Director of Strategy and Continuous Improvement (SY2627)

Boston Public Schools•Boston, MA

About The Position

The Director of Strategy and Continuous Improvement is responsible for providing high-level project management, strategic coordination, and implementation oversight for key district-wide initiatives, with a focus on ensuring the continuation and monitoring of district improvement strategies outlined in the district’s Systemic Improvement Plan (SIP) with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), as well as other critical district initiatives. This role involves leading cross-functional working groups, overseeing collaborative problem solving across departments, reporting progress to the School Committee and senior leadership, ensuring compliance with DESE requirements and regulations, and driving continuous improvement across both academic and operational areas. This individual must be a proactive and highly organized leader with the ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects across diverse functional areas. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional strategic thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, a deep understanding of public education systems, and the ability to navigate a fast-paced, complex environment with meticulous attention to detail and political acumen.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Education Leadership, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in managing large, complex, multi-stakeholder projects, like state-level audits or improvement plans, preferably in a public sector or educational environment.
Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, implementation oversight, and driving systemic change.
Exceptional organizational and time management skills, with a proven ability to balance competing priorities and strategically allocate resources.
Superior oral and written communication skills, particularly in creating clear, concise, and actionable reports, presentations, policies, and external communications.
Mastery of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms).
Demonstrated ability to advise, influence, and negotiate comfortably with individuals at all levels of an organization.
Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally, think at a systems level, and navigate complex organizational structures.
Track record of success in proactive problem-solving within a complex environment.
An understanding of and commitment to continuous improvement in an urban school system.
Ability to successfully navigate within varying degrees of ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
A deeply held and unyielding belief in the overarching mission of public education and BPS’ role as an anti-racist organization.
Successful experience working in a team-oriented environment and interacting with multiple internal/external stakeholder groups.
Ability to work independently entailing a high degree of responsibility, discretion, and confidentiality.
Capacity to identify and meet high-impact benchmarks within a long-ranging strategy.
Current authorization to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Education Leadership, or a related field.
5+ years working in a large, urban school district.
Experience working in areas related to school operations (transportation, facilities, safety) and/or academic programs (special education, English Learners).
Project Management Professional (PMP) or other relevant project management certification.
Familiarity and experience working within the city of Boston and Boston Public Schools.
Fluency in one of BPS' official languages: Spanish, Creole (Cape Verdean), Creole (Haitian), Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, & Somali.

Responsibilities

Oversee the continued implementation of the Inclusive Education Plan and the Long Term Facilities Plan by partnering with relevant teams at BPS, tracking progress towards goals, targets, and timelines as promised to the public and stakeholders.
Lead internal working groups as relevant to these key projects, such as the District Inclusion Planning Team and the LTFP Advisory Working Group.
Build and facilitate regular updates and presentations to the School Committee on strategic focus areas.
Continue to facilitate cross-functional collaborative efforts to support key strategic work as it impacts the Inclusive Education Plan, Long Term Facilities Plan, and/or other key initiatives identified by the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendents of Academics and Operations.
Serve as the primary point person for managing the continued implementation and monitoring of the areas of focus that were outlined in the Systemic Improvement Plan (SIP) across all strategic focus areas (including Student Safety, Transportation, Facilities, Special Education, English Learners, and Transformation Schools).
Liaise with DESE on behalf of the district regarding future follow-up on these strategic focus areas.
Convene and facilitate regular planning meetings with the departments responsible for these strategic focus areas to ensure projects remain on track towards stated goals, targets, and timelines.
Compile, analyze, and synthesize data relevant to these strategic focus areas.
Lead and participate in cross-functional working groups necessary to ensure progress is made in all strategic focus areas and other high-priority strategic areas as assigned.
Assess and proactively work with identified district project leads to address internal resourcing needs, capabilities, and capacity to adequately support project deliverables and goals across academic and operational domains.
Problem-solve with departments as they identify challenges and break down barriers to ensure successful implementation of strategic initiatives.
Assist in removing systemic barriers, by providing technical assistance to departments, such as navigating procurement and assisting with hiring, related to strategic implementation efforts.
Develop and maintain updated project plan trackers for each strategic initiative.
Identify areas in the district for standardization of processes and procedures, and make recommendations for system improvements to implement to drive efficiency and effectiveness across operations and academics.
Design and implement a system for district use of Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure high-quality data collection and use across all areas of the district.
Oversee internal and external reviews of key strategic initiatives as part of the district’s commitment to continuous improvement.
Manage written and verbal communications related to strategic initiatives, including drafting memos and presentations and writing communications to all stakeholders within the BPS community.
Ensure compliance with DESE regulations and requirements through monitoring and providing support to departments in corrective actions arising from DESE Integrated Monitoring Reviews
Design and implement district processes and procedures for a project management office
Liaise with project managers on other teams to ensure alignment and coherence
Represent the Chief of Data, Information and Systems Improvement, at internal and external stakeholder meetings as needed.
Perform other duties as requested by the Chief of Data, Information and Systems Improvement.