Director of Excel Adult High School

Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina•North Charleston, SC

About The Position

The School Director (“Director”) is responsible for leadership of Palmetto Excel’s Adult High School. The Director is the school’s instructional leader, ensuring high-quality teaching and curriculum—aligned with South Carolina’s graduation standards--and the achievement of the charter’s goals, including closing achievement gaps and ensuring 100% of eligible students graduate annually. The Director provides a hands-on and data-driven leadership approach in the directing, planning, and managing of daily operations at the school site. The Director will lead the hiring of teachers and staff and ensure all pre-opening and ongoing conditions are met. Working closely with the Chief of Mission and Marketing, the Director will take the lead in student and staff recruitment and school marketing and engagement, ensuring enrollment targets are exceeded. The Director will work with the Chief of Mission and Marketing and key Goodwill divisions (e.g., Finance, Marketing, IT, Legal, HR) in carrying out the daily operations and success of the school. The Director will engage with all team members in meeting the educational objectives of the school and building and supporting a school culture that prioritizes strong relationships, high expectations and standards, and relevance to real-world careers and opportunities. The Director will help to cultivate partnerships in support of the school, including workforce certification opportunities and career pathways.

Requirements

Proven track record and experience developing, coaching, and managing direct reports (teachers and staff) and building high-performing teams
Proven track record meeting and/or exceeding goals and persevering to achieve desired results
Knowledge of and experience with processes/components needed to effectively manage a school in all key areas: Instruction, Special Education, Coaching, College and Career Readiness, Operations, Data, and Enrollment
Ability to develop and communicate processes in efficient workflows
Understanding of how key school areas connect and support each other
Strong working knowledge and experience of high-quality curriculum and instruction
Ability to evaluate instructional programming and teaching effectiveness
Ability to create and drive a culture of feedback for improvement in practice and outcomes
Strong communicator at a variety of levels with effective written and verbal presentation skills
Excellent planning and organizing skills with extreme attention to detail and follow-through
Knowledge and familiarity with human resources and hiring practices
Knowledge and familiarity with Charleston-area labor market conditions
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Ability to analyze data for informed decision making
Ability to create and implement course corrections aligned to school needs and philosophy
Strong understanding of Palmetto Excel’s students, their needs, assets, and potential, and how this informs the school’s student-centric approach
Relentless belief in the potential of every Palmetto Excel student
Excellent interpersonal skills
Ability to interact with all levels of management, staff, and students
Participates effectively as a team player in internal and external projects
Intermediate computer skills with working knowledge of Microsoft Office products (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
Knowledge of student information systems
Advanced ability to use the Internet for searches and information gathering
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
Flexibility to work autonomously and take direction as needed
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
5+ years in a school-related leadership role
South Carolina Principal/Administrator certification
Experience driving academic results in South Carolina

Responsibilities

Leadership of Palmetto Excel’s Adult High School
Instructional leadership, ensuring high-quality teaching and curriculum aligned with South Carolina’s graduation standards
Achieving charter goals, including closing achievement gaps and ensuring 100% of eligible students graduate annually
Providing hands-on and data-driven leadership for daily operations
Leading the hiring of teachers and staff
Ensuring all pre-opening and ongoing conditions are met
Leading student and staff recruitment, school marketing, and engagement to exceed enrollment targets
Collaborating with key Goodwill divisions (Finance, Marketing, IT, Legal, HR) for daily operations and school success
Engaging with team members to meet educational objectives
Building and supporting a school culture prioritizing strong relationships, high expectations, and relevance to real-world careers
Cultivating partnerships for workforce certification and career pathways