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Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 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.

Located within the Office of Teaching Learning (TL), the Department of Humanities works to ensure that every Chicago Public Schools student receives a high-quality education in language arts (including English language arts and Spanish language arts), social science and physical education.  This includes creating a vision and strategy for this work, partnering on curriculum development and professional learning, and providing coaching support for implementation.

Job Summary:

The Executive Director of Humanities, Health Physical Education (PE) will collaborate with multiple stakeholders and offices in executing the vision of the Department of Humanities. This position will report to the Deputy Chief of Teaching Learning, Curriculum, Instruction Assessment, and will lead a team of direct reporting leaders responsible for the Departments of Literacy, Social Science, and Health PE. 

The Executive Director of Humanities, Health PEwill be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Set the vision, strategic priorities, and objectives for the Department of Humanities, Health PE that drive coherence and convergence across content areas and align with the district’s vision
• Lead, develop, and oversee a centralized Humanities, Health PE vision for the district, including strategic planning, progress monitoring, budgeting, reporting, contract management, communications, and marketing
• Lead a high-functioning, collaborative team in meeting deadlines, individual and programmatic goals; provide leadership, professional development, and effective coaching, and evaluate staff performance
• Establish objectives and define results required for direct reports in support of the strategic goals and assist them in developing effective strategies for implementation
• Partner with various CPS offices and departments (i.e: Network offices, the Departments of Intergovernmental Affairs, Family and Community Engagement (FACE), and Communications) in addressing high-priority internal and external affairs (e.g., district policy recommendations and board actions related to the Department of Humanities, Health PE, engagement with city and state agencies, relationship management with foundations and community partners)
• Ensure alignment between the Department of Humanities, Health PE and District-wide initiatives by working collaboratively with Central Office departments, Networks and Schools to identify strategic academic and operational priorities and create/execute long and short-term project plans to meet related objectives.
• Participate in cross-departmental collaboration regarding the development and implementation of curriculum materials, professional learning, and instructional tools to strengthen a multi-tiered system of supports and improve grade-level instruction, effective interventions and supports to promote student success
• Analyze and report on departmental key performance indicators, practice data and student academic data; utilize this data to inform strategic decisions, driving improvement and student success
• Facilitate current external partnerships and establish new partnerships for collaboration on the development and implementation of standards-aligned Humanities, Health PE education and programming
• Develop and manage the Department of Humanities, Health PE’s budget for Central Office and school-based personnel; ensure that budgetary and resource considerations inherent in Department priorities are aligned, effective, efficient, and grounded in equity
• Oversee and direct the department’s procurement and payroll processes, as well as grant administration (ex: grant budgets, deliverables, data collection and reporting)
• Serve as an active member of the Teaching Learning leadership team, engaging in efforts such as strategy setting, performance management, and team building; support efforts to drive cross-office collaboration
• Act as the district’s representative and subject matter expert for Humanities, Health PE
• Coordinate media requests and information
• Perform other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Executive Director of Humanities, Health PE must possess the following qualifications: 

Education Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study from an accredited college or university, required
• Master’s or other advanced degree, preferred
• Valid teaching certificate issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with appropriate content and grade level endorsement(s), including principal/administrator endorsement, preferred

Experience Required: 

• Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional leadership experience in the education field, including the following, is required:
• • Minimum of five (5) years of experience in a supervisory role leading a team of direct reports.
  • Minimum of five (5) years working with adult learners, including creating, organizing, and facilitating professional learning experiences to meet the needs of participants
  • Minimum of three (3) years of classroom teaching experience
  • Experience as an instructional leader or equivalent educational leadership role involving the successful implementation of strategies to improve student outcomes
  • Experience with strategic planning and adult learning to shape cross-content, school-wide and/or district-wide professional learning strategies

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Expertise in planning, designing, facilitating, and evaluating professional learning
• Deep knowledge/understanding of the CPS Instructional Core Vision and commitment to ensuring that all students have access to grade-level, standards-aligned learning opportunities
• Strong leadership and team building skills, e.g. ability to develop high-performing teams united around a clear vision for serving schools and achieving student success
• Effective strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish and articulate a vision and goals, set high standards, and effectively guide individuals and teams in the realization of expectations set
• Excellent leadership development and instructional leadership skills; capable of coaching directors and managers toward excellence, building the capacity of other teams and developing meaningful and high-impact professional communities for teachers and school leaders
• High levels of integrity, honesty, credibility, and the ability to make difficult yet necessary decisions
• Exceptional organizational skills; ability to effectively manage several work streams simultaneously
• Capable of building and sustaining positive, productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfortable collaborating and communicating across a diverse range of audiences, including network teams, principals, teachers, and support staff
• Ability to build consensus and leverage expertise with educators across the district
• Capable of building and maintaining expertise in current research, practices, and innovation in the field related to the departments in Humanities
• Strong knowledge of operations budget/finance, management and organizational development
• Excellent technology skills (Google Suite)

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency -Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 -Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.