Executive Director : Utah

Utah Education Association

Executive Director

Based in Murray, Utah

The Utah Education Association (UEA) is an organization of public education professionals. The mission of the UEA is to advance the cause of public education in partnership with others: strengthen the teaching profession, promote quality schools for Utah’s children and advocate the well-being of its 18,000 members.

Founded in 1860, UEA is the state’s largest public school employees’ union comprised of K-12 teachers and other K-12 certificated staff. Membership also includes students enrolled in teacher education programs and retired educators, making UEA the most inclusive and powerful voice of educators in the state. The UEA includes 11 UniServ (regional) offices and 41 locally affiliated associations in urban and rural locations. UEA is a state affiliate of the 3- million-member National Education Association.

In 2021 UEA staff, members, educators will celebrate a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new building that will serve as the new UEA headquarters.

POSITION OVERVIEW
The Executive Director is the Association’s Chief of Staff and serves at the will of the UEA President and Board of Directors. The Executive Director manages a staff of approximately 20 employees and a budget that exceeds $6 million. The Executive Director serves as ex-officio, non-voting member of the Board of Directors. After collaboration with the UEA President, the Executive Director is charged with adeptly advising the Board, managing and skillfully representing the long-term vision and strategic direction of the Association, and implementing organizational priorities, programs and activities as determined by the Board of Directors, and as guided by the UEA Constitution, Bylaws and Board Policies.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The UEA Executive Director’s responsibilities include:

• Institutional Leadership – exercise inclusive and decisive leadership to advance the mission and vision of the UEA;
• Long Range Planning – maintain focus on the strategic goals and priorities established by systematic and strategic planning processes;
• Stewardship of Financial Resources – provide oversight and necessary due diligence to ensure the financial health of the Association;
• Organizational Effectiveness and Accountability – drive for continuous improvement utilizing data and measurement processes to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of UEA programs and services;
• Public Education Advocacy – champion public education in Utah, including building collaborative relationships between UEA and external stakeholders in order to shape the highest professional standards for state and federal education policy;
• Organizational Structure – manage and improve processes within the existing, predominantly local-option organizational model to maximize accountability, create clarity around roles and responsibilities, and foster collaborative decision making;
• Staff Relations – build and nurture effective and appropriate labor/management relationships with the staff union, which includes regularly and effectively evaluating state affiliate employees. The Executive Director serves as the liaison to the Governance Negotiations Team.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING UEA
Current opportunities and challenges include:

• UEA is committed to continue outreach work with existing and new education, business and other public sector partners in support of quality education and equitable/adequate opportunity for all students.
• UEA has an opportunity to provide strategic guidance and communicate with stakeholders regarding the various local option UniServs to ensure clarity and understanding.
• UEA has an opportunity to realign and partner with staff and members post COVID-19.
• UEA has the opportunity to benefit from technology to support creative and innovative ways to connect with members.
• UEA has an opportunity to expand interaction with the Utah School Employees Association (USEA), a state-wide association representing public school educational support staff in Utah. UEA and USEA share common interests around issues and goals that impact quality public education their members and the children in the communities that they serve.
• UEA has an opportunity to capitalize on and support its current staff talent pool through empowerment and professional development.
• UEA has an opportunity to align employees and stakeholders to focus energy and resources toward the support of the strategic plan.
• UEA has an opportunity to prioritize the inclusion of BIPOC educators, to include hiring and involvement in the association.
• UEA has an opportunity with new construction for fundraising and strengthening affiliate and business partnerships.
• UEA is recognized as the leading voice of educational professionals in Utah’s public schools.
• UEA is committed to a growing and supporting organic grassroots membership movements that are engaged in building coalitions to advocate for social justice issues that impact children, and that campaign tirelessly to elect those at the local and state level who support pro-public education policies.
• UEA continues to develop systems and strategies to ensure the fiscal health of the association in a challenging economic climate.
• UEA excels in offering a “value stream of belonging” by being in touch with, and responsive to member needs. Engaging more UEA members and membership categories in this effort are key strategic goals.
• UEA practices continuous improvement of management systems to ensure stronger two-way communication with staff and members through enhanced knowledge and skill development.
• UEA is committed to raising the integrity of professional licensure and compensation that will attract highly qualified and skilled educators to the state, and mitigate the educator shortage for public schools in Utah.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES
UEA’s Executive Director will be expected to demonstrate competency in the following areas

Leadership
A passionate public education advocate who understands the central role educators play in leading change in their profession. A proven record of senior organizational leadership marked by a passion for education. A visionary leader who has confidently engaged others to identify and work toward common goals. Capable and willing to voice respectful and effective dissent when and where appropriate.
Has success in implementing strategic plans that involve significant organizational change. Has utilized reliable methods to ensure accountability and timeliness in the execution of strategic goals and objectives. Must possess a growth mindset, a collaborative workstyle and be able to communicate effectively with a broad range of internal and external partners. Must have the confidence to lead courageously and possess resilience in a rapidly changing environment.

Must demonstrate evidence of success in achieving desired outcomes when leading organizational innovation and change; a courageous leader who has shown organizational savvy and flexibility in confronting and adapting to challenging and changing political and organizational realities. Must be capable and willing to voice respectful and effective dissent when and where appropriate. A proven ability to grow a membership base. An empathetic leader who has a demonstrated, successful record of attracting and empowering a highly talented staff and is skilled at coaching and mentoring. Has success in building and maintaining effective coalition partnerships.

Interpersonal Effectiveness
An effective communicator who has excelled in building successful relationships with diverse groups and individuals. A successful record of effective conflict management. Has successfully fostered collaboration and consensus building, engaged creative problem-solving and risk taking, and is inclusive in terms of diverse individual and cultural perspectives. Must possess a spirit of openness and humility with the ability to celebrate unique talents that exist in the workplace.

UEA has a culture in which we place a high priority of communication, recognition and collaboration. We are in search of an Executive Director who is aligned with our culture and will continue to enhance it through positive leadership.

Self-Management
Must be mission driven, possess passion, integrity, and have a positive attitude. A lifelong learner who is self- directed and is able to identify their own strengths, talents and areas of improvement. A leader who is comfortable leveraging time to accomplish goals for success in the role of Executive Director to fulfill organizational goals. Must have personal vision and values that support the organization. Must be adept at prioritizing goals and possess excellent decision-making skills and be able to ensure accountability to commitments.

Member Focus
A leader who values public education and is focused on member needs. Someone who believes in member engagement, trust, and loyalty, and who is committed to fostering strong relationships between UEA and its members. An experienced leader who has successfully demonstrated the ability to implement high quality programs and services that bring value to members. Demonstrated experience using data to identify additional ways to offer value to members’ professional practice and careers. An influential leader who understands membership and can expand UEA’s membership and influence, and who has effectively led innovative strategies, programs, initiatives, and policies designed to attract and increase new membership. Proven ability to create collaborative relationships and partnerships with local, county and state governments, as well as community groups and organizations.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• A successful record of 3-5 years of middle to senior-level leadership experience in positions of increasing responsibility.
• Background in public policy and/or labor advocacy and collective bargaining.
• Experience in public education advocacy.
• Experience reporting to and advising an elected board of directors.
• A record of life-long learning, including recent professional development work.

EDUCATION
Bachelor’s Degree or higher, from an accredited four-year college or university.

COMPENSATION PACKAGE
UEA is prepared to offer a competitive salary and benefit package consistent with experience, skills and demonstrated abilities.

TO APPLY
To be considered for this position, please provide the following:

• A current résumé reflecting qualifications for this position.
• A Letter of Application which specifically addresses how accomplishments in your career have prepared you to meet the challenges and opportunities presented in this position.

All materials must be sent electronically to the following:

Unionsearch.org
Margolies Potterton & Associates, LLC
Patricia Johnson: patjohnson@unionsearch.org

For all questions regarding this search, including confidential inquiries, please contact:

Patricia Johnson (Central time zone)
patjohnson@unionsearch.org
972-824-3750 (Central time zone)

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 12, 2021, 5:00pm EST.

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