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Executive Director – Real World Initiatives (RWI)
Real World Initiatives (RWI) is a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation affiliate program that works to prepare students and employers in the Kansas City region for the future. Through immersive experiences like projects and internships with leading business partners in our region, students get a head start on achieving their career goals. RWI has a goal to ensure that by 2030 all students in the Kansas City region graduate with one or more Market Value Assets.
Reporting directly to the Chief of Staff, the Executive Director will serve as the chief administrator, providing leadership and implementing policies and programs to ensure the Real World Initiative (RWI) affiliate programs are creating learning opportunities for students through connections with local businesses, in alignment with the Foundation’s vision and strategic priorities.
Specific Responsibilities Include:
- Oversees strategic direction and staff for ProX and other RWI programs.
- Attracts, develops, coaches, and retains high-performance team members, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control, and performance.
- Develops, and oversees the execution of RWI programs’ strategic direction by equipping students with Market Value Assets (MVA) before high school graduation. MVA may include:
- Work experiences: internships and client-connected projects.
- Entrepreneurial experiences: starting a business or launching an initiative.
- College credit: at least nine credits.
- Industry-recognized credentials.
- Manages an annual program budget of $2M – $3M to ensure maximum effectiveness and outcomes are achieved, as aligned with program parameters.
- Maintains open communication and transparency, with manager, disclosing conditions, operations, and needs of the programs.
- Proactively assesses program effectiveness to determine future strategic direction and focus for the RWI program.
- Works with the Research, Learning, and Evaluation (RLE) team to develop, track and report metrics that identify program related progress and impact.
- Collaborates with the Program Strategy team, local business community, public sector and community leaders to ensure RWI has a strong foundation of supporters to provide learning opportunities for students.
- Works closely with school district leadership and staff to ensure effective student communication and awareness.
- Drafts, presents, and recommends organizational policies and plans for Foundation leadership’s review.
- Credibly and persuasively represents the RWI program by communicating externally and internally on program related topics, supporting public relations activities to build and maintain relationships with other organizations and the public.
- Engages program managers, volunteers, and community partners to gather feedback through convenings, quarterly outreach, and reports to inform and advocate for continuous improvement.
- Collaborates with the Technology team and other administrative support functions to ensure RWI has the appropriate level of support to effectively meet strategic objectives.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Education: Bachelor’s degree preferred but would consider an equivalent combination of education and/or experience that demonstrates possession of competencies in a related field, Master’s degree preferred.
Work Experience: At least five years of supervisory and program leadership preferred. At least seven years of professional or demonstrated experience in a public or private sector, working with students, volunteers, or contractors focusing on designing, developing, growing, and executing education based programmatic work. At least four years of progressive recent experience working in school administration, education, or workforce development.
Travel: This position requires occasional business travel.
QUALIFICATIONS: Qualified candidates for this position must be highly motivated, capable of self-direction and able to work collaboratively in a team. Candidates must exhibit a keen sense of responsibility and enjoy working with multiple demands, shifting priorities, and constant change.
- Has a proven ability to lead within an organization that prioritizes racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in culture and strategic or programmatic work.
- Possesses a network of experts and practitioners who could be tapped to advance the Foundation’s educational program related work.
- Has demonstrated skills at building relationships and leveraging existing relationships to improve outcomes.
- Has proven expertise leading successful educational programs for high school students.
- Has experience managing various programs simultaneously.
- Has strong supervisory and leadership skills with the ability to develop and communicate the organization’s mission and vision.
- Has excellent communication skills, including well-developed interpersonal, written, and listening skills.
- Can establish and maintain working relationships with government agencies, community leaders, and the public.
- Prioritizes and multi-tasks effectively using excellent organizational skills with keen attention to detail.
- Possesses strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Has the ability to function well in a high-paced and at times, stressful environment.
- Possesses a passion for “doing what is right,” with unquestioned integrity, positive ethics, and values reflective of the Kauffman Foundation.
- Is committed to the Foundation’s credo, standards, and values in alignment with our racial equity, diversity, and inclusion statement.
- Has strong computer literacy skills, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation applications.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to occasionally lift up to 15 pounds.
All of the statements in this position description are intended to describe the general nature of the work being performed and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. This document describes the position currently available. The organization reserves the right to modify job duties or job descriptions at any time.
NON-DISCRIMINATION: The Kauffman Foundation firmly supports the principle and philosophy of equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of age, race, gender, creed, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected category pursuant to applicable federal, state or local law.
TO APPLY: Interested applicants can apply for this position by submitting a cover letter and resume. This role will be taken down on May 15, 2024.
Job Type: Full Time
