Chief Learning & Innovation Officer

About the Organization

Making Waves was founded in 1989 as an education support program to help address the disparity in educational opportunities for low-income students in Richmond, CA and to help them prepare for and graduate from college.  For decades, through comprehensive programming and services, Making Waves has helped prepare and support first-generation college students to graduate from competitive institutions across the country.

In 2007, Making Waves Academy (MWA) Middle School was founded, a public charter school offering a rigorous fifth to eighth grade academic program with a focus on college and career readiness.  The Making Waves Academy Upper School opened in 2011 and provides rich academic course offerings, career exploration and extensive college advisement.

MWA currently serves about 940 students in grades 5-12 and 95% or more of its first four graduating classes were accepted to college.  About 70% gained admission to and attend four-year schools and 25% or more gained admission to and attend two-year schools.  The first phase of a five-year strategic growth plan is underway, with the new expanded middle school opening in the fall of 2018.  In the future, MWA will ultimately seeks grow to serve roughly 6,000 students on three K-12 campuses, while our sister organization, Making Waves College and Alumni Program (CAP) will continue to support up to 2,000 of our alumni in persisting through college.

Position Summary

By the time our students reach 11^th grade, they are outperforming their more affluent peers across the Bay Area.  We honor this achievement and the effort of our students, staff and families to get there.  We also know that there is so much more we could be doing for our students when it comes to learning, and in supporting teachers in tapping their full potential.  With the desire to fully maximize learning, through maximizing the systems, use of time, and science about learning, we have created a critical executive role to think about and lead the implementation of this work. 

The Chief Learning & Innovation Officer (CLIO) role signifies the fundamental importance and mission-critical nature of innovation and learning at all levels.  Essentially the CLIO will lead the rethinking and reimagining of how we think about student and adult learning across the organization, and change the processes for how we implement learning.  The CLIO brings the vision, ideas, innovations and practices that will allow MWA to transform and modernize teaching and learning over time.  The CLIO will lead the design and implementation of an enterprise-wide instructional model or framework, building upon existing and designing new approaches to inform learning for both students and adults in all domains (curriculum & instruction, cultural competency, social emotional learning, technology), ensuring that we can do even more for our students and our teachers in their development. 

The CLIO and the Learning Team (consisting of a Director of Teacher Residency, a Director of Instructional Technology, a Senior Director of Curriculum & Instruction & a Senior Director of Elementary Learning) will lead the organization-wide change effort to shift the practices and mindsets of school leaders, faculty, students, staff, and parents.  This adaptive work will occur through observation, data analysis, monitoring, and training to support MWA campuses and offices with the implementation of practices and structures for maximizing student and adult learning.

This role is equal parts strategy and vision, and leading a team to execute.  Ideal candidates have led the design of innovative school models or programs (initiatives, frameworks, codification of strategies, etc.) and have experience implementing in a system or network.  Ideal candidates have also supported senior leaders in their development, have led effective teams that support schools, and have managed large-scale change.

Primary Responsibilities & Key Outcomes:

The CLIO will be successful if in the first year she or he has:

• Built strong relationships with the Learning Team and schools
• Understands key pillars that drive culture and instruction in our context
• Identified 2-3 new key strategies for student and adult learning
• Successfully piloted strategies that have shown results
• Ensured new schools have a vetted and codified written framework for learning
• Team members experience deeper level of engagement and rigor in their training and feel more invested and supported in their work

Design Innovative, Evidence Based Learning & Assessment Strategies for Student & Adult Learning

• Lead the development of an evidence-based, comprehensive, and effective strategic approach to student and adult learning that supports optimizing learning for mastery and differentiated and self-paced learning approaches through technology, that is innovative and represents new ways of thinking or approaches we haven’t explored
• Ensure strategy integrates and embeds the various learning approaches including efficacy-based practices, data-informed instruction, effective assessment design, and technology-assisted learning, along with the use and integration of social-emotional learning approaches and culturally informed approaches 
• Develop a framework for evaluating all MWA learning practices for evaluation and effectiveness; develop and utilize tools such as dashboards and scorecards to help us identify progress and learning across the schools

Scale & Adaptive Change

• Develop an elegant statement that summarizes the 21^st century learning approach for students and adults that informs a comprehensive approach to learning at all of our campuses and within our central office
• Develop some common frameworks to help inform learning approaches, training, and professional development for the new campuses to be brought online over the next 5-10 years
• Develop a plan that updates MWA’s instructional learning approaches and the ability scale these approaches for use at other MWA campuses in the near future

Develop & Support the Learning Team

• Create a Learning Team vision and identity as the organization grows its central office to provide infrastructure and support a growing number of schools
• Support the development of individual learning team members, modeling desired approaches, and specifically in the areas of:  a) the pace of change, b) developing goals, timelines, metrics, and milestones, c) soliciting feedback from stakeholders, and d) building towards agreements

Design Innovative, Coherent Strategy for Developing Practitioners

• Conduct a needs assessment of current practice; build upon strengths and address gaps in designing innovative 21^st century learning programs and practices
• Through consultation and thought partnership with MWA leadership with respect to student and adult learning approaches and practices, build out recommendations for org-wide professional development practices & opportunities
• Develop a framework for use by Learning Team members (for use with internal and external stakeholders) to build agreements and develop activities and actions that will guide MWA learning strategies and approaches when supporting, recommending, and consulting with site-based instructional leadership and stakeholders

Qualifications

• Passion for MWA’s mission and demonstrated commitment to supporting first generation students and/or children and families from historically under-served communities
• Ideally a minimum of ten years experience in a leadership role
• Significant experience in leading, designing or implementing innovative school models and initiatives
• Experience in both the design and the implementation of innovations, learning strategies, instructional models across a system
• Experience managing significant change efforts
• Knowledge of/ experience in implementing design thinking practices
• Track record of leadership in setting high-level vision and strategy with the ability to lead a team to operationalize and execute the strategy
• Experience as an instructional leader with extensive knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and student learning modalities is preferred
• Knowledge of adult learning, talent development or organizational development with experience designing adult learning program, frameworks and goals
• Views students, families and colleagues through an assets-based and efficacy lens; demonstrates authentic appreciation of, ability to connect with, and see strengths in individuals from diverse backgrounds
• Highly organized
• Strong in data analysis and synthesis
• Balances innovation and orientation for outcomes
• Highly relational and collaborative with the ability to influence effectively in a matrixed organization

Salary and Benefits

Salary for this position is highly competitive and commensurate with experience. MWA also provides innovative and comprehensive benefits, including cost of living stipends, tuition assistance and forgivable home loans after three years of service.