Posted: July 05, 2011

Site Manager – RSD Pathways to Instructional Excellence
New Orleans, Louisiana
The New Teacher Project (TNTP) strives to end the injustice of educational inequality by providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and by advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that effective teachers have a greater impact on student achievement than any other school factor. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 43,000 teachers and worked with more than 200 districts in 31 states – benefiting an estimated 7 million students. Meanwhile, TNTP's acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the teacher workforce — most recently including The Widget Effect (2009) and Teacher Evaluation 2.0 (2010) — have influenced federal education policy and inspired reform efforts across the country.
TNTP is active in more than 25 cities, including 10 of the nation's 15 largest.

We are currently seeking a Site Manager for our RSD Pathways program in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Site Manager will be a TNTP employee based at the RSD office. This position is available immediately.

Performance Management
TNTP is advancing policies and practices that support teacher effectiveness in districts and states, and improving the way school leaders and administrators manage teachers on the job. This starts with robust teacher evaluation and development systems that produce clear information on how teachers are performing their most critical role: advancing student learning. TNTP is helping its partners at the state, district and school level to design and implement these evaluation and development systems, and use information about teacher performance in decisions about hiring and staffing, development, compensation, promotion and retention.

The Program
TNTP has spent over a decade at the forefront of teacher effectiveness reform in New Orleans. TNTP has helped Louisiana’s Recovery School District (RSD) design and implement an improved teacher evaluation system, known as RSD Pathways. The system, which is driving a meaningful distribution of teacher performance, has been embraced by many RSD teachers and principals for its rigor, accountability and ability to facilitate useful feedback.

Through Pathways, TNTP will also address hiring challenges for the RSD direct-run schools in New Orleans to ensure that these schools have the opportunity to hire the highest quality teachers possible. These staffing strategies will support and develop school hiring capacity by providing professional development and differentiated support to school administrators throughout the year, with a focus on identifying, cultivating, and hiring teacher candidates based on school fit. The Pathways program team will provide high-touch, customized logistical support to both the school site during the hiring process, hold job fairs, and facilitate strategic staffing conversations and workshops through which school leadership teams learn to create a school specific criterion based hiring process in order to identify the most effective teacher candidates for their buildings. The Site Manager will play a key role in supporting principals’ adoption of these practices.

Role and Responsibilities
The RSD Pathways Site Manager will work alongside other RSD Pathways staff and will report to the Partner to ensure that the goals and deadlines of the contract are met. The Site Manager will manage a Program Manager, a part-time Analyst, and seasonal temporary staff.
Candidates with a strong interest in organizational development and leadership and a record of success in project management, communications, and/or leading work effectively across teams of individuals are encouraged to apply. Specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Develops and manages scope and sequence of decision-making, support, and training for district and for principals
• Integrates and aligns operations, training content and communications across performance evaluation, teacher development, and staffing strategy services
• Oversees data management and reporting, including collecting and analyzing teacher performance data to benchmark progress against goals
• Manages budget
• Develops and oversees communication channels among site staff, principals and clients, including bi-weekly e-mail blasts to principals, client updates, and presentations for both internal and external stakeholders
• Oversees overall operations of the initiative of the program
• Manages training design and delivery
• Tracks and reports on progress against goals
• Manages relationship with lead clients, including Executive Director of Human Capital, charter school leaders, RSD principals and other client contacts
• Coordinates the program’s Steering Committee
• Generates innovative solutions to program challenges and differentiating support services as needed
• Works with the client and program staff on additional projects as necessary

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:

• Excellent project management, planning, and implementation skills
• The ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment
• The ability to critically assess challenges and identify effective solutions
• A record of setting and achieving ambitious goals
• 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
• The ability to manage multiple responsibilities and staff members simultaneously
• Excellent management skills, including experience effectively managing staff and developing talent
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills
• The ability to effectively engage and motivate clients and business partners at all levels of a district
• Excellent communication and writing skills
• Flexibility and comfort with ambiguity
• Outstanding critical thinking skills
A commitment to producing consistently high quality, detailed work
• The ability to learn quickly and work in a fast paced environment
• The ability to identify challenges and be flexible to actively work to find solutions
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to adhere to and hold others to strict deadlines
• Public-speaking abilities, including the ability to inspire others
• Strong education background and instructional skill set with at least two years teaching experience in a high-need school (preferred)
• Experience working with New Orleans schools (preferred)
• Experience working with under-performing schools (preferred)
• Familiarity with Louisiana curriculum standards and teaching standards (preferred)
• Previous experience developing and leading teacher professional development (preferred)
• Quantitative and data analysis and computer skills, specifically Microsoft Office suite
• A willingness to work non-standard hours and occasional weekends

Compensation

The annual salary for this position is $70,000 or commensurate with experience in a similar position with the potential for a performance based bonus.

TNTP offers a motivated team of dynamic colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development and valuable feedback, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including low cost medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, a 403(b) plan with matching, potential opportunities for performance based bonuses – as well as the chance to impact the direction of a growing, mission-driven company that is committed to the success of our nation’s children. For more information on TNTP’s competitive benefits package, please visit http://tntp.org/join/our-benefits/

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=880

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.