Chief Executive Officer

The Organization & Its Results

At Lighthouse Community Public Schools (LCPS), we believe an exceptional education brings out each child's unique light and potential. Founded in 2002, LCPS operates two high-achieving K-12 public charter schools--Lighthouse and Lodestar (currently K-8)--serving nearly 1,400 students in East Oakland and will continue to increase its impact as we grow a high school on the Lodestar campus.

With a vision of transforming our community by creating a family of exceptional schools serving youth and families in Oakland, our mission is to prepare diverse students for college, a career of their choice, and to be lifelong changemakers. Grounded in our core values of Community,Integrity, Agency, Love, and Social Justice, LCPS is an educational leader in Oakland and beyond, with innovative schools achieving exceptional student outcomes where each child is at the center of their own learning.

LCPS exists to counter persistent educational inequity that threatens our collective future. Oakland black and brown youth currently are not achieving near their potential: only 33% are proficient in ELA and 27% proficient in Math citywide on the 2018 SBAC. Our results testify what is possible when a system is aligned around mission, strategy, and outcomes. 95% of our graduates, almost all of whom are first generation college students, are accepted to four-year colleges. Lighthouse was named the Hart Vision Charter School of the Year in 2013 and Lighthouse Community Charter High School was named the #1 high school for closing the achievement for low-income, Latino students in 2016. We are proud of our students' accomplishments and we have work to do to ensure they are prepared to persist in higher education and career and to ensure all of our student subgroups are equally successful. Learn more at www.lighthousecharter.org .

The Opportunity & Looking Ahead

Lighthouse Community Public Schools is seeking a strategic and equity-focused leader who is rooted in the LCPS core values of community, love, social justice, integrity, and agency, to lead a tenacious, innovative, mission-aligned team. The CEO will play a critical role in ensuring LCPS lives up to its promise of ensuring educational equity for Oakland's students, especially those who have been most affected by the Opportunity Gap. They will be a reliable, consistent, and persistent champion of Lighthouse's priorities, engaging all stakeholders in its strategic plan, and stewarding - with great respect, love, and accountability- the relationship, human, and financial capital of the community and organization. The CEO will set, monitor, and evaluate strategic Outcomes and Key Results with heightened attention to our most vulnerable student populations.

Following the outgoing Founder and CEO, Jenna Stauffer, this is a rare opportunity for an inspiring and committed leader who is energized and deeply committed to help lead and grow our family of schools, who is passionate about transformational growth for the leaders and teachers you will serve, and our students, families, and Oakland community.

Role and Responsibilities

The CEO will:

Inspire a Shared Vision & Strategy

• Demonstrate relentless belief that all students across race and class are capable of transformational academic results through deeds, actions, decisions
• Commit to the LCPS Mission, Core Values, and Theory of Change
• Set the organizational long-term strategic vision, short and medium term priorities, create implementation plans to carry it out, and adapt as needed
• Shepherd rigorous annual goal setting processes for the organization, teams, and individuals
• Makes decisions with students at the center and empower distributed decision making as appropriate
• Build and foster teams to carry out the mission of our schools and organization
• Apply systems thinking to align the organization across functions and stakeholders

Ensure Academic Rigor and Equitable Outcomes for All Students

• Holds the vision for student learning and equitable instruction that will drive transformational outcomes for LCPS students
• Support and hold accountable the instructional leadership teams to articulate, monitor, and ensure the success of the academic program in successfully preparing LCPS students for college, a fulfilling career, and life
• Expects, builds, and holds team accountable to a data-driven culture
• Aligns academic program across sites when appropriate

Champion Organizational and School Culture

• Define, promote, and hold all accountable to an organizational and school culture that embodies the LCPS core values, as well as high expectations, constant learning, and joy
• Empower others to lead themselves, their teams, and the organization aligned with organizational goals and vision
• Has deep proficiency implementing equitable practices that dismantle systemic racism and has a commitment and skills to lead ourDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the core of all of our work
• Promote, resource, and prioritize operationalizing race and equity work across our schools with all stakeholders

Recruit, Develop, Coach, and Retain a Diverse and Strong Team

• Build/maintain systems that support the success of all staff, particularly staff of color, to thrive and excel so that our students thrive and excel
• Implement effective talent management strategies throughout the organization
• Build a strong, cohesive culture of community, love, integrity, agency, and social justice
• Embrace a distributed leadership model with clear roles, responsibilities, and decision rights
• Coach and mentor direct reports to support them to thrive, be successful, and stay
• Ensure the conditions are in place for staff to thrive, excel, and stay

Drive Effective Execution and Accountability for Programmatic, Operational, and Financial Results

• Works with the senior team and school leaders to set clear academic, growth, operational, philanthropic, and finance goals
• Implements effective accountability systems to assess and drive progress toward Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
• Clarifies decision rights and processes
• Maintains high standards for quality from all teams and departments
• Ensures fund development strategies realize philanthropic goals
• Ensures long-term facilities, enrollment, and operational health of our organization
• Ensures operations are supportive of safe and efficient learning environments
• Maintains legal compliance with local, state, and federal expectations
• Ensures LCPS has a long-term financial plan that creates a healthy reserve, manages resources strategically, and has clean audits

Build Strong Partnerships

• Serves as the face and "Communicator in Chief" to all stakeholders
• Engages the Board of Directors collaboratively and productively to drive organizational results and works closely with the Board Chair to promote rigorous board-management practices and make the work of the board open and transparent to stakeholders
• Develops meaningful and respectful partnerships with students, families, alumni, and staff to further the Lighthouse mission
• Builds positive working rapport with local and state-wide politicians, business leaders, government officials, and partners in Oakland to promote Lighthouse's mission
• Serve as an active advocate in the broader political climate in defense of excellent quality options for families in Oakland
• Nurtures existing and develops new funder relationships and leads all fundraising efforts

Qualifications




Required

• At least seven years or more of leadership experience in K - 12 setting, preferably with low-income students and families
• Director-Level experience in complex organization with a budget of considerable scale
• Track record of leading, motivating, and developing diverse, high performing and culturally competent teams
• Excellent project management and execution skills
• Experience partnering with diverse stakeholders, including Board of Directors, funders, parents, students, staff, and alumni
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to inspire and motivate others
• Fundraising experience, including with major donors

Highly Preferred

• C-Level Experience in a complex organization with a budget of considerable scale
• Spanish fluency
• California charter school experience

Time Commitment & Compensation

This is a 12-month, full-time salaried exempt position. LCPS offers a competitive compensation package with nearly 7 weeks of paid time off, generous health and retirement benefits, and a salary commensurate with experience. Salary and benefits commensurate with experience.

Supervision

This position reports to the LCPS Board of Directors.

Start Date

July 1, 2020.

Active onboarding, overlap with current CEO, and transition into the job before the start date to be negotiated.

To Apply

People of color and bilingual candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Submit the following:

• Cover letter
• Resume or CV
• Statement of leadership philosophy (500 - 750 words)
• Minimum of 3-5 references including at least two recent supervisors

Lighthouse Community Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity at all levels.