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Director of Planning and Development

Position Description

The Office of New Schools (ONS) in the Chicago Public Schools seeks an outstanding professional to become the Director of Planning and Development by no later than February 1, 2008.  This director would be responsible for supporting the educational and operational success of all new charter, contract, and performance beginning from the time that they are approved by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education and until the time that they are open and fully operational.  They are also responsible for developing and implementing professional development opportunities for all current charter, contract and performance schools in the ONS portfolio and ONS staff.  The Director of Planning and Development would report directly to and work closely with the Executive Officer of ONS.

Key responsibilities:

• Planning, organizing and implementing the Incubation Program including professional development sessions, incubation retreat, TAMS management, and school visits
• Collaborating with the ONS Recruitment, School Support, Business Services, Accountability and External Relations teams to augment Incubation
• Liaising with CPS departments as well external partners to enhance the Incubation Program and new school start-up
• Developing a professional development series for schools in the ONS portfolio
• Creating a best practices resource for ONS schools
• Developing and implementing a professional development series for ONS schools
• Executing and monitoring strategic planning efforts for ONS staff members including department level and individual level planning
• Establishing, monitoring, and updating the annual calendar for ONS staff

An excellent candidate will have the skill to:

• Manage and motivate a team toward strategic objectives
• Organize, analyze and prioritize information quickly and strategically
• Manage multiple strategic priorities at once and determine optimal courses of action to reach objectives
• Handle adaptive challenges by getting data and harnessing available resources without significant hands-on direction
• Think strategically, identify gaps in infrastructure/policy, and develop and execute strategic solutions
• Work ably with technology with facility with email and applications (i.e. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Relate well to direct reports, peers and community members to further the accomplishment of goals
• Successfully (and diplomatically) navigate large organizational structures toward accomplishing goals
• Provide guidance on instructional best practices, curriculum development and teaching & learning to ONS staff and schools

In addition, an excellent candidate will have the following experiences:

• Four-year degree in related field; advanced degree (i.e. MBA, MPP, JD) required
• 7 - 10 years of relevant experience, particularly in new schools (instructional leadership preferred)
• Track record of management and administrative success
• Successfully led the planning and facilitation of professional development for in-school instructional leaders and administrative staff
• Track record overseeing strategic planning efforts

Office of New Schools Information

The Office of New Schools (ONS) in the Chicago Public Schools is committed to creating new and innovative schools that will provide high quality educational options to serve the diverse needs of Chicago’s public school students.  ONS works to recruit, develop, and support new schools and ultimately, hold them accountable to high performance measures.  ONS manages a portfolio of 84 schools that consist of schools developed through Renaissance 2010 and all charter and performance schools created before 2005.  ONS seeks to create and support high quality schools through a comprehensive approach that recruits high quality school operators, evaluates school proposals through a rigorous Request For Proposals (RFP), supports approved schools through planning, incubation, school opening, and school operation, and ensures accountability through regular monitoring of multiple measures of success.

How to Apply

This is an extraordinary opportunity for an exemplary professional and leader to support the success of autonomous CPS schools to prepare their students for college and the world of work.

A competitive compensation package commensurate with qualifications and experience is available.  Qualified candidates interested in this opportunity are invited to submit their resume and cover letter to Lynn Klikuszewski at: lklikuszewski@cps.k12.il.us