Executive Director, Nashville Region

Position Description

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Nashville Executive Director serves as the leader of the Nashville region and is responsible for setting the strategic vision, shaping the external environment, and leading the regional teams to achieve transformational results. The Executive Director manages a ~$24m budget and oversees three public schools serving nearly 1,500 students as well as efforts to continue to grow the impact of the Nashville region in opening additional schools in the city or other cities throughout Tennessee. There are ~150 regional employees working in and out of schools focused on: student achievement, development, parent organizing and leadership, external relationships management, family recruitment, integrated special education, and much more. The Executive Director will directly manage two teams--Schools and Program Team & Growth and Community Engagement Team, which includes a focus on school leadership and management, instruction and program design, operations, external affairs and community engagement, family recruitment, education organizers, and other core functions and roles.

The charge of the Executive Director is to 1) ensure the success of our Rocketeers; 2) cultivate the external environment for Rocketship to thrive and continue to grow the region's impact over time; and 3) manage a financially sustainable network of high-performing elementary schools serving disadvantaged communities with the excellent education they deserve.

The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring the success of our schools and the achievement of our Rocketeers. They will accomplish this through effective development and management of the Schools and Program Team (e.g., Director of Schools and regional teams). Effective management includes inspiring all school members to achieve annual goals and consistently deliver outstanding results. The ideal candidate combines the capacity for systems-level and strategic thinking with experience in the non-profit sector.

Additionally, the Executive Director is charged with directly shaping the external conditions where Rocketship schools can thrive and the Nashville region can continue to grow its impact. This entails setting a strategic vision for external relations, directly and successfully growing and managing the regional Nashville Board as well as partnering with the Board in recruiting new members, collaborating with network and school leaders to successfully create and refine a strategy towards growing the regions impact and number of students and families served over time, engaging and cultivating relationships with donors, champions and advocates and forging partnerships that align with our vision and serve our Rocketeers and their families. In addition, the Executive Director is responsible for ensuring that our Family Recruitment and Parent Leadership teams (part of the Growth and Community Engagement Team), which are critical pillars in regards to school health and the Nashville region's theory of change, continue to thrive. The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring these groups continue to drive towards their goals and realizing the ambitious objectives of the Nashville region.

Critical to the success of the Executive Director is an unwavering commitment to community. The Executive Director is responsible for proactively addressing community needs, becoming an active participant within the Nashville education landscape, stewarding and nurturing allies and donors, and aligning regional priorities with the broader network community. Close collaboration and partnership between the Executive Director, our school leaders, and the broader Rocketship network staff is essential.

Rocketship attracts regional leaders with ambitious aspirations. Just as we are committed to propelling student growth, we are dedicated to advancing the careers of our talented staff. The Executive Director will join a regional and national team, receive ongoing professional development in order to establish the vision and growth strategy, support in achieving community alignment and engagement, and guidance in order to ensure financial stability, As a member of a growing network regional leaders have ongoing opportunities to expand their reach, influence, and impact beyond their role.

The following are essential responsibilities related to the position:

Strategic Leadership of the Region

* Building a strong, representative, inclusive organizational culture in the region and in each school that is aligned with the Rocketship organization and ensures school success and impact.
* Driving strategic vision, strategy, planning, and execution for the success and sustainability of the region in student achievement, existing/new charters, charter renewals, and other opportunities.
* Implementing strong systems (e.g. GRPI) to lead and reinforce role clarity, goal-setting, communication, and other processes and norms for the regional team to deliver all goals successfully.
* Leveraging executive judgment to identify, assess, and communicate risks/threats and opportunities, prioritize quickly and effectively, make critical decisions, and coordinate remedies/solutions.
* Engaging internal and external stakeholders for input, alignment, and support.
* Driving strong collaboration with the network teams to ensure that schools are receiving necessary instructional support as well as other critical areas of support and that priorities are being fully executed across the region.
* Continually assessing and proactively planning to improve the health of the region.
* Directing regional communications strategy and serve as a credible spokesperson, while leveraging resources and support from the marketing and communications team, to effectively manage media/press relations in the region.
* Demonstrating financial leadership to prioritize, make decisions, deliver on plan, flex where needed, driving long-term effectiveness and sustainability. Secure and maintain school facilities, including selection, acquisition, entitlement process, regulations, and on-going issues

Academic Performance and School Culture Leadership

* Ensuring that the Schools Team is in place to regularly realize a standing of Rewards School status and the annual student achievement goals, while engaging and inspiring teams through alignment, strong communication, and ongoing feedback/coaching.
* Analyzing and action planning around student achievement data, observation, and coaching data, and schools target data to continuously improve, drive results, and increase impact.
* Working with the Director of School and Schools Team to ensure that principals continue to implement rituals and practices that deepen parent engagement and investment while also creating/sustaining a welcoming school culture for families.
* Ensuring that goals are met regarding parent engagement, especially in parents realizing goals around volunteer hours, parent conferences, and home visits.
* Continuously drive a culture rooted in inclusion of special education students and rigorous support of a Positive Behavior Interventions & Support structure and serving all students (e.g., low level of suspensions, no expulsions, and no 'pushing out' students).

External and Community Relations/Partnerships

* Recruiting, appointing, managing, and engaging regional Nashville board members and executing quarterly board meetings.
* Managing and leveraging important community relationships with local elected officials at all levels (e.g., School Boards to City Council to State Legislature), power-brokers, and other influencers, as well as with school board trustees or bodies, members, and superintendents/leaders of authorizing bodies.
* Forging partnerships and alliances with child and family serving non-profit organizations, public entities, community-based organizations, and civic and community organizations to provide joint advocacy, support, or services that our Rocketeers and families need.
* Planning, coordinating and facilitating collaboration with other aligned organizations within the region to advocate for common goals or defend common interests.
* Continually assessing and proactively planning to improve the health of the region and lead the regional network support.
* Lead regional fundraising and philanthropic relationship management.

People Leadership

* Building, developing, and maintaining a rigorous culture of excellence in every interaction with stakeholders, community members, partners, and team members.
* Increasing accountability and empowering all teams to ensure success against goals.
* Establishing sustainability in school leadership and improving school performance through effective coaching, mentoring, recruitment, retention strategies, and team engagement.
* Engaging, motivating, and managing direct reports and the regional teams.
* Working with a team to establish strategy, planning, and execution related to academic achievement, school culture, family recruitment and enrollment, parent leadership, organizing, and engagement.
* Cultivating and maintaining strong relationships with neighborhood stakeholders, and community/neighborhood associations at each school.
* Working with the Director of Schools and Schools Team to align teacher professional development to strategic priorities and school data and track performance improvement across the team.

Qualifications

* Bachelor's Degree required; Master's or higher in Education, Public Administration, or a related field preferred.
* 10+ years of professional experience in nonprofit management with a proven track record of success in improving outcomes within their scope of management.
* Experience and successful track record of managing, coaching, and developing team members.
* Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate staff and bring out the best in peers.
* Experience in partnering with nonprofit Board of Directors.
* Highly proficient in business and financial management. Possesses the skills essential to managing an enterprise, such as strategic financial planning, intelligent budgeting, development of achievable business plans and analyses, prudent expense control, and required financial reporting.
* Demonstrated success with fundraising with both private donors and government entities at the federal, state or local level.
* Keen analytic, organization and problem-solving skills which support and enable sound decision making.
* Successful experience implementing multi-year strategic action plans.
* Excellent relationship building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders through engaging communication skills.
* Outstanding verbal and written communication skills and ability to communicate effectively on multiple levels ranging from the Board, to educators and staff.
* A commitment and ability to develop and maintain constructive relationships with staff, students, parents, donors, community constituents, local government entities, media, and vendors.
* Experience articulating the mission, vision, and values of an entity to the public through media engagements, public speaking, and more. Experience in effectively navigating a highly regulated governmental environment.
* Excellent analytical skills, strong ability to lead multiple complex projects under rigorous timelines and political nuances and to work in a demanding dynamic environment to meet organizational goals.
* High emotional intelligence, integrity, and interpersonal skills - and an exceptional collaborator.
* A strong sense of confidence and the wisdom and courage to make difficult choices based on available data.