Job Description

Exciting Opportunity: Join School Around Us as the Head of Community!!We areA multi-age co-learning community and a micro-school for full and part time learners ages 4 - 13A community that values connection and healthy relationships, prioritizing shared decision making and participation at all levelsInnovators in holistic education who are passionate about what we doWe are seeking a creative, loving, and unconventional leader to join our well-established team of experienced educators in the role of Head of Community. School Around Us (SAU) is an educational community with a caring connection at our center. Over decades of collaboration, educators have learned how to co-create a highly attuned environment for childrenand for each other. We value being collaborative and participatory, and we are always practicing what it means to live these values in a way that enables everyone to thrivewe have learned a lot over 53 yearsand we are still learning!The Head of Community is a very special leadership role with the need to be flexible and wear many hats in our small and dynamic organization.

Sometimes this role serves by being a facilitator, a coach, and a deep listener; at other times this role is a representative and spokesperson, an advocate, a strategist, a visionary, and a project manager. The uncommon leader who will fill this role must bring interpersonal maturity, self-awareness, and the ability to be self-directing and collaborative. A can do and roll up my sleeves mindset and attitude will be invaluable. We seek a seasoned leader, yet the right candidate will shine not only because of their interesting and aligned experience, but because of the quality of their character and care.

Responsibilities: This role is responsible for ensuring that key functions in our organization are healthy. In some areas they will be facilitating and collaborating, while in other areas they may be taking action and serving as a decision maker. Their goal is to continuously identify and remove obstacles to enable all parts of the SAU community and organization to thrive. These key functional areas include: Community & Organizational Leadership: This role is a representative of the vision and values of SAU.

Often they will be the face and voice of SAU reaching out to build connections in our community, to seek funding, and to build partnerships. Financial Health: This role will steward the financial health of the organization, in cooperation with the guidance of our Board of Directors and the collaborative input of our seasoned staff. Documentation and Policy Stewarding: SAU has articulated its values in a variety of guiding documents, some of which are situation-specific policies (such as COVID school closures), whereas others are values-driven approaches that we hold (Restorative circles are our approach to conflict resolution). This role is expected to learn, adopt, and participate with these guiding documents, and facilitate revision and improvement together with our educator team as needed.Team Support: This role can best support the excellence with which we fulfill our mission by partnering and co-creating with our experienced educator team.

First by understanding the way holistic education is done at SAU, and secondly by supporting our team to continue growing and learning.Enrollment Process & Strategy: This role is often the face and voice representing SAU, and this function is especially important when building relationships with prospective families. This role is the point of contact for helping prospective families to understand the spirit, values, and approach of SAU, and stewarding their journey through our application process. Development process & Strategy: This role is expected to facilitate and energize the shared vision for how SAU will evolve and grow together with key stakeholders of our staff and BOD. A critical piece of this is our annual fundraising goals and how those relate to the continued success or desired growth of our programs.

This role will be expected to write grants in support of organizational goals/needs.Family & Learner Support: Our community is driven by our people, and this role must have a visible and vital presence in our ongoing activities. In many ways this role is akin to the welcoming host at an event, whose presence helps to weave people together and facilitate engagement. How and when this role is engaged directly with learners will vary depending on the needs of the educator team and the other priorities of the role.Heres what were seeking: Your mindset is one of a developer-- and you cant wait to find an environment to use your energies to draw out the talents of a community in the pursuit of a unique kind of learning.You are passionate about education, especially alternative and progressive approaches.You are an effective writer and storyteller willing to advocate for School Around Us values.You have a commitment to collaboration & teamwork.You demonstrate interpersonal maturity and are experienced/skilled in conflict resolution.You enjoy discovering the culture of a place, then facilitating the process to help that place live up to its ideals.You have experience and a knack for asking people for money, grant writing and/or holding fundraising events.You value and practice direct communication.You are a walk the walk kind of person who others can count on and look to for guidance.While your impulse is to co-create, you are able to weigh various factors and come to decisions or be the buck stops here person.You like a well-made spreadsheet and can track finances in Quickbooks. You have a track record of taking projects from start to finish, and you know how to make them sustainable after youre not involved anymore.

You fundamentally like young people, and enjoy being around them. Youve had experience setting boundaries and dont need to be all things to all people.Work ScheduleYoull be a full-time exempt professional, working variable hours to get the job done (40 hrs/week expected). Many of your days/hours will be at SAU during school hours.Performance EvaluationThe SAU Head of Community will report to the Board of Directors as well as participating in annual professional goal setting and quarterly check-ins with a support team.Education and ExperienceMinimum Bachelor degree2-5 years of related experience requiredBackground check, as required for all in-school positionsPay and BenefitsSalary - $47,900Tuition remission (50% reduction)10 days Paid Time Off (includes sick and personal days).4 Weeks of VacationApplications will be accepted through June 2, 2023 and will be considered on a rolling basis. Please send a cover letter, resume, and 3 letters of recommendation to hiring@schoolaroundus.org.

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