Associate Director of Recruitment chez DC Prep

Role Type: Full-Time

Location: Washington, DC

FLSA Status: Exempt

WHO WE ARE

DC Prep is a high performing network of public charter schools serving over 2,100 preschool through 8th-grade students across six campuses in Wards 5, 7, and 8. We’re proud of  the high bar we set for ourselves to achieve results–our students deserve our best! We recognize that how we support our students to be successful is just as important as the results we achieve, which pushes us to reflect on questions such as: 

• How can we facilitate our students’ academic, social, and emotional development?  
• How can we support our team members’ professional growth and personal ability to do this work long-term? 
• How can we engage our students’ families as our own? 

While this work is hard, it’s worth it – we believe in the transformative power of education, the can-do-itness of our students and staff, and the joy that comes from engaging in meaningful work with people we care about and trust!  

Here’s how we drive results: 

• Rigorous academic focus.  Our Preppies receive the highest level of academic preparation through standards-based instruction, daily targeted interventions, and meaningful assessments.

• Social-emotional learning. We have always had a dual mission of academic and social-emotional skill development.  Our research-based SEL curriculum is integrated into daily instruction, helping students leverage their personal values to strengthen their self-awareness, social awareness, and responsible decision-making skills and create a school-wide culture of empathy and reflection.

• Commitment to reflection and refinement.  Our results tell us that we are moving in the right direction, but there’s further to go to ensure that every student receives a transformative education. As a team, we regularly reflect on our programmatic model to see what’s working and where we can get better.  

Are you interested in learning more about the DC Prep Way? If so, check out our website to find out more about what we’re working towards and how we’re doing it.

WHO YOU ARE

Do the following must haves resonate with how you are wired and demonstrable in your unique talents and experiences? If so, we invite you to apply and can’t wait to learn more about you!

You are a people whisperer - you love to meet new people and know how to use every opportunity to network and turn into a result on behalf of an organization. You are able to build trust quickly with internal and external stakeholders by being professional, effective in your practice, and reliable as a partner. You’ve been called a thoughtful and savvy communicator, and are awfully good at influencing people to get work done (formal management authority or not, you know how to get people moving in the same direction!)

You are target driven -  you’re able to draw on a mixture of big picture thinking (e.g., a deep understanding of the vision for what you’re trying to achieve, based on an in-depth understanding of your team’s specific objectives, values, strengths and needs), as well as supreme comfort with managing the many moving pieces necessary to get work done.  This involves incredible judgment, organization, agility and planning—you need to know the order in which work should be tackled, when to be flexible, and when and how to change plans. 

You are customer service oriented - you have an understanding that your actions are central to the purpose of the organization. You have the ability to empathize with the challenges of others and utilize this emotional intelligence to navigate stakeholders through the various steps of our recruitment process. You also are thorough with follow ups and following through on commitments, asks, and tasks.  This builds trust and shows stakeholders you value them and their time! 

The Day–to–Day

Recruiting Teachers and Instructional Leaders 

• Build and maintain relationships with hiring managers (especially our Principals!), teachers and other DC Prep team members in order to understand our hiring needs and priorities and tailor outreach, resume screening, and cultivation efforts accordingly
• Build and maintain a robust applicant pipeline for future openings through:
• Building strategic partnerships with peer organizations
• Surfacing & cultivating referrals from our DC Prep community
• Driving targeted communication and marketing efforts (including representing DC Prep at external events, hosting “open house” events)
• Ongoing candidate cultivation
• Review resumes to assess which candidates should be invited to interview
• Ensure an exceptional candidate experience by:
• Guiding candidates through all stages of the selection process (e.g., phone screen, on-campus interview, offer), offering clear and responsive information on the process itself, as well as honest insights on what it’s like to work at DC Prep
• Facilitating quick hiring decisions by driving an aggressive timeline for resume reviews, initial phone-screens,  on-campus interviews, and offers
• Maximize the chances that offerees accept by promoting the organization in a competitive and professional manner
• Regularly gather and analyze data on DC Prep’s attraction and selection processes in order to ensure ongoing improvement
• Conduct reference, education and employment verification checks

Marketing and Communication

• Partner with Communications to identify and execute ways to communicate who we are to prospective candidates (e.g., networking events– both in person & virtual, social media posts)
• Create and revise job announcements; determine job posting sites, post positions and ensure that postings are up-to-date

Onboarding

• Collaborate with various Home Office teams to ensure a seamless onboarding process for new hires
• Obtain feedback on hiring and on-boarding process from new teachers throughout the first month of school 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• Deep commitment to DC Prep’s Vision, Mission, and Values
• 2-3 years teaching experience in a high performing charter organization, preferably in a middle school role
• Spanish language proficiency, a plus 
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Meticulous organizational ability in order to set priorities,  to drive multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines
• Extraordinary interpersonal skills, including outstanding listening skills, a positive attitude, and emotional constancy
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities
• Willingness to work non-traditional hours that occasionally include early mornings, evenings, and weekends
• A strong drive for excellence and continual self-improvement

Essential Functions

• DC Prep Home Office employees are required to report in person to all six of DC Prep's campuses. 
• All DC Prep staff perform clerical duties related to instructional supplies, student reports and records, attendance reports, assessments, etc.
• Additional responsibilities may arise during the school year.  This could include: attending after hours events, supporting classroom set up or events in the classroom, and other events involving parents and students, as needed. This list is not exhaustive. DC Prep will communicate mandatory events outside of school hours with ample notice.

Physical Demands

The physical demands and environmental conditions described below are representative, but not exhaustive, of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the role.  All of these physical requirements should be able to be performed with clarity, coherence and connectedness to DC Prep’s vision.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Must be able to sit and work at a desk/computer for extended periods of time
• Must be able to spend the majority of the day standing or mobile throughout the classroom, as well as talk, hear, grasp, reach and lift up to 30lbs with or without accommodations
• Ability to concentrate in active and noisy environments such as cafeterias and playgrounds, to more moderate situations such as classrooms or large group professional settings
• Must be able to have repetitive wrist/hand/finger movement to work on computer and/or related office equipment
• Ability to handle potential high stress conditions

JOIN US

Do you believe that Learning Has No Limits? Are you eager to join a supportive, innovative, and collaborative community of educators? Are you committed to growing your strengths as an educator through individualized professional development and coaching? Apply today!

We’re an equal opportunity employer and hire without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability. We strongly encourage diverse candidates to apply.