Specialist, District and Community Engagement

Arlington, VA • Student Supports • Posted 01/20/2023

Apply

WHO WE ARE

Rooted in community for more than 40 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.” 

CIS programs are conducted annually throughout the United States, serving 2,900 schools; 1.61M students with over 11,000 community volunteers and 117 CIS affiliate organizations across the country. Their programs for students include providing needs assessments, support teams with corresponding plans to address academic and non-academic needs, delivery of multiple tiers of support for both students and families, progress monitoring and evaluation and assessment with parents and student support systems. 

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS), is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do. 

CIS also holds the following talent beliefs: 

• Every staff member is passionate and committed to the mission.
• As a National Office, CIS employees have a responsibility to live our values and integrate principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization and lead by example.
• In turn, CIS is committed to continuously improving decision making, incentivizing creativity, and building engagement and we do this by building a diverse workforce, fostering a climate of inclusion, and shaping business practices and policies that promote equity. 

ABOUT THE ROLE

Communities In Schools is seeking a Specialist for District and Community Engagement, who will support the team in securing partnerships with prospective school districts and community-based organizations according to Communities In Schools’ growth and engagement strategy. This role will ensure that contractual agreements are successfully executed and fulfilled as well as invoices are efficiently processed. This role will coordinate with marketing/communications, finance, advancement, and research departments. This role will also support the development of grant applications and proposals with internal and external stakeholders as well as identify opportunities to drive and build engagement plans that are aligned with the organization’s strategy. This role will report directly to the Sr. Principal, District & Community Engagement. 

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Oversee and manage contract lifecycle for prospective school district(s) and Licensed Partnerships agreements, including monitoring and tracking contracts, grant expenditures, and data-sharing agreements, to ensure successful completion according to established contract terms.
• Responsible for tracking and submitting invoices to Finance including monitoring to ensure invoices are sent within established timelines. Partner, as needed, with Finance staff to troubleshoot and resolve outstanding invoices. 
• Support and collaborate with Finance to support audits or financial/operational requirements from state and school district clients.
• Coordinate with prospective school districts and other government entities to ensure grant application/proposal requirements are met.
• Ensure applications/proposals are completed and submitted within established timeframes.
• Manage District and Community Engagement learning events, including coordinating logistics and presentations for events as needed. 
• Manage technology portals related to prospective school district(s) and Licensed Partners to fulfill grant and/or contractual agreements.
• Support initiatives in collaboration with advancement and research teams.
• Troubleshoot and respond to inquiries from prospective school district(s) and Licensed Partners. 
• Support onboarding and training for prospective school district(s) and Licensed Partners.
• Assist with other Student Supports Department projects or District and Community Engagement strategy needs as identified.
• Other duties as assigned to support the District and Community Engagement Team.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required skills & qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent years of experience) in business administration, public administration, or other related field with at least six years of progressively responsible experience in working with federal title funds.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail. 
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills. 
• Strong interpersonal, time management, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to think critically and proven ability to handle multiple tasks and competing priorities. 
• Experience creating systems, processes, and training others to use them. 
• Basic understanding of creating, managing, and tracking budgets. 
• Excellent Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) skills.
• Ability to handle confidential information with appropriate discretion. 
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as both a team member and independent contributor. 
• Plan, organize, and execute multiple projects deliverables with overlapping deadlines.
• Communicate technical requirements and easily identify the nuances/caveats within a project.
• Strong attention to detail to be able to call attention to inconsistencies, identify the frequency/depth of an issue, quickly identify solutions to problems within established timeframe.
• Willingness to learn and flexibility to shift as priorities shift.
• Teamwork, you can build positive relationships with your colleagues and are willing to help others.
• Inclusive, you’re excited to work with people who have different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives from your own.

TRAVEL

Less than 15%.

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however, the national office is open and available for staff to use as appropriate. 

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement programs, and much, much more!

Communities In Schools? is committed to a workforce that is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. CIS? prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our website.