Associate Partner - School Design

Company: The Opportunity Trust
Location: Saint Louis
Posted on: August 7, 2022

Job Description:

Job DescriptionTITLEAssociate PartnerREPORTS TOPartnerTHE CHALLENGEIt is estimated that 65% of children entering elementary school today will work in jobs that currently do not exist. More than 5 million jobs will disappear in the next five years alone due to the rapid economic transformation underway. Our schools and school systems were designed to serve a different economy and population of children and have largely remained unchanged in the last century. As a result, they are failing to prepare children in our country for a life of economic opportunity and choice, or to navigate our diverse and dynamic global society. The St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), serving more than 20,000 students, recently earned its way off of the state's probation list for improvements in attendance and fiscal management; yet, 91% of students fail to meet basic proficiency in mathematics by the 8th grade, nearly a third of students will not graduate, and those that do earn an average ACT score of 17 (four points below the already low bar for initial college or career readiness of 21). Normandy, just outside of city borders, had a composite ACT score of 15, ranking in the bottom quartile nationally. Absent a coordinated and systemic approach, progress in the aggregate remains limited while the stakes of the status quo increasingly limit the choices of children attending our public schools and hamper the social and economic vitality of the region.ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TRUSTThe Opportunity Trust exists to ensure every child born in St. Louis is prepared to lead a life of choice and dignity as an adult. It pursues this mission by examining barriers to economic mobility in the St. Louis region, developing research-based theories of system-level change, and building national and local funds dedicated to eliminating these barriers over time. One of the most urgent barriers to opportunity in St. Louis today is the changing nature of work and our increasingly outdated and ineffective public education system. Our first focus, Reimagining School, aims to catalyze a fundamental transformation of our public education system so that it can prepare children for the jobs of today and tomorrow.Building off the successes and failures of the most effective transformations of public education in our nation, we invest in the following levers that together drive systemic change

• Strategic Priority 1: Providing tools and resources for parents to help them advocate for higher quality school options and place their children in the best-fit school; and,
• Strategic Priority 2: Building the vision and capacity of talented educators to scale, transform and launch new and innovative schools in St. Louis;
• Strategic Priority 3: Growing talent pipelines for the education sector and deploying talent to the highest impact interventions; building awareness among leaders in business and government about the conditions that enable quality schools and advocating for the institutionalization of those conditions in state and local policy. Beyond strategically deploying financial capital, The Opportunity Trust works to ensure the success of each fund in four ways:
• Identifying what is working and amplifying the impact of those organizations and leaders;
• Identifying and supporting entrepreneurs with local ties to fulfill unmet needs;
• Connecting organizations to each other and to resources nationally and locally; and,
• Coordinating and supporting the rigorous evaluation of current approaches and advocating for evidence-based local and state policy changes.ABOUT YOUR ROLEThe Associate Partner of School Redesign will work closely with Partners to co-design and execute vision and strategy in service of ensuring we orchestrate and execute a world class new school incubation program that immediately increases the number of high quality seats STL children have access to while simultaneously providing opportunities to reimagine public school education overall. On the district front, the Associate Partner of School Redesign will support the design, development, partnership management, and implementation of district school redesign activities. Key to this role is recruiting, hiring, developing EIRs (Entrepreneurs in Residence), coordinating and executing learning trips, communities of practice, and fellowships.The Associate Partner will work in close collaboration with the Partners to ensure programs align to organizational priorities and strategies. The Associate Partner will also supervise Program Manager activities to ensure that our efforts are delivered with operational excellence. The Opportunity Trust culture is a start-up environment, which means that everyone pitches in to help and steps up to support new initiatives as they arise. The Associate Partner must have the ability to attend evening and weekend events.WHAT YOU'LL DO
  • Conduct progress monitoring and diligence reviews for grantees and prospective partners
  • Support the design and implementation of programs specific to the focus area
  • Design and oversee recruitment and selection processes for targeted programs
  • Establish priority partnerships with vendors, districts, and schools to ensure effective program launch and delivery
  • Supervise program managers to ensure prospects, candidates, and progress are maintained within CMS
  • Align with Partner on program priorities, objectives, strategies, content, and budgets
  • Deliver high-quality programming that yields progress on strategic priority outcomes
  • Provide individualized support/attention to fellows and program participants
  • Support Partner with budget management of fellowships/programs, including requesting/reviewing quotes from vendors, negotiating, adjusting budgets, making decisions, and executing contracts
  • Manage relationships with external partners providing programmatic support to ensure design alignment, session objectives are met, and communication throughout the process is clear
  • Serve as a relationship manager with relevant school and district leaders
  • Organize and lead annual program stepbacks to reflect and redesign as necessary, while regularly evaluating emerging needs for new programmingYOUR BACKGROUNDSkills
    • The ability to design and manage complex project plans to maintain progress towards outcomes is critical
    • Demonstrated ability to be self-directed, take initiative, and display tenacious follow-through
    • Strong track record as an implementer who thrives on managing a variety of key initiatives concurrently
    • Highly collaborative work style
    • Exceptional oral and written communication skills
    • Strong analytical skills, including a structured approach to problem-solving
    • Learner stance, humility, and growth mindset
    • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and/or GSuite, with demonstrable competency with spreadsheets
    • Ability to build relationships and coalitions in service of school redesign ideas and implementation
    • Ability to manage the political ecosystem to ensure choice is an option for all familiesPrior Experience
      • A minimum of 5 years K-12 education, ideally in both charter and district spaces
      • Experience managing a diverse team and driving ambitious results by way of influence and cross-functional coordination
      • Prepared for a leadership role with a social impact organization WHAT WE OFFER
        • Starting salary range: $76,000-$135,000
        • Competitive salary and benefits
        • Flexible work environment
        • Passionate, mission-driven colleaguesCandidates should apply by May 20, 2022 to be considered for this role.Powered by JazzHRj0F3OcLlqo

Keywords: The Opportunity Trust, St. Louis , Associate Partner - School Design, Other , Saint Louis, Missouri