TEAM: Recruitment

ROLE TITLE: Director, Strategy, People, & Operations

POSITION REPORTS TO: VP, People & Operations

APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 29th, 2024 at 11:59pm EST

LOCATION: Flexible

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Teach For America seeks a Director of Strategy, People & Operations who will design and lead work across the Recruitment Team (RT) talent continuum (hiring, learning and development, and talent management) and contribute directly to recruitment campaigns. The primary responsibilities of the role will include leading projects that contribute to strong Learning & Development resources and experiences for the RT, coaching and managing Activate Fellows (part time staff members who are also TFA corps members), and directly executing on recruitment campaigns.

The ideal candidate has experience and interest in adult learning design and facilitation and is an exceptional recruiter. They possess a strong learning orientation and are excited to lean into agile work structures. They are a strong project manager and have exemplary skills in defining a problem, conducting analysis, and synthesizing solutions. They have created clear and bold visions for their work, and are adept at laterally managing and coaching others, particularly those in management positions. They are a self-starter who enjoys taking the initiative on complex and high-stakes challenges and can design solutions with a user-orientation and constant attention to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. They approach all their work through the lens of anti-racist practices and are a model of our core values.

The Director, SPO will be part of a collaborative, cross-functional team that leads all internal functions for the Recruitment Team. They will be a driving force behind the Recruitment Team’s undeniably consequential work, fueling TFA’s Theory of Change and the broader movement for social equity across the nation.

WHAT YOU’LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

In FY25, the Director, SPO will be expected to lean into a number of projects, with a focus on enabling exceptional recruitment strategy and execution, and recruiter learning and development.

An example of key roles the Director, SPO would hold in their first year in the role:

Fall 2024 – Winter 2025

• Develop and facilitate learning experiences and create resources and materials to support strong recruitment practices

• Play a key role in training new team members and coaching recruiters to build skill and achieve success in their roles

• Manage and coach a cohort of Activate Fellows to succeed and achieve impact in their role

• Take on in-season recruitment vacancies in partnership with the RT’s National Team (the team whose primary purpose is to support with filling vacancies and adding capacity where needed)

Spring – Summer 2025

• Support with the design and development of teamwide learning projects and experiences

Ongoing Additional Projects

• Step in to support SPO projects and outcomes across different people and operations functions ( e.g. staff culture, DEI, hiring, training, performance development, people systems / policies, strategic planning, manager support, communications, knowledge management, operations, and finance).

Projects are defined in partnership with the team and based on strategic needs of the RT and the unique ability of each team member to contribute. These will shift and change to meet the evolving needs and strategic position of our team, and we are seeking someone who is energized by taking on new workstreams and developing new skills.

YOUR EXPERIENCE

Prior Experience

• Bachelor's degree required

• At least five years of professional experience preferred

• Previous experience as a TFA recruiter strongly preferred

• Experience designing and facilitating adult learning experiences strongly preferred

Work Demands

• Working with colleagues across the country leveraging remote technologies (e.g. phone, videoconference)

• Willingness to work some weekends and evenings

• Participate in staff-wide responsibilities, such as the interviewing / selection of prospective corps members

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Expertise and experience in TFA Recruitment with both internal and external functions

• Experience and strong desire to design and facilitate high quality adult learning experiences

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively and with cultural competence across diverse groups

• Demonstrated ability to set compelling vision and direction and invest others in that direction

• Demonstrated ability to successfully laterally manage and coach others

• Strong project management skills and ability to independently lead projects toward strong outcomes and balance multiple high stakes projects

• Interest and skill in taking on a diverse set of projects that change and adapt over time

• Flexible and optimistic approach and commitment to overcoming obstacles

• Proven cultural leader who embodies core values and demonstrates deep commitment to our racial equity principles

YOUR FUTURE TEAM

Teach For America’s Recruitment Team (RT) is charged to recruit a high-quality, diverse, and large corps that fuels the broader movement towards educational equity across our 53 placement regions. In this pursuit, the Recruitment Team engages with leaders across college campuses and professional career sectors to discuss the challenges of educational inequity in the nation and inspire great people to choose the corps as a means of expanding opportunities for kids and building a long-term commitment to social equity.

The RT’s Strategy People and Operations team (SPO) serves as the central enabling team seeking to create the conditions for our team to thrive and achieve its goals. We are an experienced group of professionals who operate with great agility to manage a broad portfolio of projects and work streams from talent and L&D to communications to financial planning and compliance. While members of our team specialize in different areas of our work, we all are expected to flex and step in to support our broad body of work. We collectively define systems for working and collaboration that allow us to fulfill our charge and set the Recruitment Team up for success.

We are deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

In all we do, we act on the following beliefs:

• Diversity is crucial for successful change efforts and is one of Teach For America’s greatest strengths.

• The full potential of our diverse network will be reached only when we are an inclusive community.

• The predictability of success or failure for our students or individuals in our organization should not correlate with any social, cultural or other identity-based factors.

Teach For America encourages individuals of all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort.

Teach For America is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

*This job description reflects Teach For America's assignment of essential functions and qualifications of the role. Nothing in this herein restricts management's right to assign, reassign or eliminate duties and responsibilities to this role at any time.

THE PERKS

By joining staff, you join a network of individuals committed to pursuing equity for all students and developing themselves as professionals in the process. We as an organization value the longevity of our employees and offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits plan. The salary for this position is also competitive and depends on your prior work experience. Please be advised you will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the application process.

YOUR COMPENSATION

The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. New hires are typically brought into the organization between the minimum and midpoint salary range depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. The expected salary ranges for this role are set forth below. These ranges may be modified in the future.

• Tier A: $67,500 to $90,200

• Tier B: $73,600 to $98,300

• Tier C: $79,700 to $106,500

You can see which Tier you belong to here. If you do not see your location listed in the previous resource, you can request additional total rewards information here.

NEXT STEPS TO APPLY

In lieu of a cover letter, please upload your response to the following prompts and include it with your application. You may also send the additional document(s) to the RT Talent team at rtstaffing@teachforamerica.org if you experience technical difficulties. We can also answer any questions that you might have.

Question 1: Interest in the Director SPO Role

Tell us about your interest in the Director SPO role. Why are you interested in joining the SPO team? What about the responsibilities and work streams in the job description is exciting to you? And what experiences and skillsets do you believe will make you a strong candidate

Format: Please choose the format that works best for you. Video/audio (5min max) or written (500-word max) responses will all be accepted.

Question 2: L&D Artifact

Among other responsibilities, the Director SPO will play a major role in designing and facilitating strong learning experiences on the Recruitment Team. Please share an artifact that showcases your skill in designing and facilitating learning experiences and upload it along with an explanation of why you made specific choices and the outcome that resulted.

Questions to consider:

• What was your goal in designing and leading this experience?

• Who was your audience and how did you consider them in your approach?

• What design choices did you make to strategically reach your goal?

• How did you prepare and facilitate the learning to strategically steer toward your objectives?

• What was the ultimate result of the experience and how do you know if it was successful?

• We will be looking for your ability to understand others’ needs, use that information to set vision and clear objectives for a learning experience, and then plan/execute to bring that vision to life alongside others.

Format: Please share the artifact itself along with a video or audio walkthrough of your artifact <required>. Feel free to supplement with your own written notes or comments in the artifact <not required>.