Director of Civic Engagement, Philadelphia Education Fund

Posted by on March 31, 2006

[emailed 3/28/2006]

Philadelphia Education Fund
Job Description
Director of Civic Engagement

Summary

The Director of Civic Engagement is responsible for leading the Philadelphia Education Fund?s engagement of various segments of the public in the pursuit of issues that are key to quality education in the region. This includes facilitating conversations among different stakeholders, providing stakeholders with information related to education reform issues and interacting with relevant organizations to improve the educational achievement of underserved youth in the Philadelphia region. The Director will take the lead in framing and implementing the Ed Fund?s civic engagement commitment. He/ she will manage current initiatives and develop new ones.

Specific Responsibilities
? Facilitate the work of the Education First Compact, a broadly diverse group of stakeholders committed to supporting and improving public education in Philadelphia.
? Serve as the lead Ed Fund staff on a small schools initiative that is developing community input into high school design in West Philadelphia and Kensington.
? Develop and implement a series of activities designed to bring information about key educational issues to a broad audience. Vehicles include regular briefings in appropriate venues, follow up information on the Ed Fund website and collaboration with other organizations to pursue topics in greater depth both in a written form and through in-person events.
? Plan and implement a variety of presentations, briefings and seminars to help citizens learn about education-related developments on the local, state and national levels.
? Collaborate with other Ed Fund staff to develop an 11 county business education forum that will be mutually supportive of other Ed Fund civic engagement activities.
? Develop new civic engagement initiatives and collaborate with other Ed Fund staff to identify potential sources of funding and help prepare proposals to support these initiatives.
? Prepare reports to funders and others as needed.

Qualifications
? A strong commitment to and a broad understanding of public education
? Experience in civic engagement on behalf of education related issues
? Bachelor?s degree or the equivalent thereof.
? At least 7 years of professional experience on a significant level of responsibility
? Excellent communications skills, both oral and written, supported by a facility in using technological tools.
? Excellent interpersonal and group facilitation skills, particularly with diverse groups
? Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to work quickly under deadline and the ability to handle many tasks at one time.
? Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Reports to:
The Director of Civic Engagement reports to the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Education Fund and serves on the Leadership Team of the organization.

Applications:
Please submit a letter of application, resume, and names and contact information for three professional references to: jwalsh@philaedfund.org.