Good Reason Houston is seeking a Director of Family and Community Engagement who is a dedicated organizer and self-directed strategist. The Director of Family and Community Engagement will support the vision and mission of Good Reason Houston by overseeing the creation and implementation of a family and community engagement strategy for Good Reason Houston

This position will be a core part of our organization, and will play an essential role in ensuring Good Reason Houston realizes our vision that every child, in every neighborhood, excels in world-class public schools and thrives in the Houston of tomorrow. Good Reason Houston is still very much in start-up mode, so this role will have the challenge and opportunity to work autonomously, set vision, and wear a number of hats within the organization.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy Development and Execution

• Set a vision and long-term goals for Good Reason Houston’s family and community engagement work, aligned to the overall mission and vision of the organization.
• Create and execute plans to operationalize the family and community engagement vision and long-term goals.
• Develop and lead a process to make grants to key partners to promote Good Reason Houston’s goals for engaging families and the community, including the creation of milestones to guide their success.
• Provide technical assistance to Good Reason Houston family and community engagement grantees to help them meet milestones and drive organizational success.

Organizing and Stakeholder Engagement

• Identify opportunities to gather input from families and the community on their vision for education, and use that input to actively inform and revise Good Reason Houston’s priorities. These opportunities should reflect the diversity of the families and communities for which we work.
• Relay the vision, goals, and work of Good Reason Houston to families, key community members and organizations, including school districts, community-facing non-profits, and teachers.
• Map out key community relationships and their potential to create leverage for Good Reason Houston’s mission to increase the number of children succeeding in school today and in the workforce tomorrow.
• Support school districts in evaluating and improving their parent engagement operations, create toolkits and trainings for district personal, and train key family engagement personnel in targeted school districts.

Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of work experience in community engagement and organizing. Management experience preferred.
• Candidates with experience in education or as a classroom teacher preferred.
• Experience working for a funder or other philanthropic ventures a plus.
• Strong ties in the Houston community preferred. In lieu of deep Houston ties, a proven track record of quickly integrating into a new community in order to meet lofty goals and facilitate change.
• A proven track record of working across lines of difference in a way that promotes equity, inclusion, and achieves results.
• Knowledge of K-12 education and education reform issues preferred.
• A collaborative decision-maker, with the ability to consider multiple perspectives to approaching a problem before recommending a solution.
• A people oriented person, who enjoys listening to others, attempting to understand their motivations, and successfully working with a range of people from diverse backgrounds to achieve “win-win” outcomes.
• Passionate about the mission, vision, and goals of Good Reason Houston and how this position contributes to the organization’s success.
• Highly organized, with the ability to successfully prioritize tasks and produce quality-work in a deadline driven environment.
• Flexibility and the ability to be comfortable with ambiguity. Good Reason Houston is still very much a start-up.

ABOUT GOOD REASON HOUSTON

Founded in 2017, Good Reason Houston’s vision is that every child, in every neighborhood, excels in a world-class public school and thrives in the Houston of tomorrow. The organization partners with school districts, community leaders, families, and educators to achieve its mission of increasing the number of students learning in a high-performing school. To grow more great schools in every neighborhood in Houston, the organization focuses on four key strategic levers: Driving System Innovation, Developing Game-changing Educators, Advancing Equitable Access, and Engaging the Community.