Director of JA Discovery Center Experience - Greater Dalton
About Junior Achievement of Georgia
Junior Achievement of Georgia’s (JA) mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. By bridging the business and education communities with hands-on experiential programs focused on business, entrepreneurship, civic responsibility, career-readiness, and financial literacy, JA aims to achieve the following overarching goals:
To motivate, engage and inspire students to recognize the value and relevance of education, and to make informed decisions about their own personal education and career pathways.
To equip students with the key career-readiness skills that will drive success in any environment, and to invigorate innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial thinking among our youth.
To develop a financially literate generation who understands key business principles and makes responsible personal financial management decisions.
To increase student understanding and appreciation of their civic rights, roles, and responsibilities.
JA of Georgia is the local affiliate of JA USA, the nations’ oldest and largest economic education organization with over 100 years of experience. The organization has office and program locations in Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Cumming, Dalton, Savannah, and Augusta.
Position Description
Promote onsite student engagement and learning within the JA BizTown and JA Finance Park simulations, serving up to 150 students each day.
Develop annual plans to achieve program goals including critical benchmarks to monitor progress and effectively communicate specific goals to team members.
Drive continual improvement process relying on data and observation to inform innovation and collaborating with team members cross-functionally to implement identified changes.
Establish and document best practices and standard operating procedures to ensure consistency of program quality on a day-to-day basis and operational alignment with other JA Discovery Center sites.
Primary Responsibilities
Program Sustainability
Hire, train, manage and develop up to (10) full-time and part-time staff in alignment with organizational values and competencies, including staff scheduling to ensure facility coverage
Conduct bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with core team members to facilitate ongoing communication and support.
Organize and lead weekly team meetings with the core team to drive alignment and progress on team goals.
Participate in weekly senior leadership meetings with director-level peers, as well as other management and other program initiative meetings aligned with program sustainability.
Develop and manage coverage plans to ensure continuity of daily simulation operations during team members PTO or schedule adjustments.
Responsibility for initiating or leading delegated internal projects that support the sustainability of the onsite programs.
Develop a thorough understanding of core team role responsibilities and tasks to effectively support performance and strategic goals.
Ensure the security of the facility and safety of all guests onsite at all times.
Maximize capacity and utilization of facilities considering all relevant operational inputs (e.g., calendar, staffing, technology, maintenance, etc.).
Maintain all physical assets (facility, technology, etc.) of JA Discovery Center, including custodial and repairs.
Oversee inventory management of program materials and office supplies.
Manage purchasing for key budget lines and monitor overall budget for the facility.
Coordinate with partners/vendors to ensure deliverables (lunch, takeaways, simulation materials, etc.) are provided for all program participants.
Support the coordination of onsite events in collaboration with partners.
Constituent Experience
Deliver a best-in-class experience for every student, volunteer, educator, and guest who visits the JA Discovery Center.
Activate and steward partner brands within the JA Discovery Center to provide a strong return on investment.
Foster a culture of stewardship and excellence by evaluating current processes and data and anticipating constituent needs and wants; build strong working relationships with peers and colleagues.
Apply strong analytical skills to successfully develop dashboard to give visibility into key metrics and performance measurement.
Must have deep understanding of Dalton community.
Core Competencies
Influence Others: Provide sound rationale for recommendations; Generate enthusiasm for ideas by tapping into shared values; Promote own positions and ideas with confidence and enthusiasm even in the face of resistance.
Build Relationships: Adjust interpersonal style to a variety of people and situations; Cultivate networks with people across a variety of functions within and outside the organization.
Support Business Strategy: Demonstrate an understanding of JA's mission, vision, and overall strategies; align own activities with organization's goals and strategies.
Drive for Results: Consistently achieve work objectives; Readily put in time and effort required to achieve goals; Work to resolve routine and unexpected problems
Demonstrate Adaptability & Resourcefulness: Overcome obstacles and constraints without becoming discouraged; Maintain a positive outlook and sense of humor in difficult situations.
Make Sound Decisions: Identify novel solutions to old problems; Come up with new ways of looking at problems, processes, or solutions; Define reasonable alternatives; Focus on important information without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail.
Qualifications: Education & Experience
5+ years of management experience, preferably operations/venue/retail or program related experience
Candidates of all degree and academic certification levels will be considered
Ability to create strategies to balance short-term requirements with long range business plans
Demonstrated team collaboration and excellent communication skills
Experience with data collection and analyzing trends to improve performance
Ability to build and sustain relationships
Excellence in customer stewardship
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that individuals, namely women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At JA of Georgia, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and genuine workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the best candidate for this role or another within the organization.
Salary
Commensurate with experience. JA also offers a full benefits package.
This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related duties required by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an "at-will" relationship.