Assistant Director, Gear Up Achievers

Job Description

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, GEAR UP ACHIEVERS

Req #: 201915 Department: MINORITY AFFAIRS Job Location: Seattle Campus Posting Date: 04/05/2022 Closing Info: Open Until Filled Salary: Salary is commensurate with education and experience Limited Recruitment: Other
Shift: First Shift Notes: As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here. As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills, and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.
For over 50 years, the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) has advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Washington, a campus that sits on tribal land. Through our programs and partnerships, we create pathways for diverse populations to access postsecondary opportunities, nurture and support their academic success, and cultivate a campus climate that enriches the educational experience for all. This legacy of work continues to drive excellence at the UW and together, we help the university work toward its vision for becoming a more just and equitable campus community. More information about the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity is available at uw.edu/OMAD.
Within OMA&D is the College Access unit that implements programs focused on expanding access for underserved communities by partnering with K-12 school districts, two-year colleges, and community coalitions.
The University of Washington’s GEAR UP Achievers Program was launched in 2018 and designed to dramatically increase the number of first-generation, low-income, and students of color who graduate from high school and enter and succeed in higher education. GEAR UP Achievers serves nearly 5,000 students in Kent, Renton, Tukwila, and Auburn. The program supports students and their families starting in 6th and 7th grade through high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment.
GEAR UP Achievers has a focus on STEM and provides programming for students, families, and schools including academic supports, college advising, financial aid workshops, summer programs, afterschool programs, new and expanded partnerships, college visits, worksite visits, internships, affinity-based programs, and more! To find out more you can visit the GEAR UP Achievers website at: click here.
GEAR UP has an outstanding opportunity for a GEAR UP Assistant Director.
Reporting to the Director of GEAR UP, the Assistant Director (AD) will oversee day-to-day administrative and program activity at the four partner school districts. The A.D. will assist the Director in the development of policy and procedure, the facilitation of strategic planning, and the implementation of contract deliverables while ensuring continued adherence to applicable federal, state, and local laws/regulations. Ensures the observance of University policies and procedures as well as U.S. Department of Education (USDE) contract requirements.
The Assistant Director will help administer a GEAR UP program with four South King County school districts, community-based partners, independent consultants, and other stakeholders contributing to the continual improvement of outcomes for first-generation student services. This includes managing the complexities of four unique large urban school districts with different leadership structures, staffing models, and implementation strategies.
The Assistant Director will manage all aspects of a large multi-year USDE grant in compliance with University policies and procedures while simultaneously addressing the restrictions and requirements of our partnering school districts. For a STEM grant, we constantly develop, implement, and evaluate new approaches, methodologies, and techniques to increase student understanding of technology and science. The Assistant Director will support school-based coordinators and lead monthly meetings, ongoing professional development, and management of program services delivered to students and families by coordinators.
This position is located at the GEAR UP Achievers office in Kent, WA, and requires frequent travel in South King County as well as occasional statewide and national travel. In addition, this program offers residential programming in the summer and overnight college visits throughout the year. The Assistant Director is a leadership position that supports the GEAR UP Achievers grant implementation.
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Oversee and implement partnerships with four South King County GEAR UP school districts: Auburn, Renton, Kent, and Tukwila including the development of scope of work, budgets, and workplans for sub-contracted services and approving requests, handling paperwork, and performing day-to-day administrative tasks
• Oversee the evaluation of program activities in partnership with grant evaluators and local intermediaries to determine effectiveness, efficiency, and meeting of grant deliverables including compliance with federal, state, local, and University policy and regulations. Plan, direct and monitor the development, maintenance, and modification of policies, procedures, and services with all applicable GEAR UP stakeholders including student and family surveys.
• Support recruitment, hiring, training, and evaluation of primary and supplemental staff including school-based coordinators, district-level GEAR UP staff, tutors, summer staff, and more. Lead Monthly Site Coordinator meetings and support district-level meetings.
• Support management of projects led by Program Managers related to family engagement, college and career programming, college knowledge workshops, summer programming, affinity-based programming, financial aid, and more. Coordinate program activities between and among businesses, community-based agencies, and other educational institutions
LEAD RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Combining, evaluating, and reasoning with information and data to make decisions and solve problems. These processes involve making decisions about the relative importance of information and choosing the best solution. Estimating and allocating program funding based on the financial success of work-plan activities and other pertinent factors
• Providing consultation and expert advice to management and other groups on technical, University, or GEAR-UP-related problems such as policies, program administration, and financial and personnel matters including recommends solutions.
• Carrying out work procedures and activities in accord with their own ideas or information provided through directions/instructions of management to implement, modify, integrate or complete the GEAR UP program.
• Managing the day-to-day work of program managers including support with programmatic design, project management, reporting, evaluation, and recommending next steps.
• Communicating with persons outside the organization, representing the organization to schools, the public, government, and other external sources. Translating or explaining what program information means and how it can be understood or used.
• Thinking Creatively
• Originating, inventing, designing, or creating new applications, information pathways, systems, or services, including curricula and technology
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
• Bachelor's Degree in Education or related field or 4-5 years experience
• Experience working in a K-12 setting managing the implementation of college access services for students and parents or experience working with large federal or state grants involving multiple school districts and/or community-based organizations including GEAR UP, TRIO, Upward Bound, or TALENT SEARCH
• 4 -5 years experience working in education, college access, K-12 education, youth development, STEM-related field, STEM education, community development, or family engagement.
• Effective program management skills include setting goals and communicating them to stakeholders, ongoing communication with stakeholders, relationship management, meeting reporting requirements, managing time effectively, prioritizing tasks, and meeting tight program deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including public speaking and articulating ideas clearly in person and in writing required.
• Experience working with middle and high school students from historically excluded minority, low income, or first-generation backgrounds and demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse populations required.
• Experience leading teams or professional learning communities.
• The ability to work independently and as part of a team
DESIRED EXPERIENCE
• Masters degree in Education, Social Work, Public Administration or STEM field
• Experience managing volunteers, tutors, or young professionals
• Experience working in Bilingual and/or bicultural environments and engaging students and families
• Knowledge of South King County partners, schools, regional initiatives, and communities
• Working knowledge of Microsoft SharePoint Information System and other cloud-based administration
• Proficient in excel and PowerPoint
• Bilingual in one of the top 10 languages spoken in South King County
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law .

Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.

The University of Washington is a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability , and committed to becoming climate neutral.

The University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or [email protected] .

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT

Governor Inslee's Proclamation 21-14.2 requires employees of higher education and healthcare institutions to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination. View the Final candidate guide to COVID-19 vaccination requirement webpage for information about the medical or religious exemption process for final candidates.

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