Managing Director of DP Empowered and Guidance Programs

About Democracy Prep Public Schools

Democracy Prep Public Schools is a college prep institution and it is our mission to educate all scholars to be successful in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship. We also acknowledge and celebrate multiple post-secondary pathways. We prioritize civic engagement, global citizenship/student travel, arts, and athletics, in addition to excellent academics.

Positioned at the nexus of our priorities, the Managing Director of DP Empowered and Guidance Programs leads our comprehensive counseling programs across all high schools, overseeing both our emerging Guidance/Counselor teams and the DP Empowered Program. This strategic role ensures cohesive student support systems, drives college/career readiness initiatives, and maintains alignment with our educational mission.

Who You Are

• An educator with an unwavering commitment to the Democracy Prep mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for our scholars.
• An innovator who is comfortable with the iterative process of program design.
• A clear communicator and enthusiastic networker with the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders and families, and connect students to unique programs that support post-secondary readiness.
• A strong collaborator with experience developing and managing educational programs or projects.
• A relationship builder with demonstrated experience building partnerships with both internal and external stakeholders.
• A planner with exceptional organizational skills and a keen eye for detail.

What You Will Do

Program Leadership & Supervision

• Reports to the Chief Program Officer
• Manages three direct reports: two Assistant Directors of Guidance and the Assistant Director of DP Empowered
• Oversees all guidance counselor specialists across the district
• Develops and implements comprehensive counseling frameworks
• Oversees data collection and reporting, student transitions, graduation requirements, and college/career readiness

Strategy & Development

• Leads a cross-functional team and collaborates with network-level leaders including the Academics and Schools teams lead
• Lead the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of College Access & Success, Alumni Programs, Democracy Prep Empowered, ensuring effectiveness, and alignment with DPPS' mission
• Builds district-wide college/career readiness initiatives
• Analyzes data to improve program effectiveness and student outcomes
• Partners with school leadership on strategic counseling decisions

Program Evaluation

• Monitor and drive towards achieving ambitious key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess Guidance Programs effectiveness, regularly evaluating and adjusting programs to maximize impact
• Develop data analysis and program evaluation strategies for all Guidance Programs
• Cultivate partnerships with external evaluation partners
• Prepare reports and presentations to communicate findings to stakeholders
• Stay up-to-date on best practices in program evaluation and recommend new methods and tools as appropriate

Talent Management

• Cultivate and retain a high-performing and cohesive Guidance Programs team through recruitment, professional development, vision setting, coaching, and performance management
• Collaborate with other senior leaders to implement DPPS' strategic vision to inform short- and long-term Guidance Programs goals consistent with DPPS' strategic plan

College Access

• Develop and oversee the creation and implementation of Democracy Prep's College Access strategy
• Lead and oversee the refinement and implementation of DPPS' ACT/SAT test prep strategy
• Oversee the implementation of case management and data tools and software to meet the needs of all counselors, students and families

College Success

• Lead the development of DPPS' College Success strategy
• Collaborate with the Associate Director of Alumni Programs to support the Alumni Captain and Alumni Microgrant programs

Democracy Prep Empowered & Holistic Student Advising

• Lead and oversee the on-going development and refinement of DP Empowered curriculum
• Scale the DP Empowered program across all DP high schools
• Create and lead the implementation of DP Empowered program evaluation process
• Coordinate with the program directors of Civics, Global Citizens, College Counseling and Alumni Programs to integrate elements of those programs into the DP Empowered Curriculum

Qualifications

Required:

• Master's degree in social work, counseling, or related field
• Relevant licensure (LPC, LPC-S, LMSW, LCSW) preferred
• 5+ years of experience in school counseling or equivalent role
• Experience leading multi-site counseling or student services teams
• Proven leadership of educational counseling teams
• Strong understanding of college admissions processes
• Excellent organizational and people-management skills
• Exceptional strategic thinking and operational expertise
• Strong background in college/career readiness programming
• Deep understanding of K-12 counseling operations

Desired:

• Experience with restorative justice practices
• Familiarity with trauma-informed care approaches
• Background in academic advising models
• Understanding of district operations and policies

Compensation

Salary range is $170,000 - $185,000 commensurate with your experience. Democracy Prep employees are provided with a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, 403B matching, parental leave, a smartphone, and a laptop.


Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertises, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.