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Site Manager of Communications and Reporting – Memphis Teacher Talent Initiative
Memphis, TN

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) helps school districts and states fulfill the promise of public education by ensuring that all students—especially those from high-need communities—get excellent teachers. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP recognizes that although teachers matter more than any other school factor in student success, the nation’s education systems are not aligned with the goal of an effective teacher in every classroom. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to diagnose their teacher quality challenges and find, develop and keep great teachers. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 33,000 teachers—mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows™ programs—benefiting an estimated 4.8 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation’s teacher workforce, most recently including The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness (2009). Today TNTP is active in more than 25 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, and Oakland, among others. For more information, please visit www.tntp.org.

We are currently seeking a Site Manager of Communications and Reporting for our Memphis Teacher Talent Initiative program. The Site Manager of Communications and Reporting will be based out of Memphis, TN. This position is contingent on securing funding for the initiative. We are aiming for the position to begin on November 1, 2009, once funding is confirmed.
The Program
Teachers are the most powerful resource a school has to raise student achievement. Hiring decisions need to be driven by the imperative to help schools build the most effective instructional teams possible. That requires matching a highly vetted and screened pool of teacher applicants with school leaders who have been trained to hire teachers who are the best fit for the needs of their students. We will implement a start-to-finish teacher pipeline solution that is year-round and tied to results. Specifically, the Memphis Teacher Talent Initiative will collaborate with Memphis City Schools (MCS) to supply high-quality teachers, support effective matches between candidates and schools, strengthen hiring practices and ensure that all of the district’s principals can choose the best teachers for their classrooms from the strongest possible pool of candidates. The Teacher Talent Initiative services will include working directly with school leaders to strengthen their staffing approaches, market their schools to high-quality teacher candidates and identify teacher vacancies earlier in the school year. Through aggressive recruitment and selection, the Teacher Talent Initiative will amass a large, high-quality pool of teacher applicants – both traditionally certified and alternate route candidates - from which principals can hire the best who most closely fit school needs.

Role and Responsibilities

The Site Manager of Communications and Reporting serves as a resource to the Memphis Teacher Talent Office staff by ensuring strategic communications and rollout to all key stakeholders, including team members, clients, union representatives, community members, applicants, teacher and school leaders. The Site Manager of Communications and Reporting is accountable for strategic key messages/policies and ensuring they are aligned and implemented throughout all parts of the initiative. The Site Manager of Communications and Reporting will also ensure that staff members are collecting data, and will design and produce regular reports/analyses as needed for all stakeholders. The Site Manager of Communications and Reporting will report to the Partner and will collaborate with the Teacher Talent Initiative Senior Site Manager of Recruitment and Selection and the Senior Site Manager of Staffing.

Specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Design communication plan to inform stakeholders (principals, district employees, clients, funding representatives) of the Memphis Teacher Talent Initiative’s goals and processes
• Create high level messages for the Teacher Talent Initiative program to establish new program brand and identify
• Determine strategies to implement message rollout across the continuum (recruitment, selection, staffing, training, etc.)
• Revise and approve all teacher and school leader communications documents, ensuring that messaging is consistent and quality is high
• Work with all site staff to ensure high quality messaging is distributed to stakeholders in all communications
• Update Memphis Teacher Talent Initiative website and ensure website messaging targets high quality candidates
• Oversee data collection and design/produce data reports
• Oversee technology needs for Memphis office
• Collaborate and support Senior Site Managers of Recruitment/Selection and Staffing with all communication and reporting needs
• Support the Partner and other site staff members as needed to ensure that all Memphis schools are able to build the best instructional teams

We are seeking candidates who believe deeply in our organization's mission and who display a record of achievement. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:

• Degree in communications, journalism, or related field preferred
• Support of alternative routes to teacher certification and an interest in working with new teachers
• Ability to translate complex, nuanced program messages into clear, concise writing
• Ability to synthesize large amounts of information effectively and strategically, and create messages and materials for diverse audiences
• Excellent critical thinking skills
• A record of setting and achieving ambitious goals
• Outstanding communication and writing skills
• Superior project management and organizational skills
• A commitment to producing consistently high quality work
• The ability to identify challenges and actively work to find solutions
• The ability to work effectively with others at all levels of an organization and to consistently display a high level of professionalism in all interactions
• The ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously and meet timelines in a fast-paced environment
• The ability to work well independently and with others
• Extraordinary attention to detail
• Flexibility
• Superior quantitative and computer skills, specifically Microsoft Office suite
• A willingness to work non-standard hours and/or weekends

Compensation

The annual salary for this position is $70,000 or commensurate with experience. We also offer a motivated team of colleagues, a collegial atmosphere that values professional development, a comprehensive benefits plan effective on the first day of employment – including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, and a 403(b) plan with matching – as well as the opportunity to impact the direction of a growing, mission-driven company that is committed to the success of our nation’s children.

Please submit your resume and a tailored cover letter online at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=432

We review applications on a rolling basis – so it is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible. We will not consider applications without a cover letter tailored to this position, which can be addressed to the Human Capital Team. The New Teacher Project is committed to fostering and capitalizing on the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position. If you would like to learn more about our mission, please visit our web site at www.tntp.org.