About BEAM
The mission of BEAM is to create pathways for students from low-income and historically marginalized communities to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and computer scientists. Led by staff with these same technical backgrounds, BEAM believes that pathways to STEM careers are created through community, individual support, and access to advanced work that typically lies outside most school curricula. We work to directly support students and to transition them to other supportive enrichment programs that enable their future success.
BEAM's model provides continuous support from middle school through college graduation, including intense academic summer programs for middle school students (after 6th and 7th grade), weekend classes and mentoring, and STEM-focused support through college. Our program includes not just access to learning advanced math but also support finding and applying to other opportunities, including support with college admissions and financial aid. In addition to our academic content, bringing students into community is a key part of our mission and all of our work is designed to support that goal.
BEAM has grown from a small summer program serving 17 students in the summer of 2011 to a year-round, national program, serving 420+ students at six summer program sites and 600+ students in year-round programming in New York City and Los Angeles this school year. In addition, our BEAM National pilot program now reaches over 500 elementary-aged students in seven different states, working to create a new nationwide pathway modeled on our local work.
With our recent strategic plan, our team has committed to transforming the organization from a successful startup to a more mature and scalable organization that can drive change across the country.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PROGRAM
BEAM is expanding our national program to provide thousands of students access to math enrichment in under-resourced communities. The national program will consist of three programs to reach our goal of providing under-resourced students access to math enrichment. A majority of students will be in our elementary school program, Entry Points, where we currently partner with over 700 students in 5 different states. We aim to reach over 4,000 students in the next 5 years. Eligible students from the Entry Points program will graduate to our middle school program, Bridge, and our high school program, Pathway.
DESCRIPTION OF ROLE
The Director of National Programs will work closely with the Chief Program Officer and leadership from across the organization to refine Entry Points, and support the expansion of the Bridge and Pathway programs for the National Program.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Leadership and Staff Management (40%)
- Lead a high-performing team by setting clear goals, guiding staff development, and fostering a positive work environment.
- Assign staff responsibilities, develop workflow, and supervise the execution of projects to ensure alignment with program goals.
- Promote cross-departmental collaboration with teams such as Central Services, Learning and Evaluation and IT Systems and Operations
Program Development and Implementation (35%)
- Ensure data collection and program evaluation efforts are effective, using insights to adapt and improve the program model over time.
- Collaborate with senior leadership in further developing the program model.
- Lead the development of scalable processes for expanding the reach of National Programs.
- Collaborate with Learning and Evaluation, Program Design and Central Services to develop and implement processes that enhance program outcomes.
- Develop programmatic guidelines and ensure operations are in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and best practices.
Financial Oversight (10%)
- Responsible for the fiscal management of National Programs, which includes operating within the constraints of the annual budget, while also taking proactive steps to improve operational efficiency and program scalability.
- Authorizes expenditures within budgetary guidelines in order to meet planned goals for National Programs.
- Reviews monthly/quarterly spending reports versus budget; adjusts spending plans as needed to meet financial goals.
- Assists in the preparation of the annual budget and any long term forecasts by providing input on program plans, staffing needs, and other local organization priorities.
Fundraising and External Relations (15%)
- Collaborate with the Advancement team to support fundraising efforts including preparing and reviewing grant applications and grant reports.
- Represent BEAM at events to promote the organization’s mission and build relationships with potential donors and partners.
- Participate in donor cultivation activities, supporting the stewardship of relationships and securing resources for program growth.
QUALIFICATIONS
We understand that there are many paths to acquiring experience and therefore welcome candidates from diverse and nontraditional backgrounds for this role who have demonstrated equivalent transferable skills to carry out the major duties outlined in this job description.
- Strong understanding of program development, management, and scaling strategies
- Experience with data-driven program evaluation and continuous improvement.
- Excellent team leadership skills, including communicating a clear vision, leading inclusive decision-making, and managing a team (including managing managers of other people) in a collaborative and inclusive manner.
- Experience running educational programs serving youth from marginalized backgrounds in a nonprofit organization or school setting.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Technological fluency: able to adapt to and use technology such as Google Suite, Office Suite, Salesforce, Slack, etc. Strong skills here are preferred to help manage the volume of information.
- Curiosity and a learning mindset; enjoys absorbing new ideas and thinking through them. Asks not just "what?" and "how?" but also "why?"
- Passion for BEAM’s mission and strong interest in being part of a team working to support students from marginalized backgrounds and their families.
Preferred Education and Experience
- Preference for deep knowledge of elementary math education or math enrichment experience
- Strong preference for experience scaling a program for a non-profit organization
- Strong preference for experience partnering with school districts and school administrators.
- Strong preference for experience leading remote teams
- Strong preference for experience supporting students from Black, Latinx, and other historically marginalized communities.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Our process, as described below, has approximately four stages and we anticipate the process lasting about 4-6 weeks in total with someone starting in the role as soon as possible, although we are flexible with the specific date.
The initial step is to submit your application, including resumé and responses to a few short application questions, via our online portal. When your application is complete, we will follow up with next steps.
Next steps in our process will include a short 30-minute phone interview and/or sample projects so we can get to know you and you can show us your work. We believe in the importance of demonstrated ability and providing opportunities that allow candidates to demonstrate relevant skills for the role throughout our process. The final step of our process is a final interview with the team.
We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
SALARY, BENEFITS, AND OTHER DETAILS
The salary range for this position is $95,000 - $115,000. This is a good faith anticipated range of the job, but the actual pay will be based on any applicant’s skill and experience.
BEAM provides a number of benefits including:
- Flexible working hours
- Health, dental and vision benefits including health plan options that are free for individuals
- 12 paid holidays including an office closure between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- 15 days of paid annual leave to start, and will increase by one day for each year worked for your first 5 years of employment
- Paid sick leave
- 403(b) Retirement Plan
- Student loan reimbursement
- Pre-tax commuter benefits
COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
BEAM believes that our staff, at all levels and across all roles, should represent the backgrounds of the students we serve. We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment. Beyond a commitment to nondiscrimination, we strongly encourage applications from underrepresented and marginalized communities.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
BEAM is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of an individual’s race (including traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protected hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), ethnicity, religion (including clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with the religious tenets), color, sex, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, breastfeeding, gender (including actual or perceived sex, gender identity, and gender expression including a person’s actual or perceived gender-related self-image, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic, regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth), sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive health decisions, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, status as a veteran, active military service member, or uniform service member, marital or partnership status, familial status, caregiver status, age (18 or older), predisposing genetic characteristics, disability, creed, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking, unemployment status, salary history, credit history, an individual’s status as having a known relationship or association with a member or members of a protected category, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. This policy applies to all terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline, and termination.
All personnel decisions will be made in accordance with the principles of equal employment opportunity and subject only to valid (job-related) requirements for employment, benefits, or promotional opportunities.