Posted: August 09, 2010

Site Manager – Louisiana Statewide Staffing Initiative
Flexible Location

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) helps school districts and states fulfill the promise of public education by ensuring that all students—especially those from high-need communities—get excellent teachers. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that although great teachers are the best solution to educational inequality, the nation’s education systems do not sufficiently prioritize the goal of effective teachers for all. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers and achieve reforms that promote effective teaching in every classroom. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 37,000 teachers—mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows™ programs—benefiting an estimated 5.9 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation’s teacher workforce, most recently including The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness (2009). Today TNTP is active in more than 40 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, and Oakland, among others. For more information, please visit www.tntp.org.

We are currently seeking a Site Manager to lead our Louisiana Statewide Staffing Initiative. The Site Manager will be a TNTP employee based, preferably in Louisiana, or from a home office anywhere in the United States. This position requires up to 40-60% travel to partner districts in Louisiana, as well as TNTP meetings and conferences. The Site Manager reports to a Partner in the Staffing Initiatives business line, and this position is available to start on September 1, 2010 with the potential to work on projects on a part-time basis prior to September 1.

The Program

The quality of the teacher is the biggest factor in determining whether or not students achieve at high levels. A report published by TNTP, entitled Missed Opportunities: How We Keep High Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms, showed that urban school districts lose their high quality teacher candidates because they hire late.

The Louisiana Statewide Staffing Initiative, a partnership between The New Teacher Project, the Louisiana Department of Education and the Gates Foundation, will work to assist four school districts in various geographies around the state with hiring challenges in order to ensure that these districts have the opportunity to hire the highest quality teachers possible through a criterion based hiring process anchored in mutual consent.

Role and Responsibilities

The Site Manager is responsible for ensuring the successful planning and execution of this statewide initiative. This position offers the successful candidate the opportunity to have a profound impact on how teachers are hired in the four partner districts. Specifically, the Site Manager will be responsible for:

• Setting, monitoring and meeting ambitious goals that support the early hiring of high quality teachers and ensuring that all vacancies in district schools are filled by the first day of school
• Meeting regularly with principals to monitor staffing progress and discuss current needs and challenges
• Generating innovative solutions and strategies that allow principals to hire earlier and more effectively and meet needs identified for individual schools
• Coordinating interviews and other hiring opportunities for teachers and principals
• Managing internal transfers and surplus teachers through mutual consent hiring practices
• Developing and implementing an internet-based recruitment campaign to attract additional high quality teachers to the district
• Engaging school district staff in ongoing problem solving to ensure that best hiring practices, including early hiring, can take place in the partner schools
• Delivering professional development to principals and other school-based hiring staff to help them hire the highest quality teachers
• Communicating regularly with teachers and principals and differentiating support services as needed
• Guiding principals to implement best hiring practices by holding monthly and one-on-one skill development workshops
• Maintaining data management systems and compiling weekly data reports for the initiative
• Identifying and reducing or removing policy or practice barriers to early hiring

Qualifications

We seek detail-oriented, independent self-starters who believe deeply in our organization's mission and who display a record of achievement in challenging situations. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:

• Project management experience
• Superior leadership skills
• A record of setting and achieving ambitious goals
• Excellent communication and writing skills
• The ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills
• Exceptional client management skills
• A commitment to producing consistently high quality work
• The ability to learn quickly and work in a fast paced environment
• The ability to identify challenges and actively work to find solutions
• Flexibility
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills
• Extraordinary attention to detail
• The ability to work effectively with others at all levels of an organization and to consistently display a high level of professionalism in all interactions
• Public-speaking abilities, including the ability to inspire others
• Knowledge of the Louisiana public school system (preferred)
• Experience working with under-performing schools (highly preferred)
• Superior quantitative and computer skills, specifically Microsoft Office suite
• A willingness to work non-standard hours and occasional weekends and a willingness to travel extensively to our partner districts in Louisiana

Compensation

The annual salary for this position is $70,000 or commensurate with experience in a similar position. We also offer a motivated team of colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, and a 403(b) plan with matching – as well as the opportunity to impact the direction of a growing, mission-driven company that is committed to the success of our nation’s children.

To Apply

Please submit your resume and tailored cover letter online at
http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=628

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to the Human Capital Team. The New Teacher Project is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position. If you would like to learn more about our mission, please visit our web site at www.tntp.org.