Logistics Coordinator

LOGISTICS COORDINATOR
Overview & Position Description

Background
For the past 8 years, The Center for Research on Equity and Innovation (CREI) at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education has brought together practitioners, researchers and youth to create more equitable, engaging learning environments for all students. Specifically, we lead improvement networks and support districts, schools and organizations to disrupt predictable patterns of success and failure by embracing an equity-focused, user-centered approach to continuous improvement. 

In Fall 2024, in collaboration with our partners at Improvement Collective, CREI will transition to become a national center for the advancement of improvement for equity (formal name TBD). The hub’s aim is to nurture an enduring and coherent ecosystem of organizations supporting the use of improvement methods in schools and school systems to address persistent problems of practice and achieve more equitable outcomes for students who are Black, Latinx, Indigenous or experiencing poverty. In service of advancing the field of improvement in education, the center will collaborate with partners across the state and the nation to:

• accelerate results on important and pressing problems in education, such as reducing chronic absenteeism, ensuring equitable access to college, and improving math teaching and learning. 
• support and cultivate the growing community of educational improvers through cross-sector convenings, capacity building, and communications that link people to the resources and opportunities they need to grow as improvers and change agents.
• reduce fragmentation and coordinate an aligned strategy to expand and sustain the field of improvement in education across a diverse set of actors. 

Mission & Values

Our mission is to create more equitable systems where young people and adults thrive. We do this by embracing the below core values and supporting educators to embrace them as well: 

• Do the self work  needed to liberate ourselves, those we serve, and the systems in which we live and work
• Build authentic relationships that nurture belonging, encourage risk-taking and accelerate learning
• Use data for equity to understand what works for whom under what conditions
• See our systems as they are and how they could be, building a clear bridge between our reality and our aspirations
• Expand our collective agency to take radical ownership, involve those closest to the problem, and make change that lasts

We are seeking a colleague who shares these values, and who challenges us to continually improve our approaches and effectiveness.

Logistics Coordinator Role
The logistics coordinator will work closely and collaboratively with staff, partners, vendors and stakeholders. They are responsible for planning and coordinating the smooth day-to-day operations and logistics needed to support the center’s various strands of work. This will require coordinating and managing events across multiple teams, including supporting technological needs for in-person and virtual convenings/meetings; providing administrative and customer support; facilitating internal and external communications; as well as monitoring and coordinating contracts, payments, schedules, timelines and deliverables. The desired candidate will do the above, while also engaging in process improvement efforts related to their core responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Logistics Management
  • Plan and coordinate all logistical details for meetings and special events (on and off site, in-person and virtual) with project team members and external stakeholders. This includes scheduling and sending calendar invites with appropriate links/info, managing registrations, prepping event materials, and organizing and managing the set up of virtual and in-person event spaces, hotel room blocks, vendors, venues, food/beverage, etc.
  • Arrange for technology needs and provide technical assistance for in-person and virtual meetings/events (e.g. use of video conference equipment, sharing slides, managing breakouts and chat) to ensure a seamless event experience
  • Provide consistently positive responses and support to colleagues, partners, vendors and stakeholders. Draft and send communications to internal and external partners/stakeholders, before and after events. Respond to emails and other inquiries in a timely manner. If needed, connect person/org with the appropriate person on staff.
  • Create surveys to elicit participant feedback, manage survey data, share back with teams and support the use of data to inform decision-making and improve events and processes.
  • Make complex travel arrangements that may involve multiple travelers and/or multiple destinations (hotel, air/ground transportation, meeting arrangements). Prepare and follow up on necessary expense reimbursements. 
• Administrative Support  & Process Improvement
  • Collaborate closely with org/team leaders and project managers to develop timetables, deadlines, and make sure teams have the necessary information and materials to facilitate events effectively.
  • Coordinate with our UnBoxed media team to coordinate media capture at/for events, and with our Director of Marketing & Communications to support the rollout of organizational communications.
  • Manage multiple organizational planning calendars to ensure balanced workflow for team members and stakeholders and efficient use of venues.
  • Maintain the database of program/event participants, updating information as necessary.
  • Manage and process purchase orders, invoices, check requests, stipends and reimbursements in a timely manner in collaboration with the HTH GSE business office. Meticulously track expenses/revenue, and follow-up in a timely manner to ensure completion/payment.
  • Assist with the development of procedures and tools to closely monitor important timetables and processes and refine them over time to streamline and improve effectiveness.
  • Work with project managers to coordinate grant reporting efforts and manage grant-related deliverables.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Experience managing the logistical needs of complex projects involving multiple internal and external partners and dynamic environments; logistics experience in the area of education is a plus, but not required.
• Strong collaborative, team player who is self-reflective and treats challenging or uncertain situations as opportunities to learn and grow. Able to juggle competing demands and prioritize without sacrificing quality. 
• Excellent at organizing, attending to detail, meeting deadlines, and taking a task or project from concept to completion, while also being flexible and adaptable. Consults with others frequently, but also proposes creative solutions to problems and gets things rolling without much guidance.
• Excellent relationship management and communication skills (written and verbal) across lines of difference, such as race or other identities. Truly welcomes viewpoints that differ from their own, and is able to “sit with” discomfort when people express themselves in ways that aren’t familiar to them. Skilled at nurturing relationships that are mutually beneficial.
• Knowledge and ease of use with the following is preferred, but not required: Google suite (docs, sheets, forms, slides), Zoom, Airtable, Slack, Mailchimp, Docusign, Eventzilla, Quickbooks.
• Comfort with using data for improvement and to inform decision-making is desired. 

Logistics
This is a full time position with competitive salary and benefits (medical, dental, retirement). Salary range $70,000-$80,000.

Start date: August 1, 2024
Location: San Diego, though remote with some required travel may be considered.
Reporting Structure: The logistics coordinator will report directly to the project leads for their assigned strands of work, and be supported by our Lead Program Manager, Betty Hua and Lead Logistics Manager, Anthony Rayos.

Hiring Process
Phase 1: Submission - To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Caroline Koontz at ckoontz@hthgse.edu by May 5th. We are hiring for multiple positions right now, so please specify the role you are applying for.

Phase 2: Initial Round of Interviews (May 15-31) - Potential candidates will be invited for an interview with faculty. If you are selected for an interview, we will reach out in the first two weeks of May to schedule.

Phase 3: Case Studies & Final Round of Interviews (June 6-20) - Final candidates will be invited to respond to several case studies and submit their responses prior to a second interview with institutional leadership and stakeholders. If you are selected for this final round interview, we will reach out during the first week of June to schedule.