Director of School Support

Opportunity 180 Introduction:

In a sentence: Opportunity 180 is seeking to ensure every kid in Nevada graduates from high school and college and career-ready, prepared to live the life they dream. The organization is entering Year 6 of its ambitious 10-year goal to ensure 100,000 more students have access to a high-quality education in their neighborhood, including investing in the great ideas and new learning environments of more than 650 current and future education leaders and bringing $100M into the market to create the conditions for great schools to thrive. 

The current landscape: In Nevada, despite a nearly 82% statewide graduation rate, less than 1 in 5 high school students is on grade level in math and less than half are on grade level in English Language Arts. Opportunity 180 seeks to partner with the broader community to lead both practice-based and policy-centered solutions to the State’s persistent educational challenges, and to do so by unifying around a common vision for success based on evidence and data. This requires a coordinated effort to align around a single North Star and deploy sustainable strategies to ensure efforts to meet the educational needs of kids can launch and thrive. 

To meet these ambitious goals and build the conditions needed to strengthen and amplify our work, we are seeking a Director of School Support who can provide strategic partnership and support to schools in the Opportunity 180 portfolio in the areas of compliance, operations, family and community engagement, and student services.

For more information, visit Opportunity180.org.

Role Snapshot:

The Director of School Support will work in close coordination with the Executive Director of School Success to ensure the schools in the Opportunity 180 portfolio, especially those in the early years, deliver on their promise to provide high-quality schools for their students, families, and communities. Additionally, they will:

IMPROVE the performance of portfolio schools on the Organizational Performance Framework through strategic compliance support, collaboration, and direct coordination with schools and the authorizer.

SUPPORT and SUSTAIN portfolio schools in their efforts to build and improve sound school finance practices and systems, leading to improved performance on the Financial Performance Framework.

EXPAND schools’ systems and structures to gain and maintain access to high-quality Special Education services through state and federal resources, external partners, grants, while supporting improvement efforts around existing school resources and personnel.

DRIVE family engagement and enrollment efforts with close coordination with our portfolio schools and external partners.

ADVANCE the broader school support strategy of the organization through project management, grants management, navigating fluid workstreams while maintaining a high bar for excellence and performance from themselves, school leaders, and external partners.

Role Breakdown: 

• 50% Direct Operational School Support
• 20% Grants Management
• 15% SPED Strategy & Support
• 15% Special Initiatives and General Administration

Essential Functions and Activities:

The Director of School Support will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following core activities:

• Direct Operational School Support
  • Offer guidance and resources to help all portfolio schools adhere to relevant authorizer and grant compliance standards.
  • Leverage their own expertise in school compliance and operations to match schools with the support and resources they need to build and sustain strong compliance and operational systems.
  • Build on learnings previous initiatives related to school support and enhance them to be a better resource for schools.
  • Develop and execute a strategy to support schools to achieve full enrollment
  • Leverage existing resources, tools, and relationships within the community and national partners to support enrollment efforts in our portfolio schools.
  • Collaborate with the Managing Director of Operations and Business manager to develop and execute a strategy to support schools to ensure that they are making progress aligned with the authorizer’s Financial and Operational Performance Frameworks
  • Build relationships with and directly manage external providers and partners to ensure services are meeting the needs of the schools
  • Design, develop, and deliver comprehensive technical assistance programs focused on operational best practices for portfolio schools.
• Philanthropic Grants Management
  • Manage the grant and school database and work, keeping grant activity current and team members up to date
  • Create and implement strategies to enhance the efficiency and quality of compliance processes across the Opportunity 180 grants portfolio.
    
  • Analyze and understand grant data and activities to assess the effectiveness and ROI of philanthropic investments.
  • Lead execution of the tasks of all grant activities, inclusive of those supported by contractors.
    
  • Directly interface with philanthropic grant applicants throughout the award lifecycle, including grantee monitoring, reporting, and disbursement management.
• Special Education Support & Strategy
  • Coordinate and engage with external partners, local experts, and schools directly to understand the landscape of services offered and key levers to pull to ensure that all eligible students are getting access to services and a high-quality educational experience.
  • Develop a clear strategy for how O180 will engage with portfolio schools to ensure that they have the legally required SPED services being offered
  • Design and execute a strategy for direct support and involvement for schools who need additional support or access to services that they do not already have
• Special Initiatives and General Administration
  • Support the Executive Director of School Success in the execution of the Good to Great Program, the organizational strategy for school support and improvement
  • Coordinate with Good to Great national partners and school leaders to support the successful execution of the program
  • Operational ownership of events and programs led by the Schools Team.
  • Lead and contribute to additional strategic projects and initiatives as assigned by senior leadership, demonstrating adaptability and a commitment to organizational goals.
  • Establish and maintain clear and effective communication across all levels of the organization and with external partners

What you offer:

• Confident leader who is able to self-reflect and maintain a coachable mindset
• Equity-centered leader who is committed to the equitable access of a high quality education for all students and families in Nevada
• Expert at understanding school quality and the systems needed to ensure schools provide high quality options for their students and families
• Deep understanding of the school compliance systems in Nevada, including familiarity with the state authorizer performance frameworks and compliance platforms
• Experience with and strong background in education data analysis and analytics
• A strong background in charter school business and finance operations.
• Ability and willingness to take ownership of high-priority tasks and projects with minimal guidance, demonstrating strong judgment.
• A proactive mindset and approach to the work; a hunger for results, for learning, and a willingness to initiate.
• Outcomes orientation; focusing more on the ultimate outcome of the work rather than the completion of tasks
• Strong relationship-management skills and commitment to staying connected to the education sector both locally and nationally
• Situational awareness and ability to consider varied perspectives and interests aligned to the greater intention of the organization
• Experience listening, synthesizing and distilling complex and sometimes ambiguous information
• Ability and willingness to own high-priority tasks and projects with minimal guidance 
• Strong judgment and ability to manage confidential information with tact and integrity 
• Strong written and oral communication skills with the ability to convey complex and potentially divisive information 
• Strong ability to build relationships and manage processes and results with and without direct authority 

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge or accomplishment required to perform this job. 

• 5+ years of experience in educational leadership, program management, or related field, or a related combination of education and experience
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience leading or supporting a school’s operational and/or finance systems with a track record for high performance and execution
• Strong project management and reporting skills, with a focus on interdepartmental communication
• Experience with budget management
• Experience in planning and leading strategic initiatives
• Extremely versatile, dedicated to efficient productivity

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with federal grants 
• Experience in family engagement with a preference for direct school enrollment support background
• Proven success in a strategic management role
• Nimble business mind with a focus on developing creative solutions
• Bilingual (Spanish)

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: A current Nevada State-issued Driver’s License and current automobile insurance coverage, including automobile registration.

Compensation & Benefits:

• The salary range for this position starts at $90,000.
• We offer excellent benefits, including a 401K plan, 100% coverage of medical and dental insurance with 50% coverage for dependents, opportunities for local and national personal and professional development, generous PTO, and relocation if needed
• Flexible work culture where we work from the office at least 2 days a week and from home the remainder of the week, with the exception of in-person team meetings and programming.

 

Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear; on occasion, climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.  The employee is occasionally required to lift up to 25 pounds.  The vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

 

Work Environment:  

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to excessive heat, and wet and/or humid outside conditions.  The noise level in the environment is moderate and at times, high.

 

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee in this position. Scheduled hours may change based on business needs.  Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.

 

The company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, drug-free workplace, and complies with ADA regulations as applicable.

THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE.  WE MAINTAIN “AT WILL” EMPLOYMENT.