26-27 Assistant Head of Upper School

POSITION DESCRIPTION

St. Catherine's School is an Episcopal day school in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1890 enrolling roughly 950 girls age 3 through grade 12.  Located on a 16-acre campus in the western part of the city, St. Catherine's core values include pursuing academic excellence, developing character, nurturing spiritual growth, celebrating individuals, and building community. 

St. Catherine's School provides a rigorous education that prepares girls with diverse perspectives for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and service in a global community.

POSITION OVERVIEW

St. Catherine’s School seeks an Assistant Head of Upper School (AHUS) to serve alongside the Head of Upper School in leading more than 60 faculty and staff and 350 students in pursuing educational excellence and upholding the School’s Mission and Core Values.  The AHUS will be a seasoned educator and administrator with exceptional leadership skills who finds joy in the richness and complexities of school life.  The AHUS will be a key partner for the Head of Upper School in decision making, program generation and implementation, and mentoring of Upper School students and faculty. 

Supervisor: Director of Upper School

Supervisory Responsibilities:  N/A

Position Status:  Salaried, exempt, full-time, 12-month

Hours of Work:  Standard work week.  Occasional evening chaperoning and travel supervision

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist the Head of Upper School in creating a vibrant, joyful learning environment that upholds and celebrates the School’s Mission and Core Values
• Stand in for the Head of Upper School in her absence and serve as a strategic thought partner in determining the direction of and in serving the Upper School community
• Champion and assist in implementing the School’s access, equity, and belonging initiatives 
• Assist with faculty hiring, goal setting, and evaluations
• Help lead Upper School faculty meetings and chairs meetings, promoting vital collaboration and professional learning
• Represent the Upper School in all-school operations meetings; coordinate with Events and Operations staff for Upper School events like back-to-school night 
• Build the Upper School schedule and manage course registration, course catalog, and book orders, in coordination with St. Christopher’s
• Build the master planning calendar, including special schedules and 8-day rotation
• Serve on the Student Support Team; communicate with teachers and families regarding students’ academic, social, and health needs
• Provide academic advising for current and incoming students
• Oversee onboarding of new students and families
• Oversee transition and retention programming for Middle to Upper School
• Serve on Upper School Admissions committee
• Cultivate a spirit of openness, joy, compassion, and intellectual curiosity
• In collaboration with the Dean of Students, build student programming calendar for assemblies, class meetings, college counseling, and advisory
• Assist the Dean of Students and Assistant Dean of Student Life with new student orientation, advisory, student council events, retreats, dances, and other student activities as needed
• Arrange and host guest speakers and other special programs
• Assist with the Division’s Saints Explore program as required
• Oversee service-learning coordinator
• Teach one Upper School course and serve as an Upper School advisor

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to sit; stand; walk; use hands to handle and feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl; talk and hear; engage in moderately strenuous physical activity both indoors and out; and smell. The employee may occasionally lift or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.  Ability to become CPR and First Aid Certified.

TRAVEL

Occasional overnight and out-of-area travel may also be required for special events.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

St. Catherine’s School does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its hiring practices. St. Catherine’s School is committed to providing an inclusive educational environment. We actively engage students, families, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our School community respects the differences in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. Consistent with the School’s mission, St. Catherine’s fosters in our students, and experts from all others, respect for the dignity and wholeness of every person. For more information about the school’s Access, Equity and Belonging please follow this link https://www.st.catherines.org/about/access-equity-and-belonging.

CONDITIONAL OFFERS

An offer of employment for this position is contingent upon the applicant’s right to work in the United States, authorization for and completion of successful background checks as may be requested by the school or required by law.

Note:  This position description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work to be performed by employees within this classification.  This position description should not be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities required or assigned to an employee in this position.  Nothing contained in this position description restricts St. Catherine’s School’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

Requirements

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of three years teaching experience
• Minimum of a master’s degree in relevant field related to the applicant’s area of teaching or in education
• Proven track record of working collaboratively with administrators, teachers, staff, and students and implementing strategic priorities at the ground level
• Experience as a major program leader, department chair, or in other administrative positions
• Finds joy in the richness and complexities of School life
• Experience in overseeing budgets 
• Ability to effectively gather adult teams to build and implement student programming
• Attention to detail and processes related to school programming and operations
• Experience working with Blackbaud or other school learning management systems; scheduling experience is an asset
• Record of sound decision making in regards to student safety and sensitive situations
• Ability to be cognizant of the wider picture of the needs of the Division and the School in executing initiatives and making decisions for the Upper School
• Excellent communication skills in working with students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators