Position Title: Executive Director

Reports to: Board of Directors

Reporting to this Position:

• Principal
• Director of Academic Innovation

Job Summary

The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR serves as chief executive of Dillard Academy Charter School and, in partnership with the board, is responsible for the success of Dillard Academy Charter School. Together, the board and EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR assure Dillard Academy Charter School’s relevance to the community, the accomplishment of Dillard Academy Charter School’s mission and vision, and the accountability of Dillard Academy Charter School to its diverse constituents.

The board delegates responsibility for management and day-to-day operations to the CEO, and he or she has the authority to carry out these responsibilities, in accordance with the direction and policies established by the board. The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR provides direction and support to the board as it carries out its governance functions.

Accountabilities

• Legal compliance

• Assures the filing of all legal and regulatory documents, and monitors compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

• Mission, policy, and planning

• Helps the board determine DAC’s values, mission, vision, and short- and long-term goals.
• Helps the board monitor and evaluate DAC’s relevancy to the community, its effectiveness, and its results.
• Keeps the board fully informed on the condition of DACS and on all the important factors influencing it.
• Identifies problems and opportunities and addresses them; brings those which are appropriate to the board and/or its committees; facilitates discussion and deliberation.
• Informs the board and its committees about trends, issues, problems and activities in order to facilitate policy-making. Recommends policy positions.
• Keeps informed of developments in public education reform, the charter school movement, not-for-profit management and governance, and philanthropy and fund development.

• Management and administration

• Provides general oversight of all DACS Academy activities, manages the day-to-day operations, and assures a smoothly functioning, efficient charter school.
• Assures program quality and charter school stability and sustainability through development and implementation of standards and controls, systems and procedures, and regular evaluation.
• Assures a work environment that recruits, retains, and supports quality staff and volunteers. Assures process for selecting, developing, motivating, and evaluating staff and volunteers.
• Recommends staffing and financing to the board of trustees. In accordance with board action, recruits personnel, negotiates professional contracts, and sees that appropriate salary structures are developed and maintained.
  

• Specifies accountabilities for management personnel and evaluates performance regularly.

• Academic Oversight

• Develops and manages the performance of the principal, instituting accountability systems to ensure that charter promises are met and exceeded.
• Develops and leads process for assessing the needs of the instructional program, planning, implementing, and evaluating short- and long-term academic goals
• Supervises the processes for recruitment, selection, initial training, ongoing professional development, and evaluation of teachers and staff.

• Governance

• Helps the board articulate its own role and accountabilities and that of its committees and individual members, and helps evaluate performance regularly.
• Works with the board chair to enable the board to fulfill its governance functions and facilitates the optimum performance by the board, its committees, and individual board members.
• With the board chair, focuses board attention on long-range strategic issues.
• Manages the board’s due diligence process to ensure timely attention to core issues.

• Finances

• Promotes programs and services that are produced cost-effectively, employing economy while maintaining an acceptable level of quality.
• Oversees the fiscal activities of the charter school, including budgeting, reporting, and auditing.
• Works with board to ensure financing to support short- and long-term goals.
• Assures an effective fund-development program by serving as the chief development officer or hiring and supervising an individual responsible for this activity.
• Helps guide and enable the board, its fund-development committee(s), and its individual board members to participate actively in the fund-development process.
• Helps the board and its development committee design, implement, and monitor available fundraising plan, grants, policies, and procedures.
• Participates actively in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting donor prospects.
• Assures the availability of materials to support solicitation.

7.  Community Relations

• Uses using effective marketing and communications activities.
• Acts as an advocate, within the public and private sectors, for issues relevant to DACS, its services, and constituencies.
• Listens to students, parents, volunteers, donors, and the community to improve services and generate community involvement. Assures community awareness of DACS’s response to community needs.
• Serves as chief spokesperson for DACS, assuring proper representation of DACS to the community.

• Initiates, develops, and maintains cooperative relationships with key constituencies.
• Works with legislators, regulatory agencies, volunteers, and representatives of the charter community to promote legislative and regulatory policies that encourage a healthy community and address the issues of DACS’s constituencies.

1. Executive Limitations: See relevant board policies.