Special Assistant To The Chief Of Capital Planning (Anticipated Vacancy) (Sy24-25)

Position Overview:

In May of 2022, the City of Boston announced the plans for the Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools (GND for BPS). Led by the BPS Office of Capital Planning, the GND for BPS is a joint initiative between Boston Public Schools and the City of Boston to reimagine our schools as full-service community hubs that can adapt to meet the evolving needs of our students and Boston while increasing the climate resilience of BPS facilities. The GND for BPS is a multi-billion dollar investment in BPS facilities and the development and implementation of a long-term facilities action for the District. The Office of Capital Planning seeks a motivated, detail-oriented, strategic Special Assistant to support an ambitious capital planning and investment agenda that includes new construction, renovations, and school reconfigurations.

Summary:

The Special Assistant will work directly with the Chief of Capital Planning, the Capital Planning team, and other district stakeholders and will be responsible for performing several administrative duties. The ideal candidate is highly self-motivated, professional, and capable of managing their workload and prioritizing tasks in a fast-paced environment. The Special Assistant's main duties include scheduling and facilitating meetings, organizing daily calendars, triaging and responding to internal and external inquiries, and supporting the Chief of Capital Planning and the Capital Planning team with special projects.

Responsibilities:

• Maintains the calendar of the Chief of Capital Planning, including arranging cross-functional meetings for the Office of Capital Planning

• Serves as the timekeeper for the Capital Planning team

• Provides support to the Chief of Capital Planning for the convening of a range of meetings with both internal and external stakeholders on short- and long-term projects. This may include undertaking research; tracking trends; preparing presentations; developing meeting agendas; drafting briefing papers and/or compiling pertinent background materials for attendees; preparing discussion summaries; coordinating logistical arrangements; and ensuring appropriate and effective communications with participants, as needed.

• Prepares for, facilitates, and tracks follow up actions at team meetings including daily standups, biweekly team meetings, weekly leadership meetings, and three week lookaheads.

• Facilitates the organization and prioritization of work in the Office of Capital Planning

• Monitors the budget, expenses, and contract requests for the department

• Manages the intake, triaging, and responses to various internal and external inquiries, such as team operations requests, external requests for meetings, etc.

• Assists with hiring and onboarding process for new team members

• Oversees the department high school internship program

• Staff community engagement events outside of regular work hours

• Organizes team bonding events to enhance team morale and manages the team sunshine fund

• Organizes and supports staff as needed

• Assists the Chief of Capital Planning with other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Required:

• Bachelor's Degree or commensurate experience

• Experience in government, education, non-profit or private sector demonstrating effective administrative support

• Track record of thinking critically and mastering complex subject matter quickly

• Exceptional writing, research, analytical, and organizational skills and the ability to convey complex concepts in a clear, concise, and logical manner

• Sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to work easily with senior leaders across the organization

• Ability to partner well with colleagues both inside and outside of the organization

• Ability to work independently and undertake supervisory responsibilities as needed

• Ability to maintain confidentiality

• Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office and Google Suite

Qualifications

• Preferred:

• Administrative support experience

• Excellent project management skills, with experience using

• Experience in government and an understanding of community relations, preferably in the City of Boston

• Familiarity with Boston and/or the Boston Public Schools

• BPS strongly prefers linguistic diversity, and candidates who speak another language bring added value to the classroom, school, and district culture and diversity. BPS is particularly interested in candidates fluent in one of BPS's official languages: Spanish, Creole (Cape Verdean), Creole (Haitian), Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, & Somali.

Terms: Managerial, C41.

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, employment, or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals' dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.