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Director - Instructional Leadership

DIRECTOR – INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP (EDUCATOR III)
CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Who We Are

The Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) is nationally recognized for its education leaders who work from the belief that all students can achieve at high levels. CEL believes that ensuring high quality instruction for our nation’s students is essential and is a matter of equity.  Focusing on the improvement of student learning and systems for improving adult performance, we work alongside teachers, school and district leaders to create a culture of continuous improvement.

We partner with school districts, charter schools, state departments of education, educational support organizations, and foundations from across the country.  We work with the entire school system — side by side with leaders in district central offices, at the school level and in classrooms — to build the expertise necessary to deliver great classroom instruction based upon a unified vision of high-quality student learning. Our work is anchored by three research-based frameworks:

  • 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning™
  • 4 Dimensions of Instructional Leadership™
  • Principal Support Framework

Ultimately, our passion is working with leaders and teachers to solve problems of student learning.  To do this, we offer a variety of evidence-based and research-driven services, all aimed at building teacher and leader capacity, including:

  • Central office redesign focused on supporting principals and teachers
  • Instructional leadership development for principals and their leadership teams
  • Job-embedded, content-specific coaching

CEL is a center within the University of Washington College of Education.  Our office is located in Seattle, Washington where the work of our team of 20 faculty and staff members is guided by our values of:

People:  People are the core.  We believe equity, empowerment, respect, balance and celebration vitalize our most-precious resource.

Curiosity:  We nurture inquisitive minds.  Curiosity propels us forward in a never-ending pursuit of new ideas and improved ways of working.

Learning:  Knowledge empowers.   As an innovative, learning organization, we believe continuous reflection, learning and sharing create brighter outcomes for all.

Collaboration:  We are stronger together.  Collaboration accelerates performance, and we know that the best works is a product of shared ownership and individual strengths.

Integrity:  Our values are a promise.  We live our values according to non-negotiable standards of honesty, truth, responsibility, mutual respect and “doing what is right.”

Impact:  Student achievement is our ultimate measure of success.  A sense of urgency drives us to deliver the highest-quality work in service of eliminating the achievement gap.       

We fully sustain ourselves through program service fees and grant funding.

Who We Are Looking For

The Center is looking for a Director - Instructional Leadership who believes that leadership, at both the school and district level, can make a difference in the learning and lives of all students.  This position will be joining CEL at an exciting time of strategic renewal and will play a key role in mapping out how we can best serve students, schools and school systems across the country.  Specifically, this position will be part of a team that is rethinking and redesigning how CEL supports the improvement of instructional leadership at scale.  The director provides professional development and consulting services in the field, leading and managing work with leaders across the country.  They also collaborate with others, internal and external to CEL, to improve our tools and processes, and will have opportunities to lead internal design and development projects.  

Successful candidates for this position will bring a deep commitment to equity, a strong understanding of instruction and instructional leadership, and a passion for applying innovation and problem solving to support the development and growth of school and central office leaders.  This position also requires an entrepreneurial mindset to help develop new impact-driven, revenue-generating opportunities within existing partnerships and to bring new partnerships into the Center.  As this position requires a high level of collaboration, candidates who are able to listen, learn from mistakes, and learn alongside others will have the greatest chance of success.   Lastly, this position is ideal for someone who thrives in a variety of contexts, from working in diverse school environments to working with national thought leaders.

This position requires up to 60% travel. While we prefer residency near our Seattle office, candidates who can successfully work remotely are encouraged to apply. This is a full-time,12 month appointment at the non-tenure rank of Educator III.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Design, plan and execute a wide range of adult-learning professional development and consultation services focused on supporting school and district leaders. This will include designing new and using existing CEL tools and processes with large and small groups, providing one-on-one coaching, leading classroom walkthroughs, and facilitating networks of school leaders as well as other types of activities.  
  • Conduct readiness assessments and work with partners to establish scopes of work, create impactful goals and define measures of success.
  • Use student problems of learning and other data to work with partners to identify the actual issues and determine the solutions that will most improve student learning.
  • Develop and maintain high-quality, honest interactions and clear and consistent communications with new and existing school districts, education organizations, foundations and funders.  
  • Play a key role in our revenue generation by identifying and securing opportunities to provide impactful services to new and existing partners. As needed, write grant proposals or seek out and respond to requests for proposals. Continually grow and share knowledge of the marketplace within which CEL works.
  • Become grounded in the research and rationale behind CEL’s theory of action and show curiosity in staying abreast of current research in K-12 education.
  • Design, shape, lead or collaborate in the development of new and existing lines of service focused on district and school leadership including designing curricula and tools and innovating with new delivery methods.
  • Lead, participate in and contribute to work groups and internal team learning processes.  Possess strong project management skills. Be an active contributor to the learning and development of others within the organization.  Be willing to share and receive feedback. 
  • Advance CEL’s role as a national thought leader by writing articles and blog posts, using social media, presenting at conferences and participating in professional associations.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in teaching and learning, educational leadership, or equivalent education and experience.
  • A minimum of 10 years working in K-12 education including traditional public, charter and/or private school systems.
  • Experience as a principal, principal supervisor or central office leader or as a leader in an educational organization.
  • Extensive knowledge of high-quality instruction including how to identify it and how to grow instructional practice on the part of teachers and instructional leadership on the part of school and district leaders. 
  • Demonstrated success and comfort in using a variety of delivery methods and strategies in engaging adults as learners, developing adult capacity and providing honest, targeted feedback.
  • Proven experience in using student problems of learning and other data to identity and implement strategies and programs grounded in equity to advance student outcomes.
  • Demonstrated experience working within teams or individually in creating curricula, tools and delivery methods to support learning activities. 
  • Strong interpersonal, analytical, writing, verbal and listening skills for communicating with a broad and diverse audience.
  • Innovative and effective as a leader and collaborator with different stakeholder groups and skill in achieving results and growing and fostering impactful organizational partnerships.
  • Curious, problem-solving mindset and multi-disciplinary thinker able to make connections across various strands of work and across diverse communities of people.  Approaches situations and issues with a learning stance.
  • Comfort and skill integrating feedback from multiple sources and making criteria-based decisions.
  • Proven ability to lead and influence others without formal authority.  Demonstrated ability to work with efficiency, diplomacy and flexibility.
  • Able and willing to travel frequently and extensively.

Desired qualifications

  • Doctorate in teaching and learning, educational leadership.
  • Experience as principal, principal supervisor or central office leader in multiple K-12 settings with some urban school district experience.
  • Experience as a trainer or consultant providing professional development using multiple delivery methods in the K-12 environment.
  • Experience with design thinking principles and practices.
  • Experience with human resources practices at a school and district level.
  • Experience and comfort with the complexities of growing and maintaining fee-for-service clients.
  • Experience nurturing relationships with foundations and securing and working with grant funding.
  • An emerging record of scholarly work, including but not limited to research publications; conference presenting, etc.

The position begins no later than July 1, 2018.  Application submissions must include:

(1) A detailed letter describing how your qualifications specifically meet each of the minimum qualifications listed in this job position

(2) A curriculum vitae/resume

(3) Three letters of recommendation

(4)  A list of three additional references including their contact information

(5) A statement addressing the following: CEL’s approach to addressing issues of equity in schools is focused on supporting leaders and teachers to solve problems of student learning. Please share your experiences of addressing equity issues in schools specifically by addressing the improvement of leadership, teaching and learning.  Please share how you made this improvement and what outcomes you achieved.  How do you envision using this experience in working with leaders on behalf of CEL?

Please submit all of these materials or any queries about the position to celjobs@uw.edu.

Only application submissions that include all five of the items listed above will be considered complete and will be forwarded for review.  For timely consideration, please submit your application by May 7, 2018. However, the position will remain open until filled.

To learn more about the University of Washington (http://www.washington.edu), the College of Education (http://education.washington.edu), and the Center for Educational Leadership (https://www.k-12leadership.org)/) its mission and goals, research and outreach activities, faculty, and academic programs, please visit us on the web. University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research and service.

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

 

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