Manager, Student Voice & Leadership

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.

The Chicago Public School’s Instructional Core Vision centers identity, community, and relationships, which is called the “Inner Core.” Located within the Office of Teaching and Learning (T&L), the Department of Student Voice and Engagement leads the district's “Inner Core” strategy to ensure all aspects of schooling in CPS are inclusive of and responsive to the lived experiences of our students and families.

Job Summary:

The Manager of Student Voice and Leadership will advance the district’s strategy to develop stronger youth-adult partnerships within all decision-making structures of our education system. This position will expand practices, programming, guidance and policies across decision-making systems and structures in schools, communities, and the district, as articulated through the Instructional Core Vision. This includes learning opportunities, curriculum, and programs for students, teachers, teacher leaders, school administrators, network instructional support leaders, network chiefs and deputies, and central office team members. The Manager of Student Voice and Leadership will also work collaboratively across central offices to build structures within scaled accountability systems, such as Continuous Improvement Work Plans (CIWPs) and Local School Councils (LSCs), to ensure they are inclusive of students. This position will report to the Director of Student Voice & Engagement, will lead a team of direct reports, and will collaborate closely with offices and departments within the Chief Education Office (CEdO) and the Chief Executive Office (CEO) to ensure the CPS student experience consistently reflects the CPS Instructional Core Vision.

The Manager, Student Voice & Leadership will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• In collaboration with the Director, support the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the district’s Student Voice infrastructure strategy which includes quality criteria, evaluation, and communication; collaborate with offices and departments to develop and refine the district’s Instructional Core strategy centered on identity, community, and relationships
• Serve as a strategic thought leader, project manager and liaison for Student Voice and leadership engagement with the Offices of the CEO and CEdO
• Oversee student-leadership groups and programs that work collaboratively with central office leadership to inform and shape district-level decisions and policy
• Manage school-level student leadership programming and staff that helps schools build inclusive partnerships with youth in school-wide continuous improvement
• Collaborate internally with SVE colleagues, and in consultation with stakeholders across CPS offices and departments, to develop guidance and supports for schools to engage students in critical reflection and productive dialogue surrounding difficult and/or controversial topics and events
• Lead the development of the district’s student leadership strategy (e.g. guidance, policy, instructional materials, support, and training), including but not limited to electoral engagement, civic action projects, participatory budgeting, and deliberation of controversial topics.
• Manage district-level continuous improvement, guidance, and measurement in localized civic engagement programming that helps administration, teachers and students engage in civic action projects on issues that impact their schools and communities
• Provide consistent reporting on strategic student engagement and leadership goals and impact to the Director of Student Voice and Engagement, Chief of Teaching and Learning, CEdO and CEO
• Recruit, hire, and train high-functioning leaders and innovators in student leadership, civic participation, and building effective youth-adult partnerships in school and community settings.
• Work across CPS academic departments and with external partners to build shared understanding and implementation of the Student Voice strategy centered in identity, community, and relationships
• Lead and participate in regular cross-functional leadership and working group meetings to support Student Voice and leadership as foundational to the Instructional Core strategy
• Build a repository of curriculum, resources, guidance, and rubrics that advance youth-adult partnerships across all teachers, principals, and central office team members
• Maintain expertise in the fields of culturally responsive pedagogy, equity and inclusion, democratic education, and Student Voice and leadership by staying abreast of current research, practices, and innovation in the field
• Perform other related duties and support additional workstreams as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Manager, Student Voice & Leadership must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

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

Experience Required:

• Minimum of six (6) years of relevant professional experience in education, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience working in a school setting a position responsible for creating, implementing and continuously improving school programs, policies and decision-making structures to foster inclusive, responsive education and incorporate Student Voice
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience working with young people in student leadership, civic engagement, and/or community or school improvement
• Minimum of three (3) years working with adult learners, including creating, organizing, and facilitating professional learning experiences to meet the needs of participants
• Experience in a manager/supervisory position leading a team of direct reports
• Experience working with a team on strategic planning and adult learning to shape an educational impact strategy
• Experience leading others in culturally responsive pedagogy, equity and inclusion, democratic education, and/or Student Voice and leadership
• Three (3) years of classroom teaching, and/or school administrator experience (ex: principal or assistant principal) with responsibility for establishing or leading school culture is preferred
• Experience designing and/or delivering human-centered professional learning and/or experience with human-centered design is preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Deep commitment to equity, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, and transformative learning experiences for all students and adults in CPS
• Commitment to CPS Instructional Core vision and knowledge of anti-racist, anti-bias, and anti-adultist pedagogy
• Expertise in planning, designing, facilitating, and evaluating professional learning
• 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 leader capable of articulating goals, setting high standards, and effectively guiding individuals and teams in the realization of expectations set
• Capable of building and sustaining positive, productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, building consensus, and leveraging expertise with educators across the district
• Excellent leadership development and instructional leadership skills; capable of coaching specialists toward excellence, building capacity, and developing meaningful and high-impact professional communities for teachers and school leaders
• Expertise in reimagining adult and youth learning experiences through planning, designing, facilitating, and evaluating transformative professional learning
• Deep knowledge of youth voice and engagement, democratic education, and youth civic engagement best practices, with emphasis on change management principles
• Exceptional time management and organizational skills; ability to effectively manage several work streams simultaneously
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfortable collaborating and communicating across a diverse range of audiences, including network teams, principals, teachers, and support staff
• Exceptional project management and strategic planning capabilities, including the ability to establish long-term vision and goals, and align/manage activities toward goal fulfillment
• Excellent analytic and critical thinking skills, including the ability to analyze data, define problems, and outline valid conclusions and action steps.
• Capable of using data to identify professional development needs at scale, and to evaluate, improve, and report on program effectiveness
• 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.