idealist.org

Program Manager – Metropolitan Nashville Model Staffing Initiative
Nashville, 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 Program Manager for our Metropolitan Nashville Model Staffing Initiative. The Program Manager will be a TNTP employee based out of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools district office. This position is available immediately.

The Program

The quality of the teacher is the biggest factor in determining whether or not students achieve at high levels. A report published by TNTP, entitled Missed Opportunities: How We Keep High Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms, showed that urban school districts lose their high quality teacher candidates because they hire late.

The Metropolitan Nashville Model Staffing Initiative, a partnership between The New Teacher Project and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), works to address hiring challenges for 13 schools in Nashville to ensure that these schools have the opportunity to hire the highest quality teachers possible. Additionally, the Model Staffing Initiative will undertake a new focus on support and developing principal and school hiring capacity by providing professional development and differentiated support to school administrators throughout the year with a focus on identifying, cultivating and hiring teacher candidates based on school fit. Through this partnership, the Model Staffing Initiative (MSI) program team manages a teacher recruitment campaign, provides high-touch, customized logistical support to both the school site and candidates during the hiring process, holds job fairs and facilitates strategic staffing workshops through which school leadership teams learn successful strategies to fill vacancies effectively and with the strongest possible teacher candidates.

Role and Responsibilities

The Program Manager will help facilitate the placement of teachers in the 13 schools. This position offers the successful candidate the opportunity to have a profound impact on how teachers are hired in the hard-to-staff schools in Nashville. The Program Manager responsibilities will include:

•Managing on-site, day-to-day operations, including maintaining the teacher applicant database, scheduling interviews between candidates and principals, and responding to candidate communications in a timely manner
•Managing a targeted recruitment campaign
•Using MNPS school specific and TNTP selection criteria to select high quality teacher candidates for the district applicant pool
•Providing outstanding customer service to and communicating regularly with candidates and principals
•Maintaining data management systems for the initiative
•Collecting and analyzing teacher placement data to benchmark progress against goals
•Generating innovative solutions to program challenges and differentiating support services as needed
•Working with principals to identify vacancies and refer potential candidates
•Answering questions and helping principals solve problems related to teacher hiring
•Planning, organizing, and managing the logistics of regular principal meetings, site visits, and hiring events
•Working with the client and TNTP Site Manager on additional projects as necessary

This position will report to the Site Manager of the Metropolitan Nashville Model Staffing Initiative.

We are seeking candidates who believe deeply in our organization's mission, who thrive in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment, and who demonstrate a record of achievement. Successful candidates will also demonstrate:

•Strong computer skills including database management and Excel
•Excellent communication and writing skills
•Strong event planning, organizational and time-management skills
•A commitment to producing consistently high quality, detailed work
•Extraordinary attention to detail
•The ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously
•The ability to learn quickly, work in a fast paced environment and multi-task effectively
•Flexibility
•Strong interpersonal skills
•The ability to work well independently and with others
•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
•Experience with Nashville public schools, or other urban school district (preferred)

Please submit your resume and cover letter online at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=THENEWTEACHERPROJECT&cws=1&rid=441

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.