Director of Professional Learning

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 360,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments - student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Equity Officer, t he Director of Professional Learning will drive the establishment and ongoing development of equity-based professional learning aligned to the CPS Equity Framework. The Director of Professional Learning will play a critical role in the planning, implementation, facilitation, and ongoing evaluation of equity-based professional learning opportunities for district and school leaders. The goal of this position is to design, facilitate, coordinate, and promote high-quality learning that builds professional capacity to continuously enhance the district's efforts to close the opportunity gaps for our least-served students.

The Director of Professional Learning is expected to successfully oversee and/or perform the following responsibilities:

• Develop and direct the delivery of professional learning essential to support district and school leaders in building capacity around the CPS Equity Framework dimensions and working to close opportunity gaps for least-served students
• Oversee the Great Expectations Mentoring (GEM) Program, including curriculum coordination, learning design and facilitation
• Collaborate with relevant CPS offices to ensure that all district professional learning is designed with an equity lens and aligns with the CPS Equity Framework
• Build the capacity of a cohort of the district and school leaders to serve as equity-learning facilitators to support growing demand and need for professional learning around equity and the CPS Equity Framework
• Build, nurture, and manage collaborative relationships with a variety of external partners/organizations
• Serve as an active and contributing member of the Equity Office team, and engage in continuous improvement, problem-solving, and individual and collective self-reflection and learning around issues of racial equity
• Perform additional ad hoc duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Director of Professional Learning must possess the following qualifications:

Type of Education Required:

• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university.
• Master's degree in Education or a related field preferred.

Type of Experience and Number of Years:

• Minimum of five (5) years of design, facilitation, and evaluation of professional learning
• Prior urban school district experience preferred
• Demonstrated experience as a teacher leader preferred
• Experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion work in a large organization preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Advanced knowledge of adult learning theories and experience designing and facilitating high-quality, equity-based professional learning
• Demonstrated commitment to educational equity
• Hold and continue to develop a strong racial equity stance
• Extensive and diversified leadership experience developing and designing large initiatives with varied stakeholders
• Experience leading large-scale, complex initiatives with ambitious goals and deadlines
• Strong program management skills including program planning, implementation and review/ evaluation
• Strong facilitation and communication skills, and ability to present information to audiences at all levels of the organization
• Exceptional verbal, written, and presentation communication skills
• Ability to manage relationships at all levels of the organization
• Ability to build and nurture strong partnerships with external stakeholders
• Self-motivation, dedication, and drive to succeed
• Impeccable judgement, integrity, curiosity and professionalism
• Comfortable with ambiguity and establishing a direction on one's own, with frequent support but without requiring constant supervision
• Self-starter with ability to conduct multiple projects concurrently, both independently and as a member of a collaborative team
• Willingness to learn and adapt in the midst of new and shifting priorities with a 'can-do' solutions-oriented approach to problem solving

Residency Requirement: As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of his or her CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. #LI-AH1