Director, Professional Education Operations

Priority Application Deadline: 9/25/23

Summary:

Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay) is an accredited not-for-profit institution of higher education serving thousands of educators from across the country, from pre-service teachers to system-level leaders. Our mission is to ensure that all students are taught by excellent educators, in order to build a more just world where every student has a clear path to a fulfilling life.

The Professional Education (PE) team works with teachers and leaders to continuously improve their craft through virtual workshops, in-person workshops, and fellowship programs. To support that programming vision, the Events & Operations team provides the operational and events management needed to ensure exceptional customer service for all stakeholders. Reporting to the Vice President of Professional Education Operations, the director plays a pivotal role in providing strategic and administrative support by facilitating the development, implementation, and maintenance of robust systems and processes for the PE Events team.  

Role’s Contributions (Duties and Responsibilities): 

Systems Building and Management (50%)

• Develop, improve, and maintain the execution of standardized operational systems to create efficiencies that allow the PE team to better track and manage information and communications including, but not limited to, consultant contract management and alumni documentation request 
• Oversee cross-functional project management by developing scalable project plans, ensuring timelines are met, and building systems for continual improvement including data monitoring
• Conduct market research as needed and prepare written reports, presentations, or recommendations to support the VP’s decision-making
• Create detailed process documentation and standard operating procedure guides to improve knowledge-sharing across the PE team and cross-functional partners

Cross-team Communication and Collaboration (25%)

• Serve as the PE stakeholder in planning meetings with the Partnerships and Marketing teams to ensure successful and aligned program launches
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Relay teams (e.g., finance, HR, Procurement) to represent PE team’s interests and to ensure efficient and timely cross-team communication
• Serve as the first touchpoint on the Professional Education team for process-related issues that need to be resolved or escalated for resolution

Budget Management (15%)

• Review and process assigned reimbursements, invoices, and service requests for the PE team in a timely manner & within the yearly budget designated by leadership
• Track and monitor operational expenses for the PE team 

Provide Regional and National Event Support (10%)

• Support the PE team when additional on-the-ground or virtual support is needed during select events. This support may require up to 20% travel and the ability to work non-traditional hours and weekends. Support includes, but is not limited to:
• Working registration 
• Setting up materials and training space
• Troubleshooting logistical needs during 
• Providing constituent support, as needed throughout programming 

• Other duties, projects, and tasks as assigned in service of successful events and operations 

QUALIFICATIONS

First and foremost, the Director of Operations must share the Relay community’s commitment to working together to improve student growth and achievement through phenomenal teacher preparation grounded in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. This includes providing teacher preparation programs that set novice teachers up to succeed in the classroom from day one; leadership programs that train new and veteran school and district leaders to best serve their school communities; and teacher-facing professional education that provides ongoing learning to educators. Additionally, for this position we are looking for candidates that possess a combination of the following skills:

• At least 5 years of work experience with demonstrated success in systems building and experience in project management, from conception to delivery
• Bachelor's degree required
• Strong organizational skills, including multitasking and time management
• Acute attention to detail with a focus on thoroughness and accuracy
• Ability to synthesize information from a variety of sources and solve complex problems involving multiple stakeholders
• Strong collaboration, interpersonal skills, and ability to communicate orally and in writing
• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time