Career Center

Job Description:

• Responsible for all day-to-day activities in the Early Childhood division and all campus-wide operations at the Earl Shapiro Hall campus, from the implementation of daily schedules and events to safety and security.
• Provides supportive, collaborative leadership in a dynamic teaching and learning environment where a diverse team of faculty and staff are committed to the continuous improvement of program and curriculum. Oversees ongoing professional development of faculty and provide coaching and mentorship to individual teachers in relationships based on collaboration and partnership. Maintains a healthy and productive relationship with members of Labâ™s Faculty Association through consistent, responsible administration of the collective bargaining unit.
• Provides leadership in the development, improvement, and evaluation of the instructional program for students in N3-2. Adapts and implements Labâ™s mission and schoolwide strategic priorities within the unique context of the Early Childhood division.
• In furtherance of Labâ™s mission imperative of honoring diversity, advances our aspiration of becoming an anti-bias, antiracist school, and works closely with Labâ™s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Director of Student Services, and Director of Equal Opportunity Services. 
• Serves on the schoolwide Academic Leadership team and collaborates closely with principals of Lower, Middle, and High School and other senior program officers. Serves on the schoolwide Senior Leadership Team, ensuring the appropriate communication of Early Childhood successes and challenges to colleagues across all divisions, adapting divisional work as appropriate to efforts in other parts of the school, and contributing to institutional decision making, leadership, and transparent communications. 
• Fosters a healthy, positive community across the division through regular, direct communications with parents, students, faculty and staff, appropriate events and programs, and the cultivation of both strong relationships and appropriate boundaries,
• Develops and implements the Early Childhood divisionâ™s annual budget, provides sound oversight to ensure that finances are supporting strategic priorities, and partners with various administrative colleagues on issues such as planning, programming, budgeting, and operational infrastructure. 
• Execute a strategic plan that articulates key educational priorities and in alignment with the mission of the Schools for the division. Provides leadership in the development, improvement, and evaluation of the instructional program.
• Supervise teachers in developing academic programs and curriculum. Responsible for performance evaluation of teachers and support staff. Has decision making authority in employment relationships. Manages academic teams and its work in a non-traditional reporting environment. Lead successfully in a complex system, building effective structures, procedures and methods of communication, and defining roles and responsibilities clearly.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Masterâ™s degree in education or related field.

Experience: 

• At least ten years of teaching experience, preferably in early childhood/primary education.
• Direct experience with children aged 3-8.
• At least five years of successful senior administrative experience, preferably in independent schools.
• Significant experience in creating, implementing, managing, and assessing educational programs.
• Experience working in or with a unionized faculty covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
• Demonstrable success promoting and supporting diversity, developing a culture of inclusion and belonging, and assessing and maintaining equitable systems and processes.
• Successful record of support for children and adults with diverse identities and backgrounds, including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, learning abilities, socio-economic status, language, and national origin.
• A broad understanding of early childhood/elementary curricula and child development, including knowledge of Reggio Emilia and/or other play-based, child centered curricula.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:  

• Use standard productivity software (Microsoft Office, calendar/schedule software, etc.).
• Move in and around the classroom/building to interact with students, faculty, staff, parents, and other members of the community.

Preferred Competencies

• An abiding commitment to creating and maintaining safe learning environments.
• Outstanding leadership and organizational skills.
• Robust, up-to-date understanding of best practices in child development and early childhood teaching and learning.
• Strong supervision, mentorship, and support skills to effectuate a productive, collegial, and efficient teaching and learning environment, oriented towards professional growth, among divisional faculty and staff.
• Ongoing commitment to learning and growth in skills, issues, and competencies relevant to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Skill at building and sustaining excellent relationships at multiple levels with varied constituencies.
• Proven experience growing, sustaining, and supporting the diversity of a program or enterprise.
• Proven experience in developing inclusiveness, a culture of belonging, and a structure of equitable practices in classrooms and communities.
• Facility with data-informed decision making.
• A student-centered approach to education administration.
• A proven record of establishing trust and respect within a community.
• A sense of humor and joy in working with young children, their families, their teachers, and a school community.
• Agility, flexibility, creativity, and patience.
• A commitment to exhibiting kindness in all circumstances and to encouraging and eliciting kindness in others.
• Confidence and resilience.
• Navigate in complex environments, forge partnerships across constituencies, and develop productive working partnerships.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
• Robust empathy and emotional intelligence paired with outstanding interpersonal, diplomatic, and community-building skills.
• Handle sensitive and confidential situations and information with absolute discretion.
• Skill with change management.
• Fevelop strong relationships while also maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and encourage the same in others.
• Capacity to manage and navigate the expectations of invested and aspirational students and families with grace, compassion, appropriate boundaries, and self-care.
• Creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a strategic mindset.

Working Conditions

• Standard office environment.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)
• One-Page Statement of educational philosophy and practice (preferred)
• Five (5) Professional References with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without the candidateâ™s permission)(preferred)

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via the Applicant Inquiry Form.

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