Director, Summer Programs Management

About BEAM

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 programs
• Determine annual staffing needs across six summer sites based-on full student enrollment, pre-determined staff: student ratios, and returning staff commitments  
• Develop and maintain summer camp management guides, camp policy documentation and implementation resources
• Propose 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 sites
• Develop the staff training plan and manage the design and implementation of training materials, resources, and job manuals for all summer roles
• Engage key stakeholders (e.g. long time summer staff) to get feedback on new program improvements, inform key changes, and build buy-in on final decisions
• Maintain systems, data and tools for evaluating summer program efficacy, staff performance, and student satisfaction
• Work with Business Operations and local programs to make sure all sites are in compliance with labor laws and health codes
• Lead end of summer step back meetings with summer site leadership team to identify areas for improvement
• Securing 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 challenges
• Deciding 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 Director 
• Delegating new, unassigned, or overflow tasks as needed across the leadership team, faculty, or staff
• Working 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 team

QUALIFICATIONS

Requirements:

• 5+ years of professional work experience 
• 2+ years working in summer camp leadership or school leadership
• Experience designing strong STEM or academics-based programs and curriculum
• At least 2 years managing a team or a program requiring management of personnel
• Coaching experience, preferably in a teaching or school environment
• Professional experience working with low-income communities
• A strong connection to the “why” of our work for both you and the team you will lead

Preferences:

• 2+ years experience working in summer camp leadership
• 1+ years experience working at BEAM Discovery or BEAM Summer Away 
• Experience with STEM education, STEM research, or STEM outreach
• Experience working middle school age students
• Experience using Asana or other PM tools to manage complex projects
• A strong math teaching and/or math curriculum background
• Degrees (Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD) in a STEM field
• Fluency in Spanish
• Experience in the geographic area served by BEAM (LA/NY)
• Experience improving operational efficiency

Professional Strengths

• Highly skilled project manager
• Data driven planner focused on goals and prioritizing the work that drives impact  
• Organized and detailed oriented in both planning and implementation of programs 
• Committed to ongoing data analysis, reflection, continuous improvement 
• Enjoys build team culture, trusting relationships, and collaboration norms
• Communicates clearly and effectively with care and respect for multiple perspectives
• Solutions-oriented problem solver who can quickly identify and address challenges

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation

• Sitting - constantly (50%+)
• Repetitive movements - typing (50%+)
• Moderate noise levels

SALARY, BENEFITS AND OTHER DETAILS

The expected salary range for this position is $95,00 to $125,000, depending on experience and background. This is a good faith anticipated range of the job, but the actual pay will be based on any applicant’s skill and experience.

Work Schedule:

• Academic Year (September - June): Hybrid, 3 days in office (including onsite at our NYC office and/or visiting partner schools, donors, and local nonprofits)/ 2 days remote
• Summer Programs: conducting summer camp site evaluations (minimum 2 days/week) which for this year includes locations in Uptown/Downtown and Upstate New York.

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 
• 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
• 12 weeks paid maternity/paternity leave
• 403(b) Retirement Plan
• Student loan reimbursement
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Discounted health club membership

APPLICATION PROCESS

The initial step is to submit your application, including resume 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 their 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. 

For accommodation requests related to the job application process, please email accommodations@beammath.org

We believe strongly in communication and collaboration. In the spirit of that collaborative atmosphere, we strongly encourage you to ask questions about the position! You can contact hiring@beammath.org.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Beyond a commitment to nondiscrimination, we are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

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.