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Director of College and Career Success (Immediate Hire)

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is seeking a passionate and dedicated Director of College and Career Success (Immediate Hire) to join the College and Career Office team and support and empower GOLCS alumni to success in college, careers, and in life.

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is a high-performing, innovative public charter school in Newark NJ, serving students from Pre-K to 12th grade on multiple campuses across the city. Our mission is to prepare students for success in college. We provide all children with the support they need - inclusive of resources that acknowledge and address systemic inequities - to be empowered to thrive.

We have high academic and behavioral expectations for our students. Our students, for example, are encouraged to take multiple AP classes before they graduate. We bridge the educational opportunity gap by supporting rigorous academics with daily individualized tutoring within a community committed to supporting equity and diversity.

These three principles guide our work, every day, in support of our students and mission:
  1. Creating a community that is built upon genuine and meaningful relationshipsBeing surgical in our approach to differentiation of instruction and support of all students and team membersSetting and exceed high expectations for academic growth and character development for all students, in preparation for success in college and beyond


ROLE DESCRIPTION

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School in Newark is seeking a Director of College and Career Success to lead our College and Career Office (CAC) team. The Director of College and Career Success is responsible for leading the organization's College and Career Office to ensure optimal support for Great Oaks Legacy Charter School (GOLCS) students and alumni. This includes providing management of the College and Career Office team, and the development and management of college counseling and alumni programs that provide opportunities, supports and services that empower GOLCS students and alumni to thrive in college and in life.

T he Director of College and Career Success is instrumental in building positive working relationships with GOLCS students, families, and staff, high school leadership teams, the GOLCS Senior Leadership Team, national and local college access organizations, and college and universities.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Management
  • Lead, manage, and develop the College and Career Office team of five individuals and oversee staff recruitment, interviewing, and hiring processes;
  • Support College Counseling staff, initiatives, and achievement of goals:
    • Development and implementation of the College Action curriculum;
    • Weekly submission of grade-level College Action lesson plans;
    • Progress-monitoring of targets in College Action courses;
    • Check-ins with high school leadership to ensure full implementation of a college-readiness culture within the classroom;
    • Tracking all pertinent information regarding college admissions and financial aid processes through the GOLCS weekly Green Sheet system.
    • Bi-weekly classroom observations to ensure implementation of College Action curriculum and college readiness skills;
    • Correspondence with students and families on a bi-weekly basis regarding the student academic performance and growth;
  • Support the successful development, implementation, and execution of alumni programs and services;
  • Ensure a college-going culture across GOLCS high schools, ensuring that students have college in mind starting in fall of 9th grade;
  • Serve as a liaison between the CAC team, Network team, and high school leadership teams to ensure alignment;

Strategy
  • Oversee annual strategic planning efforts in a way that aligns with the organizational vision and goals, including ensuring that GOLCS staff consistently understand the alignment of the CAC team with the GOLCS mission;
  • Collaborate with Chief Strategy Officer on CAC Office strategic imperatives, reporting preparation, and grants stewardship impacting the College and Career Office;

Partnerships
  • Develop partnerships with organizations that can help prepare alumni for success in high school, college and careers, including providing academic and social support, summer opportunities, and career enrichment opportunities;
  • Cultivate, maintain, and leverage new or existing college or university partners to promote and ensure college access, success, persistence, and completion;
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with GOLCS middle schools and high school staff and families (within feeder patterns) to prepare students for high school;

Data-Driven Leadership
  • Oversee the management of College and Career Office database platforms (Naviance, Salesforce) and use GOLCS student and alumni data to inform the work of the CAC team to improve the preparation of GOLCS students for college;
  • Analyze alumni data, quantify current outcomes and future demands, map current dosage and duration of services, and develop a clear vision of how the College and Career Office is supporting the organization's mission;
  • Maintain staff, family and stakeholder confidence and protect operations by keeping student and programming information confidential;
  • Coordinate with Lead College Counselor and high school leadership to conduct graduation audits to ensure students meet high school and state requirements;

Communication
  • Manage communication with key stakeholders - students, parents, faculty and staff, community members, and board members - to proactively engage all stakeholders in working towards college completion;
  • Ensure the successful implementation and execution of CAC team communication, events (Graduation, Senior Signing Day), and services focused on college readiness, college access, college persistence, college completion, and career readiness;
  • Act as point person for all organizational communication around College and Career Office programming, initiatives, and new developments;
  • Manage the College Office email and calendar regarding college tours/fairs and additional CAC programs;
  • Ensure a user-friendly, up-to-date and helpful college office website;
  • Other duties as assigned by the executive director.

Qualifications and Skills
  • 5 to 7 years of work experience in high-growth, entrepreneurial charter school environment or a similar organization strongly preferred;
  • Demonstrated passion for and commitment to the support of educationally under-resourced students strongly preferred;
  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited 4-year college; master's degree preferred;
  • Experience helping educationally under-resourced students and their families navigate college admission, financial aid, and scholarship application procedures;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
  • Ability to exercise excellent judgment in decision-making; facilitate various size working groups, work collaboratively, and; gather and analyze data, compile information, and prepare reports;
  • Flexible and able to multi-task within a fast-moving environment while also driving toward clarity and solutions;
  • Proficient in MS Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and experience with utilizing databases;
  • Demonstrated ability to lead multiple high-profile and complex projects simultaneously and a strong ability to multitask, prioritize effectively, and manage time well to accomplish goals and drive change

The Director of College and Career Success must:
  • Be flexible and ready to roll up their sleeves to complete the hard work at hand
  • Strongly believe every student has the ability to succeed and remain data driven to inform actionable steps
  • Be relentlessly committed to the mission of preparing every student for college and post-secondary success
  • Possess strong entrepreneurial and team skills
  • Possess the strong ability to be self-reflective, willing to learn and receive/give constructive feedback
  • Possess the ability and flexibility to travel to visit and provide support to current students and alumni when necessary
  • Have superb organizational and self-management skills and be able to handle multiple responsibilities effectively; have strong planning and execution skills; be a goal-oriented and effective problem-solver


REPORTING RELATIONSHIP

The Director of College and Career Success will report to the GOLCS Chief Strategy Officer, and will participate in high school leadership team activities and organizational leadership activities.

GREAT OAKS LEGACY PHILOSOPHY

Our students rise to conquer challenges with the help of individualized, whole-person support from the Great Oaks Legacy Charter School community including educators, tutors, peers, families and staff. Our mission is that each child ultimately graduates from college.

The Great Oaks Legacy Charter School ensures its students are ready to take on the world, therefore:

  1. We give our students the academic skills and socio-emotional support they need to build upon their own strengths and abilities in order to be ready and able to achieve their dreams.
  2. Our employees agree to take responsibility for their part in reversing negative outcomes for students, to work relentlessly to support our efforts to engage each and every student, and to uphold our mission to prepare every student to succeed in college to the extent possible.
  3. It is a given that all staff work very hard. Our employees acknowledge that they will do more than just work hard. Employees agree to seek - through feedback, professional development, and coaching - to continue to develop and improve their job performance while employed by the School. At Great Oaks Legacy, an ongoing quest for improvement is considered essential for all staff members.


As Great Oaks Legacy continues its journey towards anti-racism, we can be certain that our school community is ready for the work. As an organization, we are striving to be more intentional and connected to a larger, clearer mission for an educational experience that empowers scholars to be the change they want to see in the world.

Additional Information

GOLCS is committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. Our staff and student population is diverse and culturally rich. We believe that racial justice and equity is critical to our mission of preparing students for success in college and beyond. We strive to be an organization that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and elevates our student voices in preparing them for life and college.

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package, including rich health insurance plans, professional development and coaching, and retirement benefits as part of the state pension plan.

Great Oaks Legacy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School Vaccination Policy

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School continues to be committed to the health and safety of staff and students. A s we've done throughout the pandemic, we're constantly examining and adjusting our existing policies with two goals:
  1. To ensure healthy and safe working and learning environments;To maintain our educational commitment to GOLCS students and families.

Vaccines are the best way to protect our community's health and safety against COVID-19, and to maintain our educational commitment to our children. With that in mind, and in review of recent developments, including the full FDA authorization of the Pfizer vaccine, Great Oaks Legacy has made the decision to mandate staff vaccination against COVID-19. By October 15th, all GOLCS staff must have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. New staff hired after October 15th will be required to submit evidence of at least one dose of a vaccine (Moderna, Pfizer, or Janssen) prior to beginning employment. If applicable (for Moderna or Pfizer), proof of the second dose must be submitted according to the applicable vaccine schedule.

Candidates who believe they qualify for a medical or religious accommodation from this policy, can request the GOLCS Request for Exemption Formby reaching out to HR@greatoakslegacy.org.

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