Director, Summer Programs Management
The mission of BEAM is to create pathways for students from low-income and underserved 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 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.
Description Of The Position
The Director, Summer Programs Management will oversee the overall planning and management of 6 summer math camp sites serving 500+ middle school students in Los Angeles and New York, which includes our day camp, BEAM Discovery, and our residential camp, BEAM Summer Away. As head of the central program office Summer Programs Management Team, the Director will work closely with our business ops team, finance, and local program teams to ensure we have the students, staffing, training, and learning experiences to run exceptional math enrichment programs. The Summer Program Management team will also collaborate with the Central Program Services team to identify, design, and implement areas for improvements to summer program design.
The ideal candidate is a highly skilled project manager who is organized, detailed oriented, and effective at cross functional collaboration. You are the PMO (project management office), i.e. central nervous system, for making sure all summer camps launch successfully. You believe deeply in BEAM's mission, hold students and staff experience at the center of your decision making, and are constantly finding ways to make the annual planning and implementation process more efficient and scalable to produce the best summer camp experience possible.
BEAM students often describe their summer with BEAM as a life-changing experience. It is the catalyst for developing self-confidence in math, and inspiring students to pursue a career in a quant-based STEM field long term. As the Director, you will have the opportunity to impact students at the very beginning of their journey with BEAM and set them on a long term path for success.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership And Staff Management (25%)
- Lead a high-performing team by setting clear goals and strategies, leading ongoing reflection and program improvement cycles, and fostering a positive work environment
- Assign staff roles and responsibilities and supervise the execution of projects to ensure alignment with program goals
- Partner with local program directors and local summer program staff to set summer enrollment goals and staffing requirements, delineate clear division of labor, assign task ownership and responsibilities
- Provide the coaching, feedback and professional development staff need to excel in their roles
Project Management And Implementation (60%)
Set the KPIs, systems and structures for project managing the planning and launch of BEAM's summer programsDetermine annual staffing needs across six summer sites based on full student enrollment, pre-determined staff : student ratios, and returning staff commitmentsDevelop and maintain summer camp management guides, camp policy documentation and implementation resourcesPropose and design changes to the camp model, curriculum, operations, and schedule based on org improvement priorities each year in collaboration with the central program services team and local program teams.Lead hiring committees for staffing site leadership, faculty, and counselor roles across all summer camp sitesDevelop the staff training plan and manage the design and implementation of training materials, resources, and job manuals for all summer rolesEngage key stakeholders (e.g. long time summer staff) to get feedback on new program improvements, inform key changes, and build buy-in on final decisionsMaintain systems, data and tools for evaluating summer program efficacy, staff performance, and student satisfactionWork with Business Operations and local programs to make sure all sites are in compliance with labor laws and health codesLead end of summer step back meetings with summer site leadership team to identify areas for improvementSecuring multi-year partnerships that allow BEAM to scale or enhance its summer camp experiences (e.g. facilities, talent, curriculum, technology)Summer Site Management (15%)
Lead one BEAM summer site each year as a Site Director (with the option of taking every third year off to coach and support all sites)As a site leader, you will lead a 5-member site leadership team responsible for running the camp. Direct summer responsibilities include :Making camp-wide policy adjustments and schedule changes, in consultation with leadership team, host site admins, and input from staff to address ongoing camp challengesDeciding if a staff member or student requires disciplinary action and / or must be dismissed from camp due to a violation in codes of conduct, in consultation with their guidance counselor, BEAM HQ or the local DirectorDelegating new, unassigned, or overflow tasks as needed across the leadership team, faculty, or staffWorking with the Guidance Counselor and Director of Student Life (DoSL) to develop behavior support plans for struggling students identified via the CARE Report.Engaging with families about their child's needs, concerns, accommodations, etc.Ensure camp is running on budget and report progress with finance teamQualifications
Requirements :
5+ years of professional work experience2+ years working in summer camp leadership or school leadershipExperience designing strong STEM or academics-based programs and curriculumAt least 2 years managing a team or a program requiring management of personnelCoaching experience, preferably in a teaching or school environmentProfessional experience working with low-income communitiesA strong connection to the "why" of our work for both you and the team you will leadPreferences :
2+ years experience working in summer camp leadership1+ years experience working at BEAM Discovery or BEAM Summer AwayExperience with STEM education, STEM research, or STEM outreachExperience working middle school age studentsExperience using Asana or other PM tools to manage complex projectsA strong math teaching and / or math curriculum backgroundDegrees (Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD) in a STEM fieldFluency in SpanishExperience in the geographic area served by BEAM (LA / NY)Experience improving operational efficiencyProfessional Strengths :
Highly skilled project managerData driven planner focused on goals and prioritizing the work that drives impactOrganized and detailed oriented in both planning and implementation of programsCommitted to ongoing data analysis, reflection, continuous improvementEnjoys build team culture, trusting relationships, and collaboration normsCommunicates clearly and effectively with care and respect for multiple perspectivesSolutions-oriented problem solver who can quickly identify