What are the responsibilities and job description for the [2025-2026] Director of Leadership Development position at KIPP Capital Region Public Schools?
KIPP Capital Region is a part of a national network of high-performing public Charter Schools committed to creating joyful, academically excellent, and prepared students with the skills, ability, and confidence to pursue their paths to college, career, and beyond.
Located in both Albany and Troy, NY, KIPP Capital Region serves 2,500 students in grades K-12 across seven schools. We believe every individual walks through the doors of schools bearing gifts. Talent. Perspective. Drive. Inspiration. So at KIPP Capital Region, we support every student and educator to see those gifts, then build the skills and confidence they need to thrive.
We are committed to furthering anti-racism, equity, and racial justice in all our efforts, and expect all of our stakeholders to participate in this work so that we can create a future without limits for our students, together.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Director of Leadership Development (DLD) is a key member of the Regional Leadership Team, reporting to the Chief Schools Officer. The Director of Leadership Development (DLD) build a strong school leadership pipeline to ensure that every school is led by a transformational leadership team. This is in service of the ultimate goal of a transformational teacher in every classroom, driving rigorous and joyful learning to ensure equity for all students. DLDs focus primarily on the onboarding, development, retention, and career progression of KCAPs principals and PIRs instructional lead team members, due to our belief that excellent school leaders are the key to hiring, developing, and retaining strong teachers. DLDs also work alongside other regional partners to help to build a strong long term school leadership pipeline, beginning with teacher leadership development, continuing with campus lead team member development, and culminating in the Principals-in-Residence and New Principal coaching programs.
GOALS & MILESTONES
The Director of Leadership Development will be responsible for meeting the following ambitious goals. Goals subject to change based on the needs of students and regional priorities:
Academics
- 70% of students passing the NY state exam in Reading & Math
- 50% of students enrolled in at least their second-year at or above proficiency on the NY state exam in ELA & Math (grades 3-8)
- 85% of K-2 students at or above benchmark on mCLASS
Student Engagement & Experience
- 90% Student Retention from Fall to Fall
Talent
- 100% of Principal vacancies filled by a Principal in Residence (based on performance and development).
- 100% of Year 1 principal and PIRs achieve proficiency in all One KIPP Leader core skills and competencies.
DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
Managerial Leadership and Team Development
- Manages Principals-in-Residence and a Year 1 principal across the Region.
- Supervises the PIRs in creating and implementing school plans and to achieve student performance and campus metrics.
- Develop trusting relationships with the PIRs and mentor principals and consistently receive high quality transformational development that increases their effectiveness and outcomes at their schools.
- Coach and develop PIRs and Year 1 principals to achieve proficiency on One KIPP Core Skills.
- Collaborates with the Chief Schools Officer, MDs of Schools, and the Regional Team to deliver effective professional development to Principals, including planning and delivering effective Professional Development.
- Engage in collective learning in service of creating excellent schools, feel a sense of belonging, and are sustained in the work.
- Supports the development of campus leadership teams in designing and leveraging their secondary leadership teams and establishing effective school-wide systems.
- Serves as a thought partner to direct reports as they lead their respective teams; coaches and supports direct reports to address their key roles and responsibilities.
- Completes tri-annual performance evaluations of direct reports: BOY, MOY, and EOY.
- Supports the development of School Instructional Teams and successor leaders across all schools.
- Builds a strong, cohesive team culture that reflects KIPP Capital Region values and vision.
Educational Leadership & Academic Support
- Effectively support and develop Year 1 principals and PIRs to ensure they are implementing their academic strategies (region-wide and school-based) in alignment with the KIPP Capital Region academic vision, mission and strategic plan.
- Lead weekly campus walkthroughs with MDs of Schools and Principals to identify the highest leverage priority using the schools team leading indicators and metrics.
- Weekly check-ins with PIRs and year 1 principal to drive and improve student performance.
- Build and execute strategy, motivate others to make change, and invest and build relationships with other stakeholders to support the ambitious academic outcomes of our schools.
- Support and coach PIRs and Year 1 principal to meet regional performance metrics and to ensure that regional policies/procedures are implemented at the school level.
- In partnership with the schools team, develop and manage instructional initiatives within the region and effectively partner with MDs of School in meeting their schools' instructional and operational needs.
- Collaborates with the Chief Schools Officer and MD of Schools to implement academic priorities and ensure vertical alignment among schools.
- Works with Year 1 Principal/PIRs to develop and implement long-term curriculum, assessment, and school improvement plans.
- Collaborate in hiring, onboarding, management, and evaluating all staff, including Principals and school-based instructional and culture teams.
- Plan and lead regular professional development sessions for the PIRs, Principals, and Instructional communities.
- Engages Principals in weekly academic program analysis and progress monitoring.
- Manages long-term and annual school planning.
- Supports the development of strong school operational systems and processes focusing on data collection, scheduling, and Special Education programs and services.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Collaborate with fellow Managing Directors of Schools to ensure consistent implementation of schools priorities across all schools.
- Leverage the One KIPP core skills to drive leadership develop and weekly coaching to build leaders capacity and improve student performance.
- Strategically prioritize their time to focus on driving school outcomes and are sustained in the work.
- Focus on building management capacity and ensure that all our PIRs and Year 1 leaders are well equipped and on track to meet goals, additionally they can plan to reallocate resources as appropriate to meet the needs of the region.
- Partner with regional support teams on all region-specific initiatives and systems.
- Serve as the liaison between school and regional teams to identify issues and implement sustainable solutions.
- Serve as a role model as a leader and manager, investing deeply in supporting and developing team members and growing their capacity to learn, contribute, and engage in the work of the team and organization.
Data Use, Data Reporting & Analysis
- Leverage data strategically to support principals and PIRs in meeting their goals and improving student and school outcomes.
- Drive goals and use data in making decisions, providing in-depth monitoring of regional performance metrics and producing compelling plans to motivate and inspire others to act and share investment in achieving operating outcomes.
- Build and maintain data reports and visualizations to display school management results and key performance metrics.
- Provide additional data reporting and analysis for external accountability, compliance, surveys, operations evaluation, or development tasks.
- Analyze school performance management data to identify gaps in school design and make necessary adjustments for successful outcomes and compliance.
KIPP Capital Region
- Perform other duties as outlined by the Chief Schools Officer
- Committed to furthering anti-racism, equity, and racial justice in all our efforts, and expect all our stakeholders to participate in this work so that we can create a future without limits for our students together.
- Complies with all charter, federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including the NYS Department of Education, Department of Health, and NYS Office of Children and Family Services
- Adheres to organization policies and procedures; promotes and supports mission, vision, and values, including developing and participating in internal surveys and data collection for continuous improvement initiatives.
Qualifications
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's Degree from an accredited College or University required; Master’s or Advanced Degree preferred
- At least 5 years of experience, with 3 years of successful team management, including motivating and developing high performing teams to deliver results.
- Preferred experience working directly with students, preferably required in the charter, private, or public school environment, particularly in School Operations.
- Demonstrated ability to indirectly manage and influence teams and individuals to meet specific and strategic outcomes.
- Proven ability to indirectly manage and influence teams and individuals to meet specific and strategic outcomes.
- Curiosity and desire to work in an entrepreneurial environment and design new systems and projects.
- Experience juggling multiple projects with competing priorities while working collaboratively with various departments in a fast-paced, growing environment across functional teams with multiple stakeholders.
- Strongly established computer literacy, including but not limited to MS Office Suite and other School Information database systems.
- Prior experience working in schools and urban communities is preferred but not required.
- Ability to work a flexible schedule outside of regular business hours.
- Aptitude to create and work within an inclusive environment that honors and supports a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
The physical demands described here represent those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
- Prolonged periods were sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to access and navigate all areas of the school and other facilities as needed.
- Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
- The employee needs to read, write, and speak English fluently.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to stand, walk, sit, use fingers to type, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance; stoop/bend and reach, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk, hear.
- Dexterity requires writing and operating standard office machines such as computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, phones, and calculators.
- Ability to occasionally lift and move up to 20 pounds.
Additional Information
WORK PERKS
When you join KIPP Capital Region, you are joining in on our promise to families that their children will enter college and the professional world able to thrive academically due to their literacy, numeracy, and core knowledge in science and social studies. We also promise that our students will develop a passion for learning and the drive necessary to persevere as they climb the mountain to and through college and career. Our graduates will be prepared to return to their community as teachers, leaders, and architects of continued growth in the Capital Region. And while the biggest perk to working at KIPP Capital Region is doing work that makes a lifelong difference in the lives of our students, you'll find that's not the only benefit we offer:
- Flexible working arrangement
- Generous time-off
- Industry-leading medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Aggressive employer 403(b) contribution match
- Childcare benefits
- Unparalleled work/life integration
- Casual dress code
- Relocation stipend (conditions apply)
- And so much more! For more information on the benefits of joining KIPP Capital Region, please view our Employee Benefits Summary.
Learn More:
KIPP Capital Region offers a competitive salary ranging from $109,300-120,800.
Salaries are determined using an equitable compensation scale that accounts for years of experience relevant to the role and longevity within the KIPP network. KIPP Capital Region will evaluate and determine the step/level a new hire will be placed within our graded salary scale at point of hire.
All staff and educators at KIPP Capital Region are committed to anti-racism and inclusion, are part of a close-knit diverse community, and are encouraged to show up authentically, inspiring our children to do the same. Learn more about what it’s like to work at KIPP Capital Region: kippcapital.org/join-our-team/
Salary : $109,300 - $120,800
