Director, Equitable Culture & Climate

LA Alliance

3d•$110,000 - $154,550•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Equitable Culture & Climate is a forward-thinking and dynamic change agent who is responsible for the development of the vision, goals, and strategy for Alliance's scholar culture and equity initiatives in collaboration with Alliance staff and senior leadership. Reporting to Alliance’s Vice President, Scholar Culture, Belonging, and Equity, the Director, Equitable Culture & Climate will own the implementation of Alliance’s Culture of Learning strategy with a specific DEI lens to increase organizational capacity to embed DEI practices throughout scholar culture systems and experiences. This role is a heavy contributor to overall strategy and execution of Leader of Scholar Culture/Dean development. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who has a vision for and is passionate about creating an organizational culture that values and promotes intentional scholar culture founded on diversity, equity, and inclusion and ensures all scholars feel they are seen, heard, and valued.

Requirements

Commitment to Alliance’s core beliefs, educational philosophy, low-income communities, and communities of color
Excellent communication and media skills, both verbal and written
School leadership experience
Teaching experience with a proven track record of strong classroom culture grounded in belonging, warm-demander practices, high expectations, and effective classroom management
Coaching experience in a school or school system setting
Experience designing and leading adult learning cycles (e.g., walkthroughs, coaching cycles) that build instructional and culture leadership capacity
Demonstrated record of effectively leading other adults in creating change
Leadership experience with frameworks for excellent teaching from Teach Like a Champion and Get Better Faster
Reliable transportation to and from school sites and the downtown Los Angeles network home office
Strong data collection, entry, and analysis skills
Entrepreneurial spirit to thrive in a fast-paced and achievement-oriented environment
Detail-oriented with excellent organization skills
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build and cultivate relationships with school stakeholders
Value in diversity among team members
Composure in the face of high workload, competing or conflicting demands, ambiguous assignments, interruptions, and distractions
Ability to recognize and respond to unanticipated events and requirements, and is willing to do what is necessary to get the desired result
Willingness to go above and beyond to contribute to the success of a dynamic team committed to a new future for urban education
Understanding of the nuances of urban school environments and school culture
Experience managing multiple projects with strong administrative and organizational skills
At least five (5) years of progressive professional work experience leading scholar culture strategy and systems within K-12 public schools
Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or university
At least 3 years of working in a leadership position in a public school or school system

Nice To Haves

Champion Alliance’s Anti-Racist, Pro-Black Mission: The strongest candidates will bring a commitment to Alliance’s mission of building an anti-racist, pro-Black community that prioritizes the success and well-being of Black and Brown scholars. Candidates should have a passion for promoting equity through anti-racist, student-centered teaching practices that celebrate racial and cultural identities. This role is rooted in service to systemically underserved communities in Los Angeles, helping scholars graduate “college-ready” with pride in who they are.

Responsibilities

Directly manages and coaches the Equitable Culture and Climate Team, including Instructional Specialists, supporting a total of 25 (all) Alliance schools toward achieving ambitious goals and outcomes in a timely manner
Facilitates regular check-ins with direct reports, providing feedback and development for progress to goal attainment
Conducts regular outcome-driven team work planning, meetings, and progress monitoring practices
Establishes and maintains the team’s portfolio model of direct school support
Provides guidance and ongoing development experiences to team members toward a shared vision of a strong, equitable culture and climate
Establishes functional-area vision, goals, and strategy in partnership with supervisor, including building scholar culture systems and strategic culture leadership to combat chronic absenteeism
Co-leads Culture of Learning network strategy and guides the contribution of self and team in Implementation Teams aimed at providing direct-to-schools individualized support
Develops and refines systems for dean development, including walkthrough and coaching cycles, in partnership with internal and external partners to ensure alignment to Culture of Learning priorities
Identifies needs and leads the creation of systems, tools, and work plans that help facilitate the timely execution of functional strategy across schools
Coordinates cross-functional collaboration to achieve goals and milestones that build infrastructure for equitable scholar culture and climate
Plans and executes signature events and initiatives that foster inclusive school environments and celebrate cultural diversity, including scholar-centered celebrations, community engagement events, and DEI-related programming
Is a contributor to and co-designer of an outcome-driven learning arc for Leaders of Scholar Culture (LOSCs)/Deans, including structured cycles of practice, observation, and feedback in partnership with Teach Like a Champion
Provide targeted coaching and modeling, including through structured walkthrough cycles, to help LOSCs/Deans grow in their ability to coach teachers and staff on scholar culture and engagement
In partnership with home office teams, strategizes intentional shared spaces of learning and collaboration related to Equitable Scholar Culture and Climate
Serves as a mentor to Specialists, school leaders, and Home Office staff to build equitable culture champions
Leads the design and facilitation of professional development experiences, including those focused on identity and belonging to build the capacity of educators and leaders in implementing equitable and inclusive practices across the network.
Regularly monitors progress to goals, creates and implements plans of action, and communicates roadblocks in a timely manner to key decision makers and recommenders
Supports the continued implementation of Alliance's anti-racist, pro-Black vision and strategy by utilizing network-wide progress-monitoring tools and providing actionable feedback to school leadership teams
Maintains and iterates upon the internal data collection system related to scholar culture supports
Uses data to inform strategic and operational decision-making
Coordinates the collection and input of evaluation data used to measure ongoing program effectiveness of services and program outcome measures
Establishes strong, productive, and trusting relationships with the administrative team, school personnel, staff, scholars, and community to seek input on needs and address barriers to learning, equity, and inclusion
Values diversity among team members and promotes cooperation and interaction within and across teams
Carries a small caseload of priority schools based on strategic data points

Benefits

Competitive salaries commensurate with experience
Generous retirement and health benefits
$400 work-from-home set-up allowance
$100 monthly stipend for remote work
Relocation bonus of $5,000 for individuals and $7,500 for new staff with families/partners (for those residing outside of the Greater Los Angeles area)
Medical, dental, and vision plan options that are covered at 100% of monthly premiums for individual employees
At least $1,000 per month towards medical family plan premiums
Retirement allowance equal to 7.5% of their regular yearly earnings for Home Office employees
8.5 weeks of vacation and paid time off for regular full-time 12-month employees
3 weeks of flexible paid time off per year for full-time employees
27 other paid holidays as part of our network calendar
$500 per year for professional development expenses for Home Office staff