Whippany, New Jersey
Posted: 16-Apr-25
Location: Montezuma, New Mexico
Type: Full Time
Categories:
What are we looking for?
UWC-USA is seeking an experienced classroom educator, well versed in place-based and experiential education, and with strong administrative background, to lead the school's expeditionary learning program into the next phase. The position includes administrative and logistical coordination, but also programmatic development, community partnerships, and teacher coaching in the pedagogies of expeditionary learning.
The UWC-USA program - a two-year experience that integrates our Academic, Co-curricular, and Residential programs - prepares students to serve as catalysts for greater unity, peace and sustainability in the world. We support students in the practice of our mission during their two years on campus and challenge them to live our mission for a lifetime. The Expeditionary Learning Manager is responsible for the direction of a core aspect of the UWC-USA educational program.
UWC-USA's Southwest Studies and Project Week programs are required for all students during their two year program. Our week-long Southwest Studies (October) and Project Week (March) programming is well established, but requires exceptional logistical coordination, and the vision may develop with new educational leadership. The programs emphasize personal challenge, team work, place-based learning and initiative and commitment, while teaching a variety of collaborative skills and environmental awareness. Given the cross-departmental logistical program needs and extensive budgeting, risk management and collaboration involved, these expeditionary trips require year-round planning. The role includes supervision of field instructors and school faculty who work with the programs.
UWC-USA builds on its decades of commitment to place-based, experiential, and expeditionary learning with biweekly integrating learning expeditions to aid the delivery of the IB academic curriculum. While teaching faculty are primarily responsible for the curricular and educational connections of the program, the Expeditionary Learning Manager will be responsible for idea creation, relationship-building, and the logistical work to ensure the successful deployment of ~120 students and ~10-15 faculty on trips every other week. This is an exciting aspect of our educational program, and the Manager will need to combine logistical prowess with educational insights to help provide excursions that lend relevance to the classroom teaching using local case studies and real world problems.
The Director of Expeditionary Learning contributes to the school's mission across our full program, supporting the academic program and residential life in formal or informal ways. The Expeditionary Learning Manager fulfills their responsibilities in accord with the UWC mission and values as well as the school's strategic plan, foundational documents, IBDP authorization, ISAS accreditation and best practices in teaching and learning.
Position Responsibilities
Southwest Studies & Project Week
- In collaboration with educational leadership, develop vision for the program
- Ongoing program oversight and logistics
- Coordinate trip visioning, planning, and implementation with students, faculty, and contracted instructors
- Work with faculty and various departments (business office, transportation, health office, food service, security, and human resources) to ensure systematic support of SWS and PW trips
- Meeting with classroom teachers to ensure connections to the academic program
- Inform and coordinate trip leaders of necessary trip risk management as well as serve as on-call risk management advisor during trips
- Program development, implementation and evaluation, leading to skill building and coordination for annual program delivery
- Solicitation of feedback and analytical evaluation of the program
Biweekly learning expeditions
- Supervise trip visioning, planning, and implementation with students, faculty, and contracted instructors
- Work with faculty and various departments (business office, transportation, health office, food service, security, and human resources) to ensure systematic support of SWS and PW trips
- Meeting with classroom teachers to ensure connections to the academic program
- With Dean of Teaching and Learning, develop an expeditionary learning program to ensure it is aligned with UWC-USA's strategic objectives
Ongoing program oversight and logistics - Inform and coordinate trip leaders of necessary trip risk management as well as serve as on-call risk management advisor during trips
- Program development, implementation and evaluation, leading to skill building and coordination for annual program delivery
- Ensure proper follow up from each trip, including appreciation of partners and relationship management
- Solicitation of feedback and analytical evaluation of the program
Program Integration & Collaboration
- Supports the Dean of Teaching and Learning in their effort to integrate expeditionary learning with other elements of the IB curriculum
- Supports faculty's leadership of biweekly learning expeditions as needed
- Develops and integrates the curriculum with our commitments to peacebuilding and integral sustainability, using expeditionary learning to foster intercultural--and interpersonal--dialogue in order to contribute to peaceful and just community
- Participates in co-curricular team meetings
- Works during both Southwest Studies and Project Week to support all programming
- Writes periodic student reports as part of the school's formal evaluation process
IB Teaching
- Teaching one code of the IB curriculum
UWC-USA Leadership
- Serve as an Advisor
- Supervise Extended Essays
- Lead one Basecamp or Querencia activity
- Generally, fulfill all responsibilities of full time faculty members
- All UWC-USA employees are expected to provide varying levels of leadership in order to support the UWC mission. Examples include but are not limited to:
- Actively participating and contributing to committee or task force assignments, providing leadership in campus-wide events or initiatives, strategic planning efforts, in the experiential education program, the dormitories, dining hall, and/or in physical plant initiatives.
- Initiating strategic discussions and sharing thoughtful and innovative ideas with your co-workers for carrying out the UWC mission and successfully completing day to day work assignments.
- Demonstrating a growth mindset by believing and acknowledging that intelligence, skills, learning and creativity can all grow with time and experience
- In all interactions, upholding the UWC mission and values, and creating an environment that promotes and values diversity, equity and inclusion.
Position Qualifications
Required Experience & Qualifications
- Significant experience as classroom educator, ideally in IB and/or experiential/place-based learning
- Strong interpersonal skills, including kind, clear written and verbal communications, needed to work with diverse teams
- Strong technical and organizational skills, including administrative and supervisory experience
- Program development, delivery and evaluation
- Highly skilled in logistical systems and data tracking
- Demonstrated interest and experience in supporting youth development and social emotional learning in cross-cultural settings
Desired Experience & Qualifications
- Experience teaching first-aid skills and curriculum
- Experience in student-centered education; prior experience developing and implementing curriculum
- 5 years or more of experiential education, learning leadership