Equity Program Manager

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 350,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

Job Summary

The Equity Program Manager reports directly to the Chicago Equity Officer in the Office of Equity at Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The program manager serves as a public face of the initiatives that support boys and young men of color, establishing and ensuring the integrity and impact of the initiatives within CPS and the community. The EPM will assist with building a strategic plan that builds coherence for student programming. The ideal candidate is an experienced and effective advocate for structural change, grounded in principles of racial equity and social justice; a creative thinker; and an effective collaborator, supervisor and project manager.

T he Equity Program Manager will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

Typical Duties/Responsibilities:

• Demonstrated ability to develop collaborative, productive and respectful relationships with leaders and other institutions and groups, including but not limited to communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, business and philanthropy.
  
  
• Partner with other CPS offices and departments and external organizations to develop and implement programming for Boys and Young Men of Color.
  
  
• Coordinate and provide project management support to ongoing initiatives. Manage and track action items and deliverables across multiple racial equity initiatives and working groups;
  
  
• Research practices, programs, and partnerships to make recommendations for student programming.
  
  
• Monitor program activities and maintain documentation per strategic priorities in continuous improvement plan
  
  
• Cultivate and maintain relationships among key internal and external partners while also developing strategies to increase positive portrayals of boys and young men of color
  
  
• Leads district effort to support and monitor programs for Black youth, works closely with program leads to regularly monitor equity data, and advises the district on next steps.
  
  
• Leads continuous improvement capacity building to advance and accelerate equity across schools utilizing programs for Black youth.
  
  
• Collaborates with district leaders to establish standard metrics and scorecard for tracking and reporting on racial equity gaps and gains. - Coordinates the public sharing of promising practices and lessons learned.
  
  
• Collaborates with the district and school based leaders to analyze the new Black youth experience in schools. Identifies barriers for students and recommends modifications to practices and procedures for more equitable outcomes.
  
  
• Leads effort to ensure transparency and accountability in equity practices across the district and with our partners and community.
  
  
• Engages youth, community, and district employees in conversations centered on inclusive practices, cultural competency, inherent biases, and other issues related to racial equity.
  
  
• Experience developing and managing programs to address institutional and structural racism.
  
  
• Performs other duties as assigned
  
  
• Effectively partner with key stakeholders to the build and maintain program design and structure
  
  
• Build and maintain relationships across the organization and community
  
  

• Defining and tracking the key performance indicators for benefit realization
  
  
• Managing risks and issues, and actively mitigating/resolving
  
  
• Coordinating multiple projects, their interdependencies and working teams as required
  
  
• Liaison between steering committees(s), communities of practice, ...
  
  

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Job Title must possess the following qualifications:

Type of Education Required:

• Bachelors from accredited institution
  
  

Type of Experience Required:

• Minimum of 5 years relevant work experience.
  
  
• Experience coordinating mid to large scale initiatives across multiple municipalities and/or diverse stakeholder groups
  
  
• Successfully engaging youth in amplifying their voices.
  
  
• Experience leading and diversity and equity initiatives in non-profit/educational institutions
  
  
• Experience managing a high-powered team using an anti-racist, pro-equity, collaborative decision making approach.
  
  
• Experience working collaboratively with youth and other stakeholders at various levels of design
  
  
• Strong project management skills, especially leading and directing projects
  
  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to partner with internal and external resources to ensure timely and efficient delivery of programs.Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
  
  
• Visionary & Strategic Thinker: can envision and create a better future
  
  
• Inspirational Leader: ability to inspire and engage leaders and associates
  
  
• Strong Communicator: verbal and written with the ability to simplify complex information into understandable presentations using a wide array of channels
  
  
• Change Management: ability to affect organizational change, with others, in the right way
  
  
• Cultural Competence & Agility: respect, understand & appreciate cultural differences and bring insights to inspire and engage people in solving complex problems
  
  
• Stakeholder Management: proactively create and maintain strategic relationshipsTeam Leader: drive for results through small team of experts and extended teams
  
  
• Collaborative: creates an effective team environment often in a virtual setting
  
  
• Adapts positively to Stressful Situations: takes initiative to manage conflict, flexible and resilient and recovers quickly front setbacks
  
  
• Trusted Advisor: visible and available to others, with the ability to build and maintain trust and respect
  
  
• Dynamic Storyteller: comfortable engaging with and presenting to all levels of an organization
  
  

Residency Requirement:

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and must maintain residency throughout their employment with the district.