Technology Manager

THE ORGANIZATION 

Social justice movements come in all shapes and sizes.  Here at Lighthouse Community Public Schools, we are engaged in an educational movement that goes beyond our classrooms working to disrupt educational inequities by providing our students and families exceptional educational opportunities every day. Grounded in our core values of community, integrity, agency, love, and social justice rooted in EL Education Model, LCPS is a leader in fostering innovative schools achieving exceptional student outcomes where each child is at the center of their own learning. Our mission is to prepare diverse students for college, a career of their choice, and to be lifelong changemakers.

Founded in 2002, LCPS operates a high-achieving K-12 public charter school, and our K-8 sister site, Lodestar, that opened in Fall 2016; serving nearly 1,300 students in East Oakland. Lighthouse is a beacon for public education and our graduates fulfill the promise of a better, brighter Oakland.  95% of our graduates, almost all of whom are first-generation college students, are accepted into four-year colleges. We were named the Hart Vision Charter School of the Year in 2013, and the #1 high school for closing achievement gaps for low-income Latino students in 2016. If the work we do here at LCPS appeals to your values regarding quality education for all then please join our movement!  Learn more at www.lighthousecharter.org 

THE OPPORTUNITY

The realization of our mission to prepare students for college and career can only be actualized when our schools’ technology systems support teaching and learning efficiently and reliably.  Marry your skills in technology with your passion for improving outcomes for students. The Technology Manager’s primary responsibilities include implementing a system to maintain hardware and software systems up to date and properly functioning,, proactively working alongside of our technology associates to ensure our technology ecosystem are reliable and secure, and our onsite technology teams are promptly troubleshooting technology problems when they occur. In addition, you will supervise our Technology Team to execute the maintenance and improvement of those systems.  All of this is in service of LCPS’s mission and vision.   

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Mission and Core Values Focus: Inspired by our mission and belief that all students can achieve, the Technology Manager models the LCPS’ values of community, integrity, love, social justice, and agency 

• Communication: The Technology Manager is the primary communicator for any information related to LCPS’ technology initiatives. This includes both written and face-to-face communication, and the management of the Tech Team’s communication with staff.

• Organization and Project Management of Systems: The Tech Manager pays attention to needs across LCPS and utilizes their organizational skills to make sure the team operates successfully as a whole and is continuously moving work forward to meet the demands of our schools.

• Individual and Team Management: The Tech Manager directly supervises and supports the growth and development of a team of technology specialists across our sites.Has leadership skills and ability to delegate responsibilities effectively. 

• Willingness to Tinker: The Technology Manager addresses hard-to-fix problems with a sense of resourcefulness and possibility.

• Agency & Innovation: The Technology Manager innovates to create new systems and prioritize work to optimize the ever-changing needs of the organization.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Systems Administration.  The Technology Manager thinks strategically and audits the current state of LCPS’ educational technology and systems, and oversees the smooth execution of those systems to meet the needs of our academic program driven by our goals and outcomes. 

  • Oversee the implementation of systems and execute on contracts with vendors related to the main technology infrastructure. This includes, but is not limited to:

    • Cisco networking

    • Google’s G Suite and Google Apps Administration

    • Student Chromebooks and staff computers

    • Security

    • Clever 

    • System syncing with the student information systems (Aeries)

  • Oversight to ensure that systems are up and running to maintain a safe technological environment along with the creation, implementation, and roll-out of policies to ensure correct systems designed to meet the needs of our teaching environments. This includes, but is not limited to:

    • Connectivity for Internet and Phones

    • Security Policies and implementation

    • Policy oversight regarding staff and student usage 

  • Responsible for set-up systems and create documentation for hardware Inventory, maintenance schedules, procurement, and other processes related to student, staff, and school-based technology. 

  • Ensure that technology tickets being submitted by our staff are being addressed in a timely manner with proper communication by our site level tech team members. 

  • Oversight of Technology Budget, with budget development based on input from instructional and operational leadership

  • Website Development: Improvement, Maintenance, and Updating of Content  on both external domain & staff intranet (includes management of any contracted website services)

• Team Management.  The Technology Manager is responsible for supervising Tech Team members across LCPS’s sites.  This includes:

  • Building community and fostering a learning environment amongst Tech Team

  • Builds a culture of “quality customer service” of serving our schools, leaders, and students

  • Running periodic (currently, weekly) meetings to strategize and problem-solve collaboratively

  • Meeting regularly with each team member one-on-one to establish and review individual goals

  • Creating or seeking  Professional Development opportunities for Tech Team members particularly with G Suite, Security, Clever, and Cisco networking.

  • Liaising between Tech Team and other LCPS Staff (Principals, Operations, Academic Team, etc.) to set up systems and communicate as needed

  • Leading the team towards the implementation of goals 

  • Evaluating the performance of team members 

  • Responsible to hire, onboard and train new tech team staff

• Project Management.  The Technology Manager oversees the technology implementation of major school initiatives that have a significant tech component and responsible for the documentation of related systems, processes, and protocols.  This includes:

  • Implementation of new technology platforms, organizational settings configuration and manage vendor relationships as applicable in order to meet the needs of our school sites

  • Create, document and implement policies for filtering, printing, and access by school/grade level/classroom and network infrastructure documentation and maps. 

  • Spearhead the cleanup of Chromebook device configuration and organizational units structure in Google Admin Console and of Security configurations.

• Additional Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with site-based and shared service leaders to identify instructional priorities and introduce technological solutions that may help to address those priorities.

  • Assessment, for both state-mandated assessments and internally selected benchmarks

  • Execute recommendations of the most recent technology audit. 

  • Oversee the start-up technology needs for the future growth of our organization included added buildings and grade levels. 

  • Other responsibilities, as assigned by supervisor

Supervision & Collaboration Overview:

• Supervises: Tech Teams across two sites

• Reports to: Director of Operations

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.A. or B.S. required

• 5+ years working with educational technology or organizational technology infrastructure

• Experience in a project management/supervision/ coaching role preferred

• Experience working in schools or with youth and families preferred

• Experience with Google Apps administration preferred

Time Commitment:

This is a salaried full time exempt 12-month position (220 days). This role is expected to maintain minimum building hours of M - F from 8:00 - 5:00 p.m., with occasional needs during evenings and weekends (e.g., Student Expos, Support for Community Events).

Start Date:

July 1, 2019. 

Compensation 

Lighthouse offers competitive wages; benefits include a comprehensive employer-contributed retirement plan, medical and dental coverage, medical and dependent care FSA, and professional development opportunities. LCPS also offers generous PTO/vacation, including approximately 6 weeks of vacation scheduled with supervisor approval and 8 sick/personal days.

TO APPLY

People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.  

Interested candidates should submit:

• Resume

• Cover letter describing your interest in this exciting position and why you are an optimal fit

• 3 references with Name, Email, Phone Number and Title/nature of the working relationship

Application submission screening and initial phone interviews will be completed on a rolling basis until filled.  In-person interviews and performance tasks will take place on-site.   

Lighthouse Community Charter Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity at all levels.