Senior Director of High School and Post-Secondary Initiatives

Martha O'Bryan Center

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Job Summary

POSITION SUMMARY

Do you believe that all Nashville students deserve an equitable opportunity to matriculate through post-secondary education despite their families’ economic status?  Do you want to lead a team who purposely partners with schools demonstrating the lowest college-going rates and greatest need? 

As Senior Director, you will be responsible for leading MOBC’s High School Academic Student Unions (ASUs) and Post-Secondary Success Initiative (PSS) which provides low-income, first-generation students with academic and social and emotional supports, college access and persistence coaching, and wrap-around service referrals to ensure successful transitions, retention, and degree attainment. Today, we serve over 800 students across three high school ASUs—the Top Floor (Stratford High), the College Zone (Maplewood High), and the Hub (Hunters Lane High), and over 300 college students with our Post-Secondary Initiative. Our short-term goals are to see increases among students in key academic skills and improve knowledge of healthy social-emotional behaviors. Our long-term objective is to see all youth served excel in and graduate from high school, go on to post-secondary education, and complete college with career plans in place.  As leader of this team, this position is responsible for creating accessible and inclusive environments that intentionally knock down barriers to success and ensure that all students are equitably equipped with the college and career supports they need most. This is a full time, regular position, located at the Martha O’Bryan Center. This position reports to the COO.

 

ABOUT THE MARTHA O’BRYAN CENTER

Martha O’Bryan Center (MOBC) exists to help families leave poverty in a single generation. Our history and experiences have shown that entrenched poverty stems from interconnected drivers: low-performing schools, a lack of out-of-school-time programming and college access resources, limited and inconsistent employment opportunities, and fractured family support systems. We help vulnerable families overcome these obstacles through two primary pathways—our Family Success Network and our Education Continuum—serving more than 8,000 clients each year.

 

Recent Accomplishments include:

• Earlier this year, as backbone agency to the Tennessee Alliance for Economic Mobility (TAEM), MOBC was awarded a $25 million TDHS pilot grant to lead 32 partner organizations across seven Middle Tennessee counties, in an effort to mitigate the effects of the benefits cliff. 
• In January 2022, we broke ground on a new two-generational building in the heart of Cayce Place. Designed to house our Family Success Network, this building will include an expanded Early Learning Center, adult education classrooms, enhanced career spaces, counseling and wellness offices, a family library, and community recreation spaces.
• In 2019, Martha O’Bryan Center was one of five nonprofits selected by the Kresge Foundation as a “Next Generation” agency, for its successful strategies in moving people out of poverty.

Job Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Researches, designs, and implements all high school programming, including, but not limited to, college access, academic achievement, social and emotional development, work readiness, fall, summer and spring break programming, parent engagement, and freshmen transition focused programming.
• Leads and executes all post-secondary success initiatives ensure a smooth transition to college/career and improve overall retention rates.
• Provides direct supervision to Program Leads, Site Coordinators, College and Career Specialists, Tutors, and AmeriCorps members, including hiring, setting goals, managing performance, and overseeing professional development in support of program goals.
• Researches, designs, and ensures all high school sites to ensure space is warm, inclusive, creative, safe, academically conducive, and builds upon a college going culture.
• Researches funding opportunities and writes proposals for grant requests in partnership with the COO, Senior Director of Data and Evaluation, and MOBC’s grant writers. 
• Reviews program in effort for quality improvement.  Regularly visits sites and reviews files.
• Assumes responsibility for grant outcomes and all contract compliance, both internal and external.
• Works collaboratively and facilitates flow of information and integration by attending and/or conducting meetings with other Martha O’Bryan Center staff members, partners, and others.
• Develops strong networking ties to other youth, college access, and social service agencies in the Nashville area by collaborating on topics of mutual interest, advocating in the interest of customers, and making customer referrals both internally and externally to other agencies.
• Works collaboratively with the other MOBC teams and departments to develop successful transitions into high school, and from high school to college or the work force.
• Oversees all high school and post-secondary budgets and expenses.
• Utilizes data to inform programming, employing Salesforce Martha O’Bryan’s data management system, including data tracking, reporting, and analyzing program progress and effectiveness.
• Serves as subject matter expert on out of school time programming, developing college going cultures, and post-secondary persistence and success.
• Maintains close contact with school officials, parents, post-secondary institutions, and partner agencies.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required.

 

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Education or related field strongly preferred.
• Master’s degree strongly preferred.
• Supervisory and program leadership experience in a social service organization.
• Grant management, including reporting and compliance for government grants.

 

The above qualifications express the minimum standards of education and/or experience for this position. Other combinations of education and experience, if evaluated as equivalent, may be taken into consideration.

 

Knowledge and Abilities:

• Knowledge of factors affecting student persistence and related research on successful retention programs.
• Ability to work effectively with a diverse population.
• Ability to plan and direct the work of others.
• Ability to look at numbers, trends, and data, and come to conclusions based on findings.
• Ability to find, manipulate, and interpret data effectively to inform programming decisions.
• Ability to translate data into understandable documents/presentations.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas.
• Strong interpersonal skills; excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Maintains credibility through sincerity, honesty, and discretion.
• Builds and maintains positive relationships with internal and external constituents.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Strong time management skills; uses time effectively; consistently meets deadlines.
• Strong project management skills.
• Maintains a high level of confidentiality regarding sensitive information.
• Documents regularly, thoroughly, accurately, and completely.
• High level of detail and accuracy.
• Exercises good and consistently fair judgment, courtesy, and tact in dealing with the staff and public in giving and obtaining information.
• Computer literate including familiarity with word processing, spreadsheet, database, desk top publishing software, email and the internet.

Additional Information

Benefits

How to Apply

Click HERE to apply.

Details

• Date Posted: August 5, 2022
• Type: Full-Time
• Job Function: Programs and Service Delivery
• Service Area: Children / Youth
• Salary Range: $65,000-$80,000