Managing Director of Academics

Managing Director of Academics, Alpha Network Team

Who we are:

Alpha Public Schools is a public charter school network of four schools educating approximately 1,900 scholars in east San Jose. Guided by the belief that our students belong in college, we ensure safe, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments to help our students thrive. What sets us apart is the very thing that makes us who we are– our community. Alpha was founded by a group of mothers on the eastside of San Jose who sought better educational opportunities for their students. We maintain a strong connection to our community and engage families in a collaborative approach to offer a holistic education to our students.

A successful Managing Director of Academics

A successful Managing Director of Academics will work under the direction of the Chief Schools Officer (CSO) to provide strategic direction and oversight of the network’s academic strategy – inclusive of high-quality instructional materials and instructionally-valuable assessments across all content areas and grades – to ensure APS educators are well-supported to facilitate positive and impactful learning experiences consistent with APS’ instructional vision. The person in this role will lead efforts to systemize expectations and implementation of best practices for leveraging high-quality instructional materials and analyzing data to support all students in mastering grade-level standards.

The ideal candidate for this role brings deep expertise in and experience with the California Common Core Standards and state assessment and accountability systems across grade levels and content areas, experience successfully leading adoption and implementation of high-quality instructional materials, and a comprehensive understanding of best practices for teaching and learning. The ideal candidate for this role also brings experience managing a team towards high-impact results and demonstrated skill in collaboration, communication, and change management, with the ability to gain buy-in from people at all levels of the organization.

What you’ll do…

Academic Vision and Strategy

• Develop and implement a comprehensive TK-12 academic strategy, ensuring alignment with APS's vision while supporting diverse learners, driving instructional improvement, and fostering effective change management.
• Lead and manage the Academic team, prioritize resources, and analyze achievement data to inform strategies, set goals, and ensure continuous improvement in student outcomes.
• Design and lead execution of thoughtful and impactful change management efforts for any instructional systems or tools, including adoption and implementation of new assessments, instructional materials, and/or supporting tools and resources.
• Analyze network-wide academic achievement data to understand the impact of implementation, develop network-wide goals and solutions grounded in data and identify root causes to lead improvements in outcomes.

Instructional Program Implementation and Development

• Oversee and support the adoption of research-proven, standards-based instructional practice and the codification of Alpha-wide program development.
• Partner with the Chief Schools Officer, alongside Directors on the Academic team, to set expectations for implementation of instructional materials, assessments, and aligned strategies and tools across schools, grade levels, and content areas.
• Work alongside school leaders to analyze school-wide academic achievement data, identify root causes, identify school academic goals and outcomes, and develop aligned action plans.
• Provide regular updates on instructional programming implementation, data, and strategies to externally facing partners, such as authorizers, APS Board, etc.

Lead Network-Wide Professional Learning Strategy for Instructional Expertise:

• Work collaboratively with the Principal Director of Talent Development and other leaders to design and implement an overarching professional learning strategy for APS educators (inclusive of school leaders and teachers) that aligns closely with highest need and highest priority areas of development, with a particular focus on professional learning experiences designed to strengthen instructional expertise.
• Design and facilitate, as needed, professional learning for school leaders and/or teachers to strengthen instructional and content expertise across the network.

Lead Academic Team to Successful Outcomes

• Cultivate an outstanding team of academic leaders through coaching, professional development, collaboration and mutual support.
• Supervise and intentionally support the development of direct reports.
• Collaborate with other administrators on budgeting, forecasting, and resource allocation programs to ensure all resources are maximized for student learning.
• Ensure that all functions of the department are compliant with federal, state, and local requirements.
• Foster a growth oriented, inclusive, and positive environment while keeping employees and management accountable to APS policies, procedures, and guidelines.

You possess…

• Bachelor’s Degree required, Graduate Degree preferred.
• At least five years of progressively responsible content experience across multiple grades and content areas, including experience with systems-level content strategy, with interest and ability to develop content knowledge in grades or content areas with lesser experience.
• Ability to articulate a clear academic vision and provide guidance and support to ensure alignment, adoption, and implementation across team and all schools.
• Deep understanding of the California Common Core Standards, CAASPP assessments, best practices, and research based teaching strategies.
• Experience organizing and facilitating professional development sessions for educators keeping focus on best practices for instructional strategies and content development.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively collaborate with school teams, academic team, and external stakeholders.
• Experience leading change management efforts that resulted in strong buy-in.
• Robust people management experience, including a successful track record of building capacity and leading teams to achieve ambitious goals.
• CA Teaching Credential Preferred; Administrative Credential Preferred.

You stand out by being…

• A Strategic Thinker who thrives creating systems that effectively implement and monitor progress of network-wide academic and instructional programs.
• A Project Leader with the ability to manage simultaneous projects and long-term work with competing deadlines.
• Influential as someone people are excited to follow because you are dynamic, dependable, highly effective and focused on vital behaviors.
• A Dedicated Team Member who assumes the best of others, participates thoughtfully, communicates well, and approaches problems head-on.
• Data-Driven in all of your work, operating with the knowledge that school and student data is your data.

Join our team…

To apply for this position, please submit a resume and cover letter online.

Alpha Public Schools is a network of four high-performing public charter schools founded by a group of East San José mothers dedicated to helping transform their community. We have a strong growth mindset – as individuals, as an organization, and on behalf of our students and families. We want to be better tomorrow than we are today.

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability. We are strongly committed to hiring a diverse and multicultural staff and encourage applications from traditionally under-represented backgrounds.

Salary is competitive and compensation includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Questions? Contact us at jobs@alphapublicschools.org