Description | VOICE Charter School (http://www.voicecharterschool.org/) is an elementary and middle school located in Long Island City, Queens that serves about 650 students across grades K-8. We are located just minutes from Manhattan (two stops outside of Manhattan on the F, N, and W train lines) and Long Island City’s growing waterfront district, thriving arts community, and rapid residential growth. We are looking to identify extraordinary educators and administrators committed to urban education who wish to join a dynamic professional learning community.
Our mission is to create a safe and healthy learning environment that will nurture, motivate and challenge all of our children to achieve the highest level of academic excellence and to develop into mindful, responsible, contributing participants in their education, their community and the diverse society in which we live.
What makes VOICE different?
At VOICE, it’s not just about the music. It’s about the people. It’s about what you can be. It’s about using your passion. It’s about relationships. It’s about having the opportunity to choose. It’s about caring enough. It’s about each individual child and adult.
We believe in efficacy. At the core of our academic culture is the idea that all students are capable of doing well in any discipline. At VOICE, all students will learn – being smart is not something that you are, it is something you become. At VOICE, you will be pushed to become more.
We support and develop the effectiveness of our teachers. We believe that teachers need time to collaborate to build their practice, so we provide our team with over two hours of planning time a day as well as additional days for collaborative thought partnership and planning during the school year.
We promote participation in music and the arts. As music and art help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills and open children's imaginations, all VOICE students participate in and learn from daily activities in the arts including rigorous choral training. We design our arts-integrated curriculum to bring joy and wonder to the lives of our children, providing them with the skills necessary to forge their own path.
All Staff at VOICE:
- Love and nurture all of our students as they become deeply caring and responsible individuals;
- Take personal responsibility and work collaboratively to ensure that all students achieve and grow, understanding that the performance and progress of our students is directly under our control;
- Ask questions and empower students to exercise curiosity and wonder about the world around them;
- Hold themselves to the highest standards;
- Push and support themselves, their students, and their colleagues;
- Proactively seek and incorporate feedback;
- Help each individual child gain the opportunity to choose what his or her future will be.
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Position Responsibilities:
The IT Manager will serve as the primary architect, administrator, developer, and manager for information systems and technology support at VOICE. The individual in this role will manage all IT-related services and
staff including external vendors and contractors. The individual will also interface with various clients as VOICE’s lead technology officer.
Information Systems Development and Oversight
- Core information services administration and upkeep
- Ensure file and data storage systems are operational and secure
- Oversee organization-wide e-mail system and website, as well as other shared enterprise level services
- Student information systems ownership
- Oversee all aspects of our current and legacy SIS including day-to-day roles pertaining to data collection, input and upkeep of the systems for all
- Manage student related functions including but not limited to: school lottery and registration, attendance, transportation, vital data, and academic performance
- Ensure office and classroom data collection policies and procedures are communicated and up to date to ensure accurate collection and submission of data
- Ensure related systems (e.g. School Messenger) always link back to the correct data and as required by regulators are duplicated into the various compliance systems they oversee.
- Develop and execute SIS modification plans (either by direct request or by internal need) with full consultation with pedagogical staff.
- Analyze efficiencies and suggest changes where needed
- Financial and HR Systems integration and operational Assistance
- Ensure Finance team’s specialized hardware and accounting system is operational.
- Work with Finance and HR teams to ensure specialized information system needs are met and aligned to organization-wide IT plan and policies
Data Analysis and Reporting
- Develop and maintain cross-departmental data sharing arrangements
- Work with department heads and division directors to align with their respective data needs
- Suggest organization-wide data integration improvements where it could be beneficial for employees, students, parents or regulators.
- Develop and refine student data reporting systems
- Ensure that VOICE can measure and communicate student performance to pedagogical teams (e.g. dashboards, post- assessment analysis), regulators (compliance reports) and parents (report cards, parent portal) at all times.
- Manage data team members, temps and contractors to ensure all data reporting needs are met for the organization. Evaluate performance and make adjustments as necessary
- Data Systems research and innovation
- As needed or directed, investigate new or promising systems to improve the organization’s collection, use or distribution of data
- Research and keep up to date on organizational “best practices” in terms of data systems use and administration
- Assist other departments leverage organizational data to drive their decisions and practices.
Technology Infrastructure Management
- Core technology infrastructure
- Oversee VOICE staff and contractors to keep all core technology (servers, routers, switches, firewalls, telephony, etc.) up and running at all times.
- Communicate planned and unplanned downtime to school directors and managers.
- Work with Director of Operations and tech contractor to develop a yearly budget for core technology acquisition, service and replacements
- Maintain and update local copy of technical documentation on core technology locations and components
- End user systems and peripherals
- Oversee VOICE staff and contractors that ensure end user devices such as computers, scanners and printers function as expected
- Ensure that technology policies are followed by both end users and support staff to reduce time expenditures on end user support.
- Monitor support response time and work expenditures by both support staff and contractor(s) and make adjustments as needed.
- Solicit continued input from faculty, staff and students on possible future technology decisions.
- Address customer-service concerns that arise from use of technology at VOICE
- Ensure inventory of technology items is up to date and the units are easily trackable.
Planning and Policy Development
- Development/update and execute technology plan
- Work with Director of Operations to develop/refine/update Technology Plan and policies document.
- Work with Director of Operations to craft and enforce vision and plan for data use and integration at VOICE
- Keep up to date with best practices from across the technology and educational sectors on IT in K-12 schools
- Oversee technology training programs
- Create and disseminate user guides, step by step instruction and curriculum documents for technology coordinator use (when applicable).
- Suggest (and/or when requested) conduct training sessions for faculty and staff.
- Ensure the Technology Coordinator has the necessary resources to carry out his/her daily work and still proactively train others when possible
- Periodically meet and/or survey faculty and staff on their technology training needs
- Review other organization’s technology training and integration plans for potential best practices and implement at VOICE with approval.
- Project manage larger-scale data or technology upgrades and implementations.
Position Qualifications:
Skills and Characteristics
- Organization
- Workflows, procedures, complex logistics and project planning
- Time management: prioritizing tasks, deadlines
- Project management: delegating, supervising tasks
- Data/digital document organization
- Digital system architecture design
- User interface design
- Communication
- Written: Correspondence, procedural, data presentation
- Verbal: Procedural, feedback, telephone skills
- Problem-solving
- Technology troubleshooting
- Ability to devise creative, flexible solutions for complex problems
- Ability to envision and account for long-term system and process changes
- Ability to gauge staff ability in using digital systems
- Technology
- Ability to customize and develop applications in Access, Excel, Salesforce, and Visual Basic,
- Facility with Schoolforce and other relevant platforms
- Experience with network and server maintenance, Active Directory, and Microsoft software licensing
- Ability to assess utility of new systems
- Personnel management
- Ability to train staff on various processes
- Experience supervising employees on specific tasks and providing feedback to manager(s).
- Flexibility: Ability to manage tasks smoothly as urgent/unexpected matters arise
- Proficiency in specific programming languages (such as Apex)
Educational Background and Work Experience
- Degree in IT, programming, data analytics and/or education
- 3+ years directing IT, information and/or data
- Previous teaching experience (preferred)
- Experience with Microsoft certifications, Java/Visualforce/Apex, and HTML
- Teaching qualification in IT or equivalent
- Salesforce and Microsoft certifications
Compensation and Benefits: Compensation is competitive and based on experience. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including participation in the TransitChek program and partial reimbursement for monthly commuting expenses, gym reimbursement, cultural enrichment reimbursements, participation in a retirement savings program, frequent access to baked goods, and many opportunities to get to know your VOICE colleagues!
VOICE Charter School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In its employment decisions, VOICE does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law.
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