ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACHIEVEMENT RESOURCES

OFFICE OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

POLICY DIRECTOR, SCHOOL PERFORMANCE  

Position Summary:  The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 90,000 teachers in over 1,600 schools. In January 2003, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein launched Children First: A New Agenda for Public Schools in New York City, a multi-year reform effort aimed at significantly improving student achievement through effective teaching and learning.  

Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein have made accountability an essential element of New York City’s education reform effort.  Over the next three years, the NYC Department of Education will drive and support the creation of more robust accountability tools through the Division of Accountability and Achievement Resources (DAAR).  

Reporting to the Executive Director of School Performance and working with the other group leaders in the Division of Accountability and Achievement Resources, the Policy Director will manage a small team of researchers/analysts to evaluate the impact on student achievement of current and potential New York City education initiatives.  

Reports to: Executive Director of School Performance  

Direct Reports:  Associate Director, Policy Team, Director Analytics and indirect management of work done on the Research and Policy Support Group.  

Key Relationships:  Works closely with Executive Director of School Performance, Chief Accountability Officer, members of the Chancellor’s Office and Press Office, the Research and Policy Support Group and members of DAAR.  

Responsibilities 

• Manages team engaged in the planning, implementation and conduct of major research, evaluation, and policy studies (including college readiness), as well as analyses designed to assess the effectiveness of and improve existing educational programs.
  
• Sets policy agenda for Chief Accountability Officer that largely informs agenda for the Department and ensures that student achievement is a key metric by which potential education initiatives are evaluated.
  
• Uses modeling, regression, psychometric and other techniques to identify structures, conditions, interventions, and programs associated with high student achievement.
  
• Collects, analyzes, and interprets data; prepares statistical and narrative reports and/or graphs, as appropriate; prepares manuscripts for publication; presents research results to DOE leadership.
  
• Directs creation of systems for separating routine reporting and analytic requests suitable for help desk coverage from requests requiring high-end analysis.
  
• Produces ad-hoc data reports and analyses at the request of DOE leadership, including the Chancellor and his Cabinet.
  
• Sets process and policy for maintaining integrity of achievement-focused data system-wide
  
• Maintains currency of knowledge with respect to relevant DOE policies and data as well as state-of-the-art technology and statistical methodology.
  
• Serves as principal investigator on projects of complexities consistent with above criteria; writes proposals to external funding agencies to ensure DOE thought leadership in the area of K-12 school accountability.  

Qualification Requirements:  

Minimum:  

1. A master's degree from an accredited college in economics, finance, accounting, business or public administration, human resources management, management science, operations research, organizational behavior, industrial psychology, statistics, personnel administration, labor relations, psychology, sociology, human resources development, political science, or a closely related field, and two years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in budget administration, economic or financial administration, fiscal or economic research; management or methods analysis, operations research, organizational research or program evaluation; educational, personnel or public administration, recruitment, position classification, personnel relations, labor relations, employee benefits, staff development, employment program planning/administration, labor market research, economic planning, fiscal management, or a related area, for educational program(s) and/or institution(s), 18 months of which must have been in an executive, managerial, administrative or supervisory capacity. Supervision must have included supervising staff performing professional work in the areas described above; or
   
2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time professional experience as described in "1" above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative or supervisory experience described in "1" above.  

Preferred:  

• A Ph.D. in statistics and/or research methodologies or related discipline and 2 years of relevant work experience with 18 months managerial experience OR a master’s degree in statistics and 4 years of relevant work experience with 18 months managerial experience OR a bachelor’s degree in math/statistics and 5 years of relevant work experience with 18 months managerial experience.
  
• Minimum three years data analysis experience, including knowledge of statistical software packages such as SAS, SPSS, S-Plus etc.
  
• Ability to perform independent, original research in advanced areas of statistical expertise.
  
• Ability to conduct systematic analysis and develop solutions to complex data analysis problems.
  
• Ability to develop and follow research methodology and protocol.
  
• Ability to develop reports and charts based research.
  
• Ability to use independent judgment to adapt and modify research concepts and approaches to specific projects.
  
• Knowledge of current technological developments/trends in area of expertise.
  
• Ability to propose, design, organize and coordinate scientific research projects.
  
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications.
  
• Excellent interpersonal skills in dealing with education and non-education personnel internal and external to the DOE.
  
• Ability to thrive in and enjoy working in a team-oriented, high-pressure environment.
  
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  
• Experience or working knowledge of the public sector and/or demonstrated interest in public education strongly preferred.
  
• Experience in a public reform or start-up environment, favorable.
  
• Attentive to detail, extremely well organized, able to work under pressure, and meet frequent and changing deadlines.  

Salary: $95,000 +

(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not make less than their current salary.)  

 

Apply online at http://schools.nyc.gov/careers   

Please submit a resume and cover letter with your application.

Applications will be accepted through January 2, 2010.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability.      

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide educational and employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation.  Inquiries regarding compliance with this equal opportunity policy may be directed to: Office of Equal Opportunity, 65 Court Street, Room 923, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or visit the OEO website at http://schools.nyc.gov/OEO