Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff
Summary
BPS seeks a detail oriented professional to contribute to advancing the district’s priorities by directly supporting the Chief of Staff and Superintendent’s Office to increase operational effectiveness and efficiency. This individual should be a self-starter with the ability to prioritize and execute multiple tasks, projects, and deadlines. The Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff delivers on project management, provides direct administrative support to the Chief of Staff, and serves as a liaison to families, schools, and central office staff.
The ideal candidate for this position will demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written; bring knowledge of the public education systems; and have the ability to manage a fast-paced and multi-faceted workload with keen attention to detail. The individual will be expected to maintain confidentiality and exhibit discretion and professionalism in all activities. Demonstrate self-direction and initiative to proactively identify matters that need attention and resolution. The role will evolve over time, and we are expecting the Special Assistant to be willing to grow in a number of areas while gaining responsibility quickly.
Responsibilities
50% - Project Work
- Manage projects: Manage and support ongoing District-wide initiatives using project management practices. Create and manage tools to help with districtwide projects and initiatives. Work with project leads to ensure the resources of the department are appropriately distributed. Serve as a resource and central coordinator on projects where the team overseeing the problem wants to make a change, but does not have the capacity to undertake the initiative in the near term.
- Convene project stakeholders: Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration by convening stakeholder groups to reach objectives and drive decisions. Convene and facilitate teams to reach objectives and drive decisions, including but not limited to senior leadership team, central office staff, school-based staff, and community members.
- Document and improve processes: Implement and identify opportunities for process improvement. Identify and implement follow up activities and actions including the development of materials for day-to-day work on projects.
- Support and conduct analyses: Use internal data or external data to derive insights on BPS. For example, this could be looking at student achievement data trends for any gaps or inequitable outcomes, developing a process map for district strategy implementation, synthesizing findings from racial equity analyses, etc.
- Bolster strong communication: Present to various internal and external partners and stakeholders. Create detailed communications materials and briefs to communicate internally and externally about the work of the plan.
30% - Team Support
- Scheduling and administrative support: Provide administrative support to the Chief of Staff, including calendar management, Chief of Staff team payroll management, and in-meeting logistical support.
- Develop effective presentations: Collaborate with the Chief of Staff on creating effective and error-free presentations (slide decks, memos, and agendas, etc.) for senior leadership, school committee, elected officials, and other stakeholders.Support with the creation of essential documents on behalf of the Chief and Staff and/or Superintendent including meeting agendas, reports, presentations and emails.
- Serve as a liaison: Serve as a liaison between all Boston Public Schools constituents – central office administrators, school leaders and school-based staff, families, and students – and the Superintendent's office to ensure necessary follow-up. Advocate for and build relationships with BPS families to help resolve issues. Listen and respond to concerns and requests, sharing relevant information and referring families to appropriate departments.
20% - Other Projects as Needed
- The Superintendent’s Office is fast moving and the type of support needed may change over time.
- Perform any other duties as necessitated to ensure smooth functioning of the office, based on self-assessment of district needs, and as assigned by the Chief of Staff and Superintendent.
We are looking for candidates who are willing to work hard and actively learn. We do not expect the candidate to join BPS knowing how to expertly do all of the above, but we do expect them to quickly learn the entire toolkit and accompanying content expertise.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree
- Willingness to learn, work hard, and support in many different areas and roles.
- Aptitude and interest in quantitative and qualitative analytical thinking.
- Strong project management and organizational skills and experience producing successful outcomes
- Strong ability to exercise judgement and manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively under pressure and competing deadlines
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Track record of taking initiative and working independently
- Collaborative team player
- Ability to cultivate and sustain positive relationships with key stakeholders
- Excellent customer service skills with a strong ability to resolve
- Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills with extreme attention to detail
- Capable of maintaining strict confidentiality
- Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite, Google Docs, Google Sheets, project management software
- Current authorization to work in the United States - Candidates must have such authorization by their first day of employment.
Terms: Managerial, C41. City of Boston Residency is Required.
The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, or employment or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status, and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.