Tanenbaum Director of Partnerships and Social Impact

Employment Terms: Full-Time, 5-Year Contract

Start date: August

End date: June

Since our founding in , Upper Canada College has been committed to developing young people for lives of leadership, service, and impact. As we approach UCC’s third century, we continue to enhance a UCC education to support our students in meeting the needs of a complex future in a way that is aligned with our values of Learning, Community, Service, Wellbeing and Pluralism. We are at an exciting moment in the College’s history with the launch of the Lang Leadership Lab to enhance student leadership development SK-Year 12 and UCC being chosen as one of four schools globally to offer the IB Diploma Programme Systems Transformation Pathway, a pilot pathway to the globally-renowned IB Diploma that offers a transdisciplinary cornerstone course focused on understanding and taking action on complex global challenges using the mindsets and tools of systems thinking, design thinking and digital innovation to shape a better world. UCC has a unique opportunity to achieve broader impact and become a leader in systems transformation education by embedding this approach strategically and in age-appropriate ways across its IB programmes SK-Year 12, including via significant experiential learning opportunities for students created through community engagement and partnerships that leverage the strength of our College community and our location and relationships in Toronto and beyond.

The College sees enhanced partnerships and community engagement initiatives as a key element of our learning program, directly helping to realize the College’s Strategic Directions Towards by serving as a source of transformational learning experiences for students through opportunities for positive engagement beyond our campuses and a means to develop new and dynamic ways of knowing and doing, shaping how the College is known in the broader community and creating opportunities to contribute to research and professional dialogue. Our focus on partnership is grounded in our values of Learning, Service and Community: We desire to learn and therefore seek opportunities for collaboration and feedback. We desire to serve and therefore seek to work with others, to understand our unique qualities in relationship to others, to act with humility and empathy and to create positive change. We desire community and therefore seek to build strong and trusting relationships with others. Partnerships and community engagement initiatives will help us extend our thinking and practice and assist in the development of a leading program, identify and connect to authentic problems needing solutions that can engage our students, find developmentally appropriate mentorship and support for student learning and opportunities for students to extend their learning beyond UCC’s program.

Thanks to the generous philanthropic support from the Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation, we are seeking a passionate and experienced individual to serve as the inaugural Tanenbaum Director of Partnerships and Social Impact at UCC. This is an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of experiential learning, strategic partnership development, as well as leadership and systems transformation education at Upper Canada College. The successful candidate will be a visionary leader with a passion for empowering young people to make a positive difference in the world, fostering student engagement with complex real-world issues, and cultivating partnerships and community engagement that support this learning.

Position Overview:

The Tanenbaum Director of Partnerships and Social Impact champions and enables UCC's mission to educate young people for lives of leadership, service and impact by fostering partnerships and community engagement initiatives that are aligned with the College’s desired learning outcomes. A member of the Learning and Academic Innovation team, the Director will collaborate with the Program Senior Leadership team and faculty leads to understand areas of need and opportunity in the learning program and will provide vision, strategic, and operational direction to create and sustaining a robust network of authentic, intentional partnerships with a range of organization, groups and individuals to ensure the richest possible learning experiences for UCC students and the kind of reciprocal learning- and service-oriented relationships that contribute to the College’s strategic work toward social impact and thought leadership.

In their portfolio, the Director will play an important role in supporting key strategic initiatives, including the enhancement of student leadership development and the development of systems transformation education as a signature aspect of the UCC experience across the IB programmes SK-Year 12, working with program leaders in those spaces and offering specific leadership in the establishment and implementation of a robust offering of vision-aligned experiential learning opportunities for students.

The Director will support the College in cultivating partnerships that leverage the College’s diverse and talented community, its global reach in education and its location in the city of Toronto. The Director will lead and collaborate in the design and implementation of community engagement programming for students, including: experiential learning, mentorship opportunities, experiences found through partnership development with universities and industry, and initiatives focused on systems transformation, sustainability, wellbeing and pluralism. The Director will ensure measurement of the effectiveness and impact of partnerships- both in terms of student outcomes as well as broader community outcomes, and disseminating results in an annual report. The Director will play a pivotal role in fostering a culture that supports student social impact, systems thinking, innovation, and partnership development throughout the College, collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and external partners.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

Strategic Leadership:

Collaborate with the Senior Leadership Team to develop a long-term vision, intentional strategy and tactical plan to support the development of learning-focused partnerships and social impact initiatives.

• Develop a framework for partnerships, including partnership criteria and a mechanism for the establishment and maintenance of social impact programming and partnerships that encompasses a process for regular evaluation and renewal, development of appropriate indicators and mechanisms to measure and track success informed by best practice models and improvements where necessary.
• Develop an annual report on impact of partnerships - both in terms of student learning outcomes and broader community / partner outcomes
• Stay informed and current with research in education, social impact, partnership development, systems thinking, and experiential learning methodologies.
• Represent social impact and partnership initiatives within the College community and with external stakeholders.
• Develop collaborative relationships with key roles, including members of the Senior Leadership Team, the Director of Academics, and other relevant stakeholders to support the College’s student leadership, social impact, systems thinking, wellbeing, pluralism and sustainability-focused objectives.
• Inventory existing learning-focused partnerships active at the College and identifying a range of potential partners including universities, community organizations, nonprofits and startups/incubators/accelerators.

Development and Implementation of Student Programming:

Collaborate to support the implementation of the College’s pioneering IB DP Systems Transformation Pathway in partnership with the International Baccalaureate, focused on innovation for a better world, and support the embedding of related learning in the PYP and MYP.

• Work with faculty leads to identify needs and opportunities for immersive, collaborative, hands-on learning experiences through partnerships and community engagement that encourage bold thinking, unconventional solutions, and addressing complex real-world problems across disciplines.
• Support the implementation of the DP Systems Transformation curriculum model and student projects by: collaborating with the Systems Transformation Coordinator and faculty to identify and organize opportunities for experiential learning; maintaining relationships with our partners; helping students identify community-based opportunities for their project work; and overseeing the administration of funds supporting project work and experiential opportunities.
• Support the PYP and MYP Coordinator and faculty with the delivery of the PYP Exhibition and MYP Project Week and Personal Project, identifying ways to enhance opportunities for students to learn and take action in the community beyond UCC, managing relationships and overseeing logistics and the administration of any necessary funding.
• Design and deliver engaging social impact programs, workshops, and retreats for students at all levels, building on current strengths and successes and emphasizing the application of systems thinking.
• Create and/or identify opportunities for alumni, parents and friends of the College to engage with and support College initiatives and student projects, particularly in the application of systems thinking, design thinking and digital innovation and the areas of wellbeing, pluralism and sustainability;
• Vet and promote value-added external educational and funding opportunities, and support students applying for external funding and participating in external initiatives, conferences and other programmes.
• Connect students to appropriate resources, opportunities, and mentors from our networks of alumni and friends of the College for the development of their projects and their development as change-makers and systems thinkers.

Partnership Development:

• Forge strategic partnerships with community organizations, not-for-profits, NGOs, leading universities, targeted multi-industry organizations, alumni networks, and other external partners to enhance student opportunities and social impact initiatives, with a particular focus on partnerships that support experiential learning, systems thinking, and bring a real-world perspective.
• Establish and maintain relationships with ideas labs, innovation centers, youth organizations, social entrepreneurship, and governmental organizations, particularly those focused on systems change and social innovation.
• Build alumni communications strategies and coordinate outreach initiatives, highlighting alumni who are working in areas related to systems change and social impact.
• Manage stakeholder relationships with partner organizations and individuals.

Faculty and Staff Development:

• Provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to enhance their capacity to deliver social impact programming, support experiential learning, embed systems thinking across the curriculum, and effectively integrate community partnerships and guest speakers.
• Engage subject matter experts and upskill teachers to embed systems thinking, strengthen stakeholder mapping, integrate design thinking, and enhance interdisciplinary units in the curriculum.

College-Wide Coordination and Leadership:

• Oversee the development of learning-focused partnerships that support the College program.
• Participate as a member of relevant school-based committees.
• Act as a resource/support to individual employees and business units on an as-needed basis in relation to social impact, partnership, and systems thinking priorities.
• Foster connections with other schools and organizations in our professional network to share and collaborate on best practices in social impact, experiential learning, and systems change education, including participation in networks and conferences focused on systems transformation.
• Work in collaboration with school-based leadership teams to identify appropriate opportunities for parent education related to social impact, partnership development, and systems thinking.

Administration and Due Diligence:

• Manage budgets related to social impact initiatives and partnerships, including DP Systems Transformation student project funding, funding for guest speakers and community partnerships.
• Keep track of all relevant projects, monitor their progress, and regularly update databases.
• Ensure the efficient day-to-day operations of any related physical spaces or hubs for social impact.

Other Duties:

• Supervise an IB student project (Personal Project or Extended Essay) annually.
• Other duties as required at the request of the VP, Learning and Academic Innovation.

Job Requirements

Experience, Knowledge and Competencies:

• A master's degree in education, social impact, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Five or more years of teaching experience and demonstrated leadership experience in a high-performance school or organization, with a focus on experiential learning.
• Experience with program development and evaluation in an educational or social impact organization, including tracking and measuring KPIs related to student learning, leadership development, and global-mindedness.
• Experience and domain expertise in systems thinking, human-centered design, and social impact evaluation.
• Knowledge of and experience with practices that promote learner agency, self-direction, life-long and life-wide learning, and peer-learning.
• Ability to promote and help students develop sustainable personal and collective practices of care and well-being.
• Ability to contribute to strategic thinking and thought leadership around social impact/innovation and systems change.
• Internationally-minded with a demonstrable passion for and deep understanding of relevant missions and the identity of the college.
• Proven ability to recognize and dismantle systemic barriers impacting underserved and marginalized peoples.
• Ability and experience with leading, coaching, and mentoring diverse young people.
• Experience of data management including record keeping, information retrieval, and dissemination of data.
• High level of skill and the ability to train others in project management.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills, and an ability to differentiate tasks appropriately and to work to tight deadlines.
• Sound IT skills, particularly Google Suite.
• Ability to work collaboratively and lead others with enthusiasm.
• Excellent communication skills enabling credibility to be quickly built and strong relationships to be developed with internal and external stakeholders.
• Commitment to the safeguarding of children and young adults.
• Demonstrated experience in establishing and managing community partnerships and leveraging guest speakers.
• Ability to develop and implement measurement plans and annual reports to show progress, alignment with teaching and learning goals, and opportunities for further development.
• Ability to leverage existing resources and expertise, to maximize impact.

What We Offer

• Unparalleled opportunities for professional development including workshops, networking sessions, a leadership program, and visiting experts and scholars;
• Flexibility to substitute statutory holidays in recognition of diverse religious and cultural practices;
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, including health care and lifestyle spending accounts;
• Pension plan, generous vacation time, parental leave top-up
• Significant support for personal and family wellbeing and mental health, including the Employee and Family Assistance Program;
• Paid volunteer time off for involvement in the communities that matter to you
• Social events for colleagues and their families;
• Collaborative and supportive team members and colleagues;
• Free on-campus parking.

About UCC

Upper Canada College (UCC) is focused on making the world a more just and inclusive place through dialogue and teamwork. With a commitment to equity and fairness, students learn that what makes us different as individuals makes us stronger as a community. A rigorous academic program is supported by accomplished faculty, exceptional co-curricular programming, and state-of-the-art facilities.

The UCC experience is underpinned by five core values: learning, pluralism, service, community, and well-being. Among its strategic goals is UCC’s ambition to become more diverse and inclusive. This is supported by a recognition that no learning community is whole without the inclusion and amplification of multiple voices; UCC is committed to fostering belonging, striving for jus­­tice and peace among all people, and addressing systemic and structural forms of oppression.