The Open Society Institute–Baltimore (OSI-Baltimore) currently seeks a director of the Education and Youth Development Program. OSI-Baltimore, the sole field office of the Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Programs, supports a grant-making, educational, advocacy, and capacity-building program to expand justice and opportunity for Baltimore residents. With support from a range of individual, corporate, and foundation investors, its current work focuses on helping Baltimore’s youth succeed, reducing mass incarceration and its social and economic costs, improving access to high quality drug addiction treatment, and building a corps of Community Fellows to bring innovative ideas to Baltimore’s underserved communities. A significant amount of the office’s work focuses on policy reform at the state level, increasing opportunity and justice throughout Maryland.
Open Society Foundations
The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to criticism, whose laws and policies are open to debate and correction, and whose political institutions are open to the participation of all people. We seek to strengthen justice and the rule of law; broaden respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities; encourage pluralism and a robust diversity of opinion; deepen democratic practice and participation; expand economic equity; support effective governance; and invest in individuals, public and private organizations, and social movements that advance these goals.
We are a global network of foundations committed to local knowledge and national expertise. Our network includes national foundations, regional foundations, and other geographic programs operating in more than one hundred countries. At the same time, many programs with global reach operate from our four headquarters in Europe and the United States, including programs on digital information, documentary photography, drug policy, early childhood, education, fellowships, fiscal governance, higher education, human rights, international migration, justice, public health, scholarships, think tanks, and women’s rights. In addition to making grants to organizations and individuals, the Open Society Foundations engage in policy advocacy, legal advocacy and litigation, program-related investing, and public communications, as well as providing direct assistance to governments. Most programs and foundations in the network are governed or advised by their own boards.
The Open Society Foundations are the global philanthropies of George Soros, who, as chairman, plays an active role in the work of the foundations.
Job Profile
The program director will lead the grant-making, monitoring, assessment, educational, and advocacy activities of the OSI-Baltimore Education and Youth Development Program, which seeks to help Baltimore’s children become engaged and productive young adults through improved public education as well as enhanced learning opportunities in the non-school hours. Recognizing the pernicious impact of concentrated poverty, racial discrimination, and exclusionary school policies and practices, the program focuses intensively on children who are most likely to be denied the opportunities and support they need to succeed, in either the school or non-school sphere. The program identifies and supports opportunities to reform policies, practices, and beliefs that contribute to poor school attendance and engagement (including high rates of school suspension and arrest) and that result in poor academic achievement and preparation for post-graduation work and study.
Using a multi-year campaign approach, the program in recent years has focused on three priorities:
- Keeping children connected to school, pre-K through graduation, with an explicit focus on decreasing suspensions, increasing attendance, and improving school climate
- Supporting efforts to create new models for effective, “high value” high schools as well as advocacy for the level of funding that a robust and equitable education district requires
- Expanding opportunities for youth when school is not in session by increasing the quality, quantity and sustainability of out-of-school time programs in Baltimore and Maryland
The program uses and supports a range of strategies—including research, education and communication activities, coalition building, advocacy, technical assistance, participation in public/private tasks forces, and demonstration projects—to carry out the work. The program director will build on this work, making refinements and adding or diminishing areas to maintain the strategic impact of the program in light of changing external conditions and opportunities.
The successful candidate will be an expert in the field of education and/or youth development. The program director is expected to be, and to remain, up-to-date on local and national trends, debates, and innovations in the field and to maintain familiarity with the individuals and organizations that play significant roles in the field. He or she will also be particularly attentive to the governance, leadership, financial health and organizational capacity of grantees and applicants for support.
At OSI-Baltimore, which employs an inter-disciplinary approach to problem solving, the program director will work closely with the directors of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program (e.g., on reducing school suspensions and arrests) and the Drug Addiction Treatment Program (e.g., on improving school attendance by increasing the availability of school-based health services). The program director will also work with Baltimore Community Fellows who are addressing education and youth development matters. He or she will also interact regularly with national staff in U.S. Programs working on school exclusion issues and occasionally with international staff on broader education issues. The program director will develop and maintain a network of relationships with key actors, including government officials, advocates, practitioners, civic leaders, and the media. He or she will also present and write frequently, both to inform and to persuade. To educate, raise funds, and develop strategic alliances, the program director will also meet with staff and trustees of other foundations and individual donors. In addition, in collaboration with the director of OSI-Baltimore, the program director will interact with the OSI-Baltimore Advisory Board to shape, craft, and revise the goals and strategies of the program and present grant recommendations.
The position reports to the Director of OSI-Baltimore. The Program Director will oversee a program officer and a half-time program associate. He or she is expected to provide effective supervision of program staff members, including attending to their performance and professional development. In addition to leading the program by establishing its goals, priorities and strategies, the Program Director will develop its work plan and budget. From time to time, the Program Director will be called upon to take on assignments or participate in working groups and discussions on topics beyond education and youth development that are related to OSI-Baltimore, U.S. Programs or Open Society Foundations as a whole. Work is carried out independently and requires occasional travel.
Qualifications
- advanced degree (MA/PhD) and seven to ten years relevant experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- extensive knowledge of research, policy, and practice relating to child-serving public agencies, particularly public education; child and youth behavior and development; student engagement and attendance; out-of-school time programming; and equity in the allocation of school resources and learning opportunities
- strong awareness of the impact of race, gender and class on children’s lives
- interest in and knowledge of nonprofit organizational development
- demonstrated management and problem-solving skills in not-for-profit organizations, foundations, and/or government agencies, particularly in complex organizations
- ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure and to meet short- and long-term deadlines with a heavy workload
- demonstrated experience in budget and financial management
- outstanding written and verbal communication skills
- broad intellectual curiosity and comfort with robust debate
- proven ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide array of people with diverse backgrounds
- interest in continued professional growth and in the professional development of colleagues
Work Environment and Physical Demands
Essential functions are typically performed in an office setting with a low level of noise. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Compensation
Commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits package.
Application Instructions
Please email resume, cover letter with salary requirements, and three references by February 18, 2015, to:humanresources@opensocietyfoundations.org. Include job code in subject line: DIR-EY.