Director of Racial Equity Initiatives

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.  In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity.  Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of Equity's mission is to develop, support, implement, and report on district efforts to eliminate the opportunity gaps in education quality, policies, and support for students and adults.  The Office of Equity is a cabinet-level office established in 2018.   The CPS Office of Equity works hand-in-hand with district offices to ensure each undertaking is pursued with equity as a goal.  To drive progress on equity, the Office of Equity oversees the continually evolving CPS Equity Framework, a source of guidance tools, evidence-based ideas, and resources for CPS staff, partners, and community members addressing complex equity issues. 

Job Summary: 

Reporting to the Executive Director in the Office of Equity, the Director of Racial Equity Initiatives will develop policies, lead programs, and foster internal and external partnerships. The Director of Racial Equity Initiatives will lead a team of direct reporting professionals and will operationalize the CPS Equity Framework to advance educational equity throughout CPS.

The Director of Racial Equity Initiatives will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Build and lead a high-performing team dedicated to racial initiatives providing mentorship, guidance, and support
• Develop and implement comprehensive policies, procedures, and guidelines that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization
• Translate a vision and strategic plans into change management and concrete methods of implementation from inception, planning, and development, to management, execution, and assessment
• Stay up to date with current research, best practices, and legal requirements related to Racial Equity to inform policy development
• Design and oversee program initiatives that address racial disparities and systemic inequities, and promote cultural understanding within the organization
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify and address racial biases and build mechanisms for accountability and transparency
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with external organizations, community partners, and stakeholders to develop strategic alliances for advancing racial equity initiatives
• Collaborate with internal departments and teams to align racial Equity initiatives with broader organization goals and integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into all aspects of the organization
• Facilitate to audiences larger than 500+ participants on the CPS Equity Framework with various stakeholders in CPS, city, state and nation
• Research and identify new government, corporate, foundation and private funding prospects for funding and write grant proposals
• Perform additional ad hoc duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Director of Racial Equity Initiatives must possess the following qualifications: 

Education Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Public Administration/Policy, Social Work, Social Justice, or a related field from an accredited college or university is required
• Master’s degree preferred

Experience Required: 

• Minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience leading large-scale complex initiatives within a large organization, preferably within an urban school district, including the following, is required:
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience leading diversity, equity, and inclusion work with a specific focus on racial initiatives
• Minimum of three (3) years of supervisory experience leading high-performing teams of direct reports
• Experience working with stakeholders, business leaders, external partners, and vendors
• Bilingual in Spanish, simplified Chinese, Urdu, or Polish (top languages spoken in CPS other than English), preferred

Other Requirements: 

• Ability to travel within the City of Chicago to schools and professional development sessions
• Flexibility of schedule as required to support professional learning sessions and/or Office of Equity events, which may occur outside of normal business hours

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Ability to articulate a vision, set high standards, and effectively guide stakeholders through continuous improvement cycles 
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, including the ability to identify the root causes and key obstacles behind issues or needs, consider stakeholder reactions, pivot, and implement solutions
• Excellent leadership and leadership development skills; capable of coaching managers and team members toward excellence and building the capacity of others 
• Capable of effectively communicating timelines, tasks, budget, deliverables, challenges, and solutions to various audiences and stakeholders
• Ability to provide oversight on multiple projects simultaneously, including organizing projects into smaller tasks, sequencing activities for maximum efficiency, delegating responsibilities, estimating and managing time and budget required to complete tasks, identifying issues, and adapting plans as needed while remaining committed to project deadlines and timelines
• Capable of confidently recommending, developing, and incorporating strategies that will operationalize the CPS Equity Framework with various stakeholders in CPS, city, state and nation 
• Strong communication skills (speaking - including presentations - listening, and writing)
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps
• Strong conflict resolution skills 

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 - Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.