Director of District Strategy

The Opportunity

In the United States, only 25% of high-achieving students from low-income communities apply to the nation's most selective colleges and universities. At EMERGE, we believe that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Grounded in this belief, EMERGE empowers and prepares high-performing students from underserved communities to attend and graduate from selective colleges & universities across the nation.

The Director of Districts will oversee the implementation of the EMERGE high school program to ensure the student experience and outcomes are aligned to EMERGE’s vision and goals. The Director of Districts’ primary responsibilities will be to achieve strong and consistent student outcomes by creating strategic plans for the high school program from recruitment through application strategy, managing and coaching a high-performing team, and cultivating relationships with district staff.

The ideal candidate for this role is an experienced mid-level professional who has a passion for college access work, is an excellent relationship cultivator, a strategic thinker, has a deep understanding of selective college advising, and is motivated by developing and coaching others to achieve outcomes.

Salary Range: $78,000-$90,000

Reports to: Managing Director of College Access

Location: Houston, TX (Hybrid)

The Role

As the Director of District Strategy, you will spend your time in the following ways.

Strategic Planning and Data Analysis

• Determine key metrics and tracking progress towards goals.
• Create strategic plans that align with program goals.
• Consistently reflect on and utilize key metrics that drive toward increasing the number of students matriculating to a selective college.
  
  

Program Management and Implementation

• Create, organize, and monitor plans to ensure successful implementation of the EMERGE program.
• Manage and ensure consistency in all EMERGE high school program components:
• Senior application and financial aid strategy
• Junior preparation, summer learning, and standardized testing plan
• Sophomore recruitment and engagement
• Family engagement
• Curriculum delivery
• Attend Summer Trip Experience
  
  

Manage and Lead a High-Performing Team

• Manage, coach, and support a team of five to seven Program Managers to ensure program goals are met.
• Evaluate and monitor the progress of Program Managers using performance metrics.
• Regularly observe and check in with Program Managers to monitor individual progress.
• Create and deliver professional development and resources to Program Managers.
• Manage overall team dynamic and professional development opportunities to ensure effective team communication and culture.
  
  

Stakeholder Collaboration and Management

• Collaborate with Managing Director, district, and school leadership teams to ensure successful program implementation.
• Collaborate with campus and school leadership teams to support campus initiatives and address challenges.
• Work with district partners to support district-related events for college access and improve program partnership.
• Lead district and campus communication to elevate the EMERGE program.
  
  

The Person

Self-Directed

• Takes ownership of learning opportunities to consistently increase selective college access knowledge.
• Ability to identify gaps and opportunities, make a plan that is aligned with program initiatives and outcomes, set goals, and act towards achieving program outcomes and goals.
• Ability to maximize time and resources for self and team.
  
  

Strategic Thinker

• Ability to ask the right questions and create innovative solutions to drive change and increase results.
• Strong understanding of data and ability to analyze outcomes in order to create strategic plans.
  
  

People Oriented Leader

• Understands the power of building relationships and engages in relationship building with direct reports, other directors on the EMERGE team, district staff, and others to build credibility, improve collaboration, and drive program outcomes.
• Focuses on coaching to identify strengths and opportunities for growth of each team member and develop strategies to develop team members.
  
  

Time Maximizer

• Meets professional obligations through efficient work habits such as meeting deadlines, honoring schedules, coordinating resources and meetings in an effective and timely manner, and demonstrates respect for others.
• Decisions reflect strong judgment of how time is spent that is aligned with priorities and responsibilities.
• Has a strong sense of when to reallocate time and resources for self and team in order to address potential capacity challenges.
  
  

Strong Communicator

• Ability to communicate effectively with EMERGE district partners and high-level leadership, EMERGE community members, students, families, and a wide array of stakeholders.
• Listens attentively, works with others to resolve problems, clarify, or interpret complex information and to validate understanding.
• Possesses dynamic and effective coaching ability.
  
  

Ideal Candidate Will Have

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution is required.
• 5+ years of relevant professional experience (college access/advising)
• Experience in college admissions/advising is required.
• Experience with Microsoft Office (e.g., Excel, Word, Google Docs)
• Experience with Salesforce, Common App, & Naviance highly desired
• Bilingual highly desired (Spanish or Vietnamese)
• Ability to analyze and interpret data
• Exceptional interpersonal skills
  
  

Physical And Working Conditions

• Open-office environment
• Sitting at a computer workstation for extended periods of time.
• Role requires walking, standing, hearing, and talking.
• Ability to lift/carry and push/pull up to 50 pounds.
  
  

Who we are: 

At EMERGE, we live by our Core Values: 

• Equity grounds us 
• Diversity defines us 
• Talent mobilizes us 
• Meaningful relationships fuel us 
• Results distinguish us 
  
  

Founded in 2010, EMERGE is a developmental, college access organization changing the life trajectories of thousands of students across the Houston area. Since its inception, EMERGE has grown from serving 14 students across four high schools, to serving over 1,600 high school students across five school districts. We also serve over 1,400 college scholars at over 100 selective colleges and universities across the country.

The EMERGE nonprofit is a partner to EMERGE Houston ISD, EMERGE Spring Branch ISD, EMERGE Spring ISD, EMERGE Aldine ISD, and EMERGE Klein ISD. 

As EMERGE’s impact has grown, our nonprofit team has grown to over 30 staff members. The staff includes our College Access Team, College Success Team, Strategy & Innovation Team, Finance, Operations & HR team, and Development Team. You will be joining an energetic, passionate team of individuals working to propel Houston’s top talent upwards and onwards.

What we offer: 

At EMERGE, we aim to enact our core value of “equity grounds us” within our compensation practices to ensure a competitive and equitable salary & benefits package for all employees.

To determine salary; we consider each candidate’s relevant experience, growth potential, and responsibilities within the role, as well equity across similar roles within the organization. The starting salary for this role is $80,000.

Benefits

• We offer Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance.
• We provide Short-term and Long-Term Disability insurance, along with Life Insurance.
• We offer Parental Leave
• We have a 403b plan that employees can opt into.
• Each employee has 28 Paid Time Off days for the year. EMERGE is closed for 18 holidays and 12 Wellness Fridays.
• Eligible employees are awarded $500/year stipend for role relevant professional development opportunities.
  
  

Priority Application Deadline: July 9, 2024

The review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled, although submission before the priority deadline is highly encouraged.