Description
City Connects, incubated and developed at Boston College and expanded to Marian University, is seeking a full-time Assistant Director of Implementation to coordinate and oversee the work of City Connects in current and new schools/districts. City Connects is an innovative approach to addressing the out-of-school factors that can impact students’ achievement and thriving in schools. City Connects collaborates closely with districts, schools, and partnering community agencies to connect every student to a tailored set of supports and enrichments in the school and community.

As part of a diverse community of faculty and staff who represent many faith systems and worldviews, City Connects, implemented through the Marian University Center of Vibrant Schools, seeks a full-time Assistant Director, to promote our Catholic Franciscan mission and identity by leading and execute the Technical Assistance Center’s school implementation strategy and serve as an experienced program manager within the City Connects TA Center and practice. The Assistant Director will report to the TA Center Director. The Assistant Director will be an integral member of the Center’s leadership team hyper focused on ensuring the City Connects model is implemented with fidelity across all schools. The Assistant Director will be a project management expert at the Center for Vibrant Schools, most specifically serving as the conduit between the Center and the schools implementing the model and further leading, supporting, and coaching coordinators and district program managers and liaising with school and district level administration. This will be accomplished by understanding and supporting the implementation of the City Connects model in the context of each school, consistently analyzing data to assess the implementation and develop strong communication systems amongst each school’s administration, coordinator, program manager and the Center. The Assistant Director will work closely with the TA Center Director and will receive deep coaching and mentoring from the Boston College Center for Thriving Children.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Actively engage the Catholic Franciscan mission and identity of Marian University by modeling the Franciscan Sponsorship Values, honoring the legacy of the founding congregation, promoting unity in diversity, and integrating the Catholic Franciscan intellectual traditions in courses, programs, and services;
• Charged with successful, effective implementation across schools, supervise and evaluate the work of Program Managers (who in turn supervises the coordinators implementing the model);
• Create and execute an internal strategic plan, with the Director, focused on the introduction of the model into new schools and the maintenance of the model in existing schools through meetings (e.g., with principals, other school faculty and staff, and district personnel), presentations, and other communications;
• Support the ​execution​ ​of grant award requirements in partnership with Director of City Connects Midwest and identified schools;​
• In collaboration with the Director of Student Support Programs and Practice at the Center for Thriving Children, ​train, onboard, ​support, ​and ​coach Program Managers across districts on implementing the model in schools;
• Develop and implement weekly coaching sessions with Program Managers to ensure fidelity of the practice, adherence to the timeline prescribed in the Key Tasks & Benchmarks each year as supported by data analysis and problem solving, case consultations, etc.;
• Coordinate data collection and reporting across sites and in collaboration with the Program Managers, monitor data entry in MyConnects to ensure timeliness, completeness, and quality;
• In collaboration with Program Managers and school principals, recruit, interview and hire new Site Coordinators throughout the Midwest;
• Conduct a comprehensive performance review process in partnership with the Director for each Program Manager as defined by City Connects and Marian University’s guidelines. The process includes regular observations, feedback (both oral and written) and directions for growth;
• Supervise Program Managers in conducting the annual School Site Coordinator evaluation process and the development of improvement plans;
• Communicate results and needs on fidelity of implementation to the wider organization (The Center & BCCTS);
• Direct supervisor to Technical Assistance Center Technology Specialist​​:
  • Provide bi-weekly coaching and regular guidance in partnership with the Director of Technology at The Center for Thriving Children​​;
  • Support the Technology Specialist annual school data uploads​​;
  • Support Technology Specialist in ongoing data clean up, management, and reporting requirements​​;
  • Support Technology Specialist in sharing ideas for programmatic updates and improvements from the field​​;and
  • Support the hiring, training, and oversight of any new Technology Specialists to be hired in the future.​
• Provide buy-in and onboarding for new City Connects Midwest schools by providing informational sessions for school leadership and faculty, conduct principal interview meetings, and lead the pre-planning to ensure successful implementation;
• Support the decision making of Program Manager school caseload assignments; ​​
• Support the hiring and recruitment of new Program Managers and other staffing needs of the Technical Assistance Center;
• Collaborate with the Center ​​for Thriving Children​ on professional development for Program Managers and Coordinators:
  • E​stablish goals of professional development for professional development for Program Managers in relation to the responsibilities documented in the Program Manager Manual;
  • Establish a yearly professional development schedule adaptable for different districts. Ensure that this schedule is carried out in each district;
  • Oversee the use of Canvas for distribution of Program Manager resources;
  • Ensure and document that a schedule of professional development activities for Program Managers is established and carried out (includes summer programming);
  • Oversee the use of Canvas for distribution of School Site Coordinator resources; and
  • Ensure and document that the goals of professional development specified in the codified model are met.
• Grant Support:
  • Provide Support​​ for​ Full-Service Community School & School Based Mental Health Grants​​;
  • Responsible for sustaining a small caseload of 2​ ​schools (to be modified as needed) and maintaining Program Manager job responsibilities, which are:
    • Supervise, coach and evaluate a team of school-based coordinators who are conducting the work of City Connects with schools and students;
    • Collaborate in recruiting new coordinators as needed;
    • Monitor the implementation of City Connects at each site to ensure faithfulness to the model;
    • Plan and assist in delivering professional development for coordinators & Program Managers;
    • Work with principals and other school leaders to support coordinators in the delivery of the model;
    • Develop and maintain community agency relationships through events and communications;
    • Support the collection of high-quality field data on service delivery; and​ ​
    • Communicate ​with the Center​​ for Thriving Children​ on policy and practice recommendations and on progress in implementation in the schools.​​​
  • Assist Director in the coordinator and facilitation of grant requirements per the U.S. Department of Education;​​
  • Assist in the facilitation of required research conducted by the grant’s external evaluator;
  • Establish district, school, and Individual Student Review working groups​​;
  • Facilitate the coordination of teacher training curriculum with community partners and school superintendent​​s;
  • Support USDOE school site visits (as requested)​​;
  • Assist with the facilitation of elementary school Needs Assessment in partnership with The Center for Thriving Children ;​​
  • Support the reporting regular meetings between the Center, USDOE, and Indiana Department of Education;​​
  • Work collaboratively with the Director of City Connects and other Center leadership team members to ensure grant requirements are met and regulatory guidelines and budgets are followed​​;
  • Assist Director of City Connects with prospective grant writing and solicitation of prospective grants​​;
• Midwest Expansion Support:​​
  • Provide strategic input on expansion strategies based on implementation expertise​​;
  • Support the onboarding of new schools within the Midwest expansion​​;
  • Support Director of City Connects Midwest with public speaking engagements and school recruitment strategies; and​​
  • Assist with legislative priorities as needed.​​

University Expectations:

• Knowledge of and a commitment to the mission of Marian University;
• Adheres to Marian University’s policies and procedures;
• Shows courtesy and respect in interactions with fellow employees, students subordinates, and supervisors;
• Communicates regularly with supervisor about Department issues;
• Meets department productivity standards;
• Participates in developing department goals, objective, and systems;
• Assists to establish department measurements that align and support the accomplishment of the University’s strategic goals; and
• Adheres to the department budget.

Required Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• A strong understanding and belief in integrated student support as a field of practice;
• Master’s degree and ​willingness to obtain ​license in social work, school counseling, education, or related field;
• Demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills, specifically within the City Connects practice;
• Project management expertise, specifically within education or consulting;
• Demonstrated experience working with inter-agency partnerships; and
• Familiarity and understanding of the complexities within urban school districts.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A minimum of two years of experience as a program manager in an established City Connects site.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

For Consideration All Applications Require:

• Cover Letter
• Current resume or CV
• Contact information of three professional references. The reference contact information must be entered after the application is submitted in the "My Presence" section of the applicant profile.
• Responses to the supplementary mission & identity questions.

Please Review Marian University’s Mission & Identity Statement before responding to the supplementary questions on your application:
https://www.marian.edu/faith

Marian University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.