Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Description

Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School is a state-wide, public (tuition-free) K-12 online charter school with a substantial number of students. Our teachers are part of an educational team whose innovative approach to education is providing a dynamic learning experience for thousands of students across the state of Pennsylvania through cyber education. All teachers report to work throughout our various locations in Pennsylvania.

 Click here for additional information about our school.

Job Purpose:

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is hired and evaluated directly by the Board. The CEO works at the direction of the Board of Directors and oversees the fiscal, educational, and operational areas of The Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS). The CEO is responsible for ensuring that the school’s academic programs and operations are implemented successfully with fidelity to the terms of its charter from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) as well as the school’s mission and vision.

The CEO is responsible for three key domains of leadership that impact the successful operation of the school:

1. Strategic and Cultural Leadership
2. Operational, Administrative, and Managerial Leadership
3. Professional Leadership

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Team and Organizational Leadership
  • Build and maintain a healthy, positive, and value-driven school culture that is reflected in PALCS  work environment and student engagement
  • Build a collaborative school culture across divisions and departments based on individual responsibility and commitment, courtesy, and respect
  • Remain highly visible and approachable to staff and stakeholders
  • Incorporate multiple perspectives, ideas, and considerations into decision-making
  • Foster a school culture  that is safe, supportive, innovative, creative, and emotionally healthy
  • Demonstrate the highest degree of professionalism, respect, ethics, and personal integrity
  • Communicate and execute a clear, Board approved mission and vision for the school, both internally and externally
  • Work with the Board and leadership team to develop, create and refine a strategic plan and create an implementation plan, while adapting to internal and external changes as needed
  • Set and achieve clear and attainable goals for the staff and organization
  • Meet commitments with reliability, work independently, and accept accountability
  • Be attentive to detail and accuracy, produce quality work, and self-monitors for insight and understanding
  • Continuously grow in the position in terms of knowledge, skills, and in-depth understanding

• Academic
  • Lead efforts to develop strategic short- and long-term plans and measurable goals that support educational objectives
  • Maintain a customer focus on student engagement and achievement as well as constituent satisfaction
  • In collaboration with the Chief Academic Officer, responsible for the successful outcomes of the educational programs of the school, including curriculum development, adherence to state standards, and growth mindset
  • In collaboration with the Chief Academic Officer, responsible for overseeing student academic performance assessment, data collection and analysis of student achievement, as well as interventions and multi-tiered systems of support to promote student success

• Financial / Business
  • Leverage human and financial resources for maximum impact and productivity; ensures the financial stability and long-term viability of the school
  • Demonstrate superior analytical skills as well as sound business and educational judgment
  • Oversee and partner with the Director of Human Resources and school leadership to recruit, select, hire, manage, evaluate and develop a team of high quality administrators, teachers and support personnel
  • Oversee and partner with the Chief Financial Officer and school leadership to manage the budgeting process as well as financial accountability and reporting of school operations
  • Oversee and partner with the Information Technology team to develop, evaluate, and constantly improve on the delivery of educational services to students and families through cutting-edge technology, a robust technology platform and infrastructure, and state-of-the-art learning management systems
  • Partner with designated school personnel to ensure the health and safety of students and staff

• Charter Advocacy / Government Relations
  • Serve as an effective, charismatic spokesperson and powerful ambassador for the school and its mission
  • Represent the organization positively to various constituencies, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the general public
  • Build respect and profile for the organization
  • Professional representation of the school in public and community forums as well as to regulatory bodies

• Marketing
  • Responsible for cultivating an engaging school environment that encourages student enrollment, while also improving student retention
  • Ensure the school is adequately and prominently marketed and advertised in the appropriate media and public forums with measurable results
• Compliance
  • Maintain an up-to-date and current understanding of all compliance issues facing the school with action plans for meeting and remaining compliant
  • Implement Board-approved policies with fidelity
  • Study and monitor Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) developments, the Pennsylvania School Code, and US Department of Education

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to communicate with a high degree of emotional intelligence
• Supportive and nurturing leadership style
• Charismatic and inspiring leadership ability
• Advanced knowledge of K-12 education and educational best practices, preferred
• Superior organizational skills including prioritization and task/time management
• Advanced knowledge of charter school law and cyber charter school law in Pennsylvania, preferred
• Advanced knowledge of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) policies, regulations, and public school code, preferred
• Advanced knowledge of technology, and the application of technology in various settings such as education
• Advanced knowledge of nonprofit management 
• Adapts well to change, leads change initiatives, is open to new ideas, handles pressure well, and maintains equilibrium
• Superior business acumen
• Strong budgeting and financial management skills
• Strong attention to detail as well as big-picture thinking

Experience and Additional Qualifications

• Substantial (i.e. ~5 years) experience at an executive level of educational leadership (at a Charter School highly preferred) in roles such as CEO, Superintendent or Chief Academic Officer 
• Advanced Degree in Education, Business Administration, Finance or Non Profit Management or Organizational Leadership
• Proven experience in developing excellence in innovative educational programming
• Experience in monitoring, evaluating and improving educational outcomes
• Experience which demonstrates strong financial acumen, including budgeting, audit processes, budget oversight and financial reporting

• Proven experience with complex organizations, charter schools or charter school laws and requirements, preferred
• Experience in positively impacting the school census to cultivate an engaging school environment that encourages student enrollment, while also improving student retention
• Demonstrated experience managing and leading high performing teams, schools, school districts, private school or non-education organizations including strategic development and operations.
• Successful experience in building positive relationships with a Board of Directors and regulatory agencies
• Proven ability to to lead cross-functional teams 
• Demonstrated experience which indicates strong strategic thinking and planning skills.

Compensation

Compensation: An annual salary range of $200,000 to $256,000 based on experience and educational degree level has been established for the position.   PALCS also offers a competitive benefits package with details provided at the outset of the selection process for all selected candidates.

Physical/Mental/Environmental Demands:

• Physical: Normal vision, speech, hearing, walking, sitting, standing, lifting, stooping, bending, grasping, keyboarding, and filing ability
• Mental: Positive Attitude, analyzing, problem solving, decision making, and writing.
• Environmental: Online, office, blended school environment
• Travel:  Overnight travel required for visiting Pittsburgh PALCS location and other meetings or events as needed.
• Hybrid Work Eligibility -Yes (Chiefs, Directors and Academic Leadership are allowed no more than 2 WFH days on a consistent basis and are expected to be on site a required / needed to display leadership and support operational needs).

To Apply:

Please apply at the link provided. Please note that we will only contact you in the event that we wish to schedule an interview. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

PA Leadership Charter School is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Salary : $200,000 - $256,000