Job Description

Senior Director of Curriculum and Instruction 

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW 

About Us and Our Philosophy  

Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB) is a transformative college access and teacher training program. BTGB offers six years of academic enrichment and college preparation to middle school and high school students with high potential but limited opportunities. Simultaneously, BTGB recruits, trains and inspires a diverse cohort of high achieving college students to become the next generation of urban teachers. Leveraging a Students Teaching Students model, BTGB provides engaging, tuition-free academic programming during the summer and after school. Our students gain the skills and motivation to succeed in rigorous high school courses and, ultimately, in college. Meanwhile, our teachers gain hands-on experience, research-based training and coaching from professional educators.  

Over the past eight years, 97% of our graduating students have matriculated to college, and 82% of them have persisted through their undergraduate years. On average, more than 70% of our graduating teachers have gone on to pursue careers in education. After two decades of success at our original Cambridge site, BTGB embarked upon a significant program expansion and opened a second site in Boston in the summer of 2013 and a third site in Somerville in 2018. As an independent 501c3 nonprofit, Breakthrough Greater Boston is part of The Breakthrough Collaborative, a national educational movement working to improve educational outcomes for youth across 25 U.S. cities.    

With a deep commitment to our mission, BTGB operates with the highest standards of integrity and best practices, while also enjoying the ability to be innovative and flexible to meet the evolving needs of our students, families and teachers.  Our team is diverse, high-performing and dedicated.  We continue to build an organizational culture that emphasizes our core values for every member of our community:  

• Spirit: We cherish and embody the youthful energy and spirit of our students and teachers  
• Continual Learning: Everyone in our community has something to learn and something to teach  
• Team Together: We all chip in to accomplish whatever is needed for our teammates and the broader organization  
• Student Centered: Our students are our first priority and our decisions center around what benefits our students  
• Equity and Opportunity: We value diversity of identity, background and thought. We treat everyone with dignity and respect  
• Excellence in Everything: We maintain high expectations for ourselves  

Breakthrough Greater Boston encourages individuals of all backgrounds to apply for this position, and we do not discriminate on any basis prohibited by applicable law. We celebrate the diversity of our world and our community, and we seek to build a team that reflects that diversity in every way. We welcome and encourage all qualified applicants who share that same vision, as we wish to engage all those who can contribute to our work and this mission. 

THE OPPORTUNITY 

Breakthrough Greater Boston is currently seeking a highly motivated and talented Senior Director of Curriculum & Instruction (SDCI) to oversee Curriculum & Instruction for middle school programming across its three campuses in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.  The Senior Director role is responsible for managing a function and team. The four Senior Directors oversee each of the programmatic departments and work together on a close-knit leadership team.  

The SDCI will be responsible for programmatic planning, management and evaluation and will foster a culture of programmatic excellence. Leadership of this function includes oversight of curriculum and assessment for 7th – 9th grades as well as teaching fellow and instructional coach recruitment, hiring, training and support. The SDCI hires, trains, and supervises a full-time team as well as oversees seasonal hiring and volunteers for the department. The SDCI will nurture strong relationships with school partners as well as other partners that advance student services at BTGB. The Senior Director of Curriculum & Instruction reports directly to Breakthrough Greater Boston’s Co-Executive Director.   

POSITION OUTCOMES 

A successful Senior Director of Curriculum and Instruction will: 

• Ensure students experience Breakthrough as a welcoming, inclusive, supportive community that works with them in partnership to pursue their long-term educational and life goals   
• Ensure teachers experience Breakthrough as a welcoming, inclusive, supportive community that works with them in partnership to gain teaching experience and pursue their long-term career goals 
• Thoughtfully develop a closely aligned, highly motivated, and outcomes-driven team that delivers on BTGB’s mission and promise to students and families 
• Oversee the execution of safe, engaging, high-impact year-round teacher training program focused on instruction for 7th – 9th grade students 
• Guarantee that BTGB’s teacher training and student program efforts are informed by the latest research, reflective of cultural humility and a commitment to equity 
• Nurture robust and mutually beneficial relationships with school and district partners across our three campuses 

YOUR CONTRIBUTION 

In this exciting role you will be responsible for a variety of critical leadership responsibilities including: 

Departmental Leadership 

• Maintain up-to-date field knowledge within Curriculum and Instruction area, specifically for the middle school grade levels  

• Build vision and collaboration among department team members across campuses 
• Plan and lead regular department meetings 
• Create and share regular program reports, highlights and updates; collaborate with the Development team to support in data and story-telling for your department 
• Oversee departmental expenditures against budget on a monthly basis 

Curriculum Instruction Team Supervision  

• Hire program staff on the Curriculum and Instruction team, including permanent full-time employees, as well as oversee the hiring of part-time and seasonal staff and regular programmatic volunteers 
• Ensure Curriculum and Instruction team members receive high quality onboarding and training to set them up for long term success in their roles, as well as oversee onboarding and training of part-time and seasonal staff and regular programmatic volunteers 
• Conduct weekly supervision, professional development planning, and regular performance evaluations for your team, providing them with consistent support and opportunities for professional growth  
• Observe your team and Curriculum and Instruction related middle school programming across sites on a consistent basis 
• Create coverage plans and cover open areas of work during staff transitions within department 

Program Leadership  

• Collaborate with other Senior Directors to ensure aligned and high-quality programming across sites including regular observation; specifically lead closely with the Senior Director of Student Servies to provide high quality school and summer middle school programming 
• Ensure BTGB’s positive relationships with its students, families, teaching fellows and instructional coaches through direct relationship building and advisement to your team 
• Oversee the development and tracking of goals to measure and advance Curriculum and Instruction work 
• Support in the development and execution of strong programmatic policies, systems, and infrastructure for effective program delivery 
• Collaborate with other Senior Directors to lead, support and grow the broader program team 
• Plan and lead regular program team meetings and retreats 

Partnership Management  

• Build awareness of BTGB’s mission and clearly articulate program impact to stakeholders  
• Establish and maintain meaningful contact with school and district leaders through regular meetings and program reports as well as informal touchpoints 
• Ensure school and district communications are tracked in Salesforce 
• Manage partnerships with external organizations for the Curriculum and Instruction department including community-based organizations, universities and more 
• Represent BTGB at key events for your department 

YOUR BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS 

As the incoming Senior Director, you will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following characteristics and qualifications: 

• Five to seven years of experience within the curriculum and instruction area and leading educational programs with experience in supervising staff and working directly with students, ideally students who will be first generation to college 
• Experience with curriculum development work 
• Experience using data to drive curriculum and instruction decisions 
• Experience teaching in a classroom setting (3+ years preferred) 
• Experience developing and leading professional development for teachers and instructional coaches  
• Experience managing and fostering positive relationships with schools and school districts 
• Ability to hold others to high standards while also offering support and maintaining positive relationships  
• An unwavering commitment to equity, in deepening your personal understanding and in advancing our collective work 
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with students, families and educators 
• Superior organization and project management skills 
• Ability to work on multiple projects, adjust quickly to shifting priorities, meet deadlines, exercise good judgment and handle high-pressure situations 

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with a variety of audiences 
• Team player who demonstrates a positive attitude, sense of humor, energy, entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to collaboration 
• Prior experience with Breakthrough model highly desirable; familiarity with partner schools or districts a plus 
• Flexibility that allows for periodic work on Saturdays and evenings 
• Candidates of color and those from low-income backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply as are those with fluency in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Amharic, Somali, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Tigrinya or Urdu 
• Bachelor’s degree 

COMPENSATION 

Breakthrough Greater Boston offers a competitive compensation package and is deeply committed to pay equity and transparency. The salary range for this position is $83,216-124,825; Breakthrough Greater Boston makes an offer based on relevant years of experience and does not negotiate salaries. 

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.

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