Vice President, Scholar, Family, and Community Services in the Alliance Home Office Equity Programs Division, and will work closely with school principals and/or APs at all participating sites and Coordinators at a subset of school sites. The Director, Community Schools Initiatives will plan and align all programs, services, and opportunities collaboratively for the duration of the CCSPP grant. This is a grant-funded role that is anticipated to last until June 30, 2029, but evaluation of funding to determine the continuation of the role will happen on a year-to-year basis. 

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership and Management

• Directly manages and coaches the Alliance Community Schools Team, including three Managers, supporting a total of 23 Alliance LEAs (all Alliance schools), toward achieving ambitious yet realistic program and compliance goals and outcomes in a timely manner;

• Facilitates regular check-ins with three direct reports providing feedback and development for progress to goal attainment;

• Conducts regular outcome-driven teamwork planning, meetings, and progress monitoring practices;

• Establishes and maintains the team’s portfolio model of direct school support.

Functional Strategy Leadership

• Establishes functional-area vision, goals, and strategy in partnership with the supervisor;

• Co-leads Family and Community Empowerment network strategy;

• Identifies needs and creates systems, tools, and work plans that help facilitate timely execution of functional strategy across the home office and schools;

• Coordinates cross-functional collaboration to achieve goals and milestones that build infrastructure for Community Schools initiatives and functions;

• In coordination with the supervisor and larger division is responsible for the development of evidence-based programming that bolsters the community safety net and promotes resilience, to ensure excellence and measurable impact for both the individuals served and the community.

Professional Development Design and Delivery

• Creates and maintains outcome-driven learning arc for the Alliance Community Schools Coordinator cohort;

• Ensures high-quality, outcomes-based, relevant professional development is designed and delivered monthly to the Alliance Community Schools Coordinator cohort;

• In partnership with home office teams strategizes intentional shared spaces of learning and collaboration between Community Schools Coordinators and Parent Engagement Specialists;

• Serves as a mentor to Managers, Coordinators, school leaders, and Home Office staff to build champions for Community Schools initiatives and operations.

Goals, Data, and Progress Monitoring

• Regularly monitors progress to goals, creates and implements plans of action, and communicates roadblocks in a timely manner to key decision-makers and recommenders;

• Manage and iterate upon internal data collection system, file and track documentation for accountability with grantors;

• Uses data to inform programmatic and operational decision-making;

• Establishes objective program performance standards of accountability ensuring that the expectations of funders, partners, regulatory agencies, the Board, and other stakeholders are consistently met;

• Works with program leadership and staff to establish and track results for annual program goals and objectives in support of the strategic plan;

• Coordinates the collection and input of evaluation data used to measure ongoing program effectiveness of services and program outcome measures.

Grant Management and Reporting

• Manages and leads multiple parties in the preparation of high-quality narrative quarterly, final, and ad-hoc project reports for grantors; 

• Oversees and ensures the timely submission of all required reports and supporting materials, including  Annual Progress Reports and Expenditure Reports;

• Develop, manage, and coordinate documents needed for internal and external program audits and compliance requirements;

• Works closely with the finance department to ensure fiscal compliance with government funders; 

• Manages the development of budgets, cost analyses, and forecasts for programs and grant-funded projects;

• Works collaboratively with supervisor in the completion of government grant proposals, including but not limited to developing scopes of work, compiling required exhibits and attachments, development of project budgets, and timely submissions.

Relationship Building

• Establishes strong, productive, and trusting relationships with the administrative team, school personnel, staff, scholars, and community to seek input on needs and address barriers to learning, equity, and inclusion;

• Values diversity among team members and promotes cooperation and interaction within and across teams;

• Cultivates collaborative partnerships and builds a coalition of partners.

External Affairs and Partnerships

• Regularly liaises on behalf of the organization with partners such as LACOE, CDE, and LAUSD;

• Fosters relationships with city, county, state, and federal agency leaders, and political representatives to stay abreast of upcoming funding opportunities, public policy initiatives, and other relevant information;

• Work with partner agency leadership teams to identify strategic directions;

• Work with community partners, public officials, local schools, community residents, and staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, and address community needs.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATES WILL HAVE

• Commitment to Alliance’s core beliefs, educational philosophy, low-income communities, and communities of color;

• Experience working in a large system of schools;

• School leadership experience;

• Understanding of the CA Community Schools Framework;

• Experience formally directing multiple projects with strong administrative and organizational skills;

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build and cultivate relationships with home office departments, coordinators, school leaders, and school staff;

• Composure in the face of high workload, competing or conflicting demands, ambiguous assignments, interruptions, and distractions;

• Experience recognizing and responding to unanticipated events and requirements with the willingness to do what is necessary to get the desired result;

• Political savvy and ability to make good judgments on behalf of schools and the organization;

• Excellent communication and media skills, both verbal and written;

• Strong data collection, entry, and analysis skills, in platforms such as Excel, CoBro, and other data systems;

• Entrepreneurial spirit to thrive in a fast-paced and achievement-oriented environment;

• Detail-oriented with excellent organization skills;

• Willingness to go above and beyond to contribute to the success of a dynamic team committed to a new future for urban education;

• Understanding of the nuances of urban school environments and school culture.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• At least five (5) years of progressive professional work experience leading school-system-based program development and implementation of services for underrepresented populations

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or university 

• At least 3 years working in a leadership position in a public school or school system

WORK LOCATION

This position is a hybrid role which will include a combination of working from home, our network office, and travel to school sites. The successful candidate will be given a $400 work-from-home set-up allowance and receive a monthly stipend of $100.

BENEFITS

In alignment with our commitment to equity for our scholars, Alliance is committed to equity and transparency for our team and offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience as well as generous retirement and health benefits. This position is exempt.

• Relocation: Individuals residing outside of the Greater Los Angeles area are eligible for a relocation bonus of $5,000 for individuals and $7,500 for new staff with families/partners.

• Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision plan options that are covered at 100% of monthly premiums for individual employees and at least $1,000 per month towards medical family plan premiums. Please click HERE for more information on health insurance.

• Retirement: Alliance Home Office employees are eligible for a retirement allowance equal to 7.5% of their regular yearly earnings. Please click HERE for more information on retirement.

• Paid Leave: Regular full-time 12-month employees receive 8.5 weeks of vacation and paid time off. Additionally, full-time employees accrue 3 weeks of flexible paid time off per year and receive 27 other paid holidays as part of our network calendar.

• Professional Development: At Alliance, we believe in supporting staff growth and development. Home Office staff are allocated $500 per year for professional development expenses.

COMPENSATION

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should submit an application. Please note that only candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

This job description is subject to change at any time based on the evolving needs of the organization.

• Alliance College-Ready Public Schools are tuition-free public charter schools that do not discriminate against any scholar, parent, community member, or staff member based on actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.

• Alliance College-Ready Public Schools requires that all team members be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the safety of our students, family, and staff. Team members may apply to seek a medical exemption. Regardless of your current vaccination status, our team can advise you on how to fulfill this important requirement so that you can start the position in a timely way.

• Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they match every criterion. If you think you meet some of the qualifications, but don't necessarily check every box in the job description, we encourage you to still apply. If you have questions contact the Staffing Team at JoinUs@laalliance.org.