DIRECTOR

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OFFICE OF MINORITY AFFAIRS AND DIVERSITYBenefits:

As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here.

Although open until filled, priority deadline is 11/29/2024.As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills, and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

The Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity has an outstanding opportunity for a Director to join their team.

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a national college-readiness program designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. UW in partnership with four South King County school districts and several community partners to create The GEAR UP Achievers Partnership to strengthen students' pathways to college and careers by focusing upon, utilizing, and leveraging science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The GEAR UP Achievers Partnership received funding for 2018-2025 (seven years). A new proposal received funding for 2024-2031 (also seven years). The partnership, which includes UW (through OMA&D), and diverse and high need school districts of Auburn, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila, plus RGI Corporation and other community-based organizations, must implement this large scale program to serve 4,303 students starting at the 6th and 7th grades through high school graduation and their first year of college. The program will execute a variety of activities for students, families, and educators to support rigorous coursework, career exploration in STEM fields, and financial literacy.

This Director will conclude the existing partnership and launch a newly-funded Achievers partnership and make it thrive. To facilitate the work of the GEAR UP program, we need a professional who has already demonstrated success in managing a large, federally-funded, college-access grant program. The ideal candidate must be deeply committed to expanding access to higher education, possess deep knowledge about the college- going process and understand the barriers that students face while preparing for postsecondary education. Additionally, this partnership requires a Director who can establish, nurture, and sustain relationships, communication, and collaboration between and among the partners who come together to support the goal of having students graduate high school college or career- ready.

The Director will need to implement the operational plan set forth in the proposal. This includes hiring and supervising a staff of five, oversee the work of over 16 district-based staff and ensuring compliance with UW, state, and federal regulations. The Director will coordinate administrative functions pertaining to grant administration/compliance and work with the grant Principal Investigator (PI), the UW Office of Sponsored Programs, Grant and Contract Accounting, Travel, and Purchasing. The Director will also work collaboratively with OMAD’s fiscal unit to carefully monitor budgets and expenditures.

The Director will lead a "decentralized" program with four South King County school districts connected by subcontracts. They will direct the operational plan submitted in the GEAR UP proposal to the U.S. Dept of Education in accordance with statewide and federal policies, practices, and guidelines.

The position requires use of sound judgement and thorough understanding of higher educations policies related to diversity and K-12 education systems, and related community, public and private engagement. The position requires the use of collaborative and collegial approach with school district administrators, faculty and staff to identify and implement best practices that enhance diversity in STEM and increase the likelihood of students graduating high school college and career ready.

The position requires a complete understanding of, 1) processes that affect high school graduation, 2) enrolling in college or community college, and 3) the landscape of higher ed that is specific to historically underrepresented student populations. The position requires excellent communication skills and deep knowledge of the UW's processes for grants and contracts.

The UW GEAR UP grant is part the UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity. As part of the OMA&D’s pre-college and recruitment programs, the project aims to work collaboratively with K-12 constituencies to build a more competitive applicant pool of students for potential university study.

The position seeks to address three important areas of need that will impact higher ed in the state of Washington: 1) support policies and programs designed to increase the number of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics majors and their academic readiness to succeed in their chosen major and 2) identify and manage opportunities to communicate with GEAR UP mission andpurpose to school district leaders, and 3) identify opportunities and collaborate with the UW leadership for external relations and opportunities to show case the UW's efforts to remain a flagship public university that is accessible to URM students and families.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership (40%-Total)15% Developing and Sustaining External Partnerships - facilitate the work of the GEAR UP program, establish, nurture, and sustain strong and highly cooperative working relationships, communication, and collaboration:

With GEAR UP’s four partner South King County school districts, school principals, and educators/peer professionals.

With existing programs within OMA&D, other UW college access programs and departments, and community-based college-readiness programs.

With UW Academic departments, particularly those with a STEM focus, including Health Sciences and Engineering, to provide opportunities for students served by GEAR UP.

Between and among UW faculty, admissions, and other departments, along with GEAR UP staff, partner schools, and other college access and community programs (e.g. community agencies, the business community, alumni, and community members).

With GEAR UP leadership regionally and nationally including WA grant directors, and NCCEP leadership, and other national advocacy organizations focused on serving first generation, low-income and under-represented students in higher education.

Actively engage with South King County regional partnerships like PSESD, PSCCN, CCER and the Road Map Project, and emerging college access initiatives. Cultivate alliances with external entities (including agencies and programs) and gain their active support.

Navigate political complexities of implementing programs in large urban/suburban districts in South King County.

10% Strategic planning - Provide strategic leadership to ensure grant goals are met, including:

Strategically direct the students’ educational and professional development programs and align the budget to carry-out programming.

Conduct research with program evaluator to determine the effectiveness of the programs and the quality of student outcomes.

Collaborate with faculty and administration to continually strengthen the program of academic instruction.

Cultivate a culture of continuous improvement by performing short-term evaluations/assessments of all programs and activities.

Use data to identify strengths and challenges within program and implement continuous improvement strategies and processes.

Set benchmarks for progress towards grant goals and monitor progress.

Management, retention, and protection of Research Data per federal and UW requirements.

At school sites, assist in managing and evaluating effective and clear procedures for the operation and daily functioning of the GEAR UP Program.

15% Lead the UW GEAR UP Achievers Team -

Recruit, hire, train, and lead the UW GEAR UP Achievers made up of 5.0 FTE staff. Provide day-to-day management, support, and mentorship.

Foster professional development, and evaluate work performance.

Promote the continuation of healthy and creative team climate that is based upon cooperation, trust, pride, and respect.

Provide strategic guidance to staff on key projects and deliverables including family engagement, STEM programs, summer programs, communications, tutors/mentors, affinity-based programing, and more.

Lead for equity including support for training, ongoing professional development, setting internal equity goals, leading continuous improvement efforts with data.

Manage .6 fiscal staff in collaboration with OMA&D fiscal staff.

Manage OMA&D regional office in Kent, WA act as on-site leader for ensuring all UW policies and safety practices are in place. Liaison with Real Estate Office, Technology office and other office vendors.

Expand opportunities for interns within GEAR UP (Dream Project, ECO, Social Work) provide day-to-day management, fostering professional development, and evaluating work performance while promoting the continuation of our healthy and creative team climate that is based upon cooperation, trust, pride, and respect.

Program Administration (60% total)

10% Manage all aspects of the grant sponsor the U.S. Department of Education in collaboration with the Principal Investigator (PI).

Ensure compliance with GEAR UP legislative, EDGAR, and Dept of Education regulations for GEAR UP. As essential personnel manage relationship and communication with Dept of Education program officer. Ensure requirements regarding records and data management are followed. Submit annual progress reports and submit budget reports as requested by program officer. Work collaboratively with UW’s Office of Sponsored Programs to complete this requirement. As RFPs are released for future GEAR UP funding of new cohort of students, lead the planning and manage the process for submitting a new grant proposal with the assigned PI and grant writer.

15% Lead and manage all aspects of the UW's internal processes for financial and budget management of grant funds.

Ensure compliance with UW Grants and Contracts (GCA), MySAGE and all UW facing requirements including records management, student records privacy, and ensure compliance with State Ethics and other university policies are communicated and followed.

30% Ensure effective grant implementation at the School District Partner level

Monitor grant budget, develop partner district budgets annually, develop annual workplans, monitor invoicing processes and provide monthly approval of invoices, monitor and track progress on cost-share, manage budget and workplan revisions.

Ensuring subrecipients are making reasonable progress, monitoring compliance with regulations and the terms of the subaward, and invoiced costs are appropriate for the technical/scientific work performed.

Develop effective internal and external communications plan for the GEAR UP Achievers Partnership.

Oversee hiring, training, and ongoing support of GEAR UP school-based staff:

Lead monthly meetings for school-based staff.

Plan and provide staff development and training in college awareness and readiness.

Oversee implementation of regional tutoring and mentoring strategies. Lead monthly District Leadership meetings to address high level grant implementation strategies. Maintain regular contact with high school counselors and administrators in support of the GEAR UP program. Communicate frequently and effectively with each school. Consult as needed with partner school principals, counselors, teachers, and district leadership. Evaluate performance of program through visits to high schools and by developing and overseeing a formal review process with the high schools to ensure program goals are being met.

Regularly analyze the data that is collected to gauge the effectiveness and impact at school sites and across the program as a whole.

Monitor students’ grades, courses and credits to promote on-time graduation and completion of a college pre-requisite curriculum. Maintain regular contact with high school counselors and administrators in support of the GEAR UP program. Communicate frequently and effectively with each school. Consult as needed with partner school principals, counselors, teachers, and district leadership.

Oversee the evaluator for the grant, RGI Corporation.

Travel periodically to conferences, workshops, and other professional development opportunities.

Deliver progress reports to the Associate Vice President for College Access.

Oversee student visits to college campuses to ensure all programmatic and logistical details are covered.

Proactively identify and implement methods for publicizing and promoting the activities of GEAR UP, including by developing marketing materials about the program (e.g., publications, web page, annual report).

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

Other duties as assigned, such as participating in OMA&D leadership meetings, serving on search committees and representing GEAR UP Achievers in UW-related work groups.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Master's Degree and Five years of experience in program administration with educational or community service programming.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Ability to work collaboratively with diverse project partners in target communities.

Must have experience working with and understanding needs of the target population.

Demonstrated ability to express oneself clearly and empathetically in interactions with everyone, including the various stakeholders, across all forms of communication, i.e., verbal and written, in any configuration, including one-on-one interactions, small groups, or large gatherings; ability to generate understanding and enthusiasm through presentations to a variety of audiences and partners.

Experience working with students from historically underrepresented groups, low income or first generation.

Extensive knowledge of the college-going process and the barriers that students face while preparing for postsecondary education including previous experience working with pre-college students, schools, or educational programs, particularly those that serve traditionally low-income or underrepresented youth.

Strong skills and experience in all aspects of personnel management including hiring, training, daily supervision, mentoring, and evaluation.

Excellent organizational and prioritizing skills.

Knowledge of the psychological, behavioral, social and educational issues affecting the learning potential of students historically underrepresented in higher education (i.e., low-income, first-generation, American Indian, African Americans, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders/Latino/Hispanic, Southeast Asians).

Experience implementing measures of program efficacy and effectiveness. Experience creating organizational-wide targets and metrics, and using data to assess effectiveness of program and mission.

Demonstrably strong computer skills and data management skills, as well as proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for producing special reports, spreadsheets, databases, forms, etc.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

A master’s degree in a related field.

Experience with partnership projects, GEAR UP, TRIO or college access programs preferred.

Supervisory experience with large partnership grant programs preferred.

Knowledge of federal cost share principles as defined in the uniform guidance and code of federal regulation.

Knowledge of the educational context of students attending the partner districts in South King County.

Sensitivity to multicultural needs and characteristics of and commitment to supporting students who are historically underrepresented in higher education.

Extensive knowledge of the administrative structure of a large research university.

Experience in Diversity in STEM programming.

Application Process:

The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are access ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.

Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu .Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law .

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