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Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice
The Athenian School is eager to welcome nominations and applications for a thoughtful, dynamic, collaborative leader to serve as Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice. Reporting to the Head of School, Eric Niles, and serving on the Leadership Team, the Director of DEIS will lead equity and inclusion
efforts for the Athenian community.
ABOUT ATHENIAN
The Athenian School is an independent college preparatory boarding and day school that serves 535 day and boarding students in grades 6 – 12, from throughout the East Bay, California, the US, and the world. Since our founding, we have been dedicated to educating students through experiential, collaborative, and interdisciplinary learning. We foster critical thinking and value reasoned discourse, mutual respect, and social justice. Athenian sits on a beautiful campus at the base of Mt. Diablo, in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California.
Athenian was the first integrated, co- educational boarding school west of the Mississippi at a time when school integration was a taboo subject in much of the country. Though ahead of its time, Athenian’s structural support for realizing its equity and inclusion ideals was limited. Athenian added its first focused Diversity and Inclusion position in 2003. This part-time position quickly grew to a full-time role, eventually evolving into the current Office of DEIS.
In the fall of 2021, Athenian finalized its Strategic Vision, Boldly Athenian, which included a clear commitment to furthering its DEIS work. The school simultaneously solidified its structural support for carrying out its DEIS goals with a clearly articulated team approach, and continues to publicize its Progress on Action Steps from the 2021-22 School Year. Athenian’s Director of DEIS and Director of People & Culture are partners in overseeing and supporting school-wide DEIS efforts with students and employees. Additionally, the Board of Trustees has formed a DEIS committee to work in parallel. The school’s DEIS Office is led by the Director of DEIS who facilitates a DEIS advisory council of faculty and staff, and also works with more than 20 student DEIS interns who advise on, advocate for, and support their DEIS goals.
Equity, inclusion, and diversity are much more than social principles at Athenian; they are educational imperatives. Upholding these imperatives is at the core of Athenian’s philosophy and the School counts on its families to support this ideal. Athenian respects students, faculty, staff, and board members of varied race, national or ethnic origin, socioeconomic class, faith, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Required course work and co-curricular programs advance equity, inclusion, diversity, and social justice. Speakers, affinity groups, cultural celebrations, neighborhood gatherings, and all-school activities
foster compassion, spark dialogue, and further a more just world. Athenian is committed to upholding and protecting the dignity and worth of all people, recognizing everyone’s shared humanity.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEIS) serves on the Leadership Team and reports directly to the Head of School. Like other Leadership Team members, the Director of DEIS must see the job as one serving the well-being of the entire institution.
The Director of DEIS is a leader, collaborator, guide, resource, and facilitator for students and adults on inclusion. In this capacity, the Director of DEIS will play an integral role in admission, the transition of students through a summer bridge program, and in furthering the cultural competency of adults and students through partnership with peer schools and participation in conferences and professional affiliations related to advancing equity, inclusion, and social justice.
RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE
The Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice will play a central role in the many functions of the school, particularly in the areas of community leadership, service, supervision and training, and in admissions, and should expect to initiate data gathering along with results analyses when making collaborative decisions.
The Director will serve as a central resource for DEIS for The Athenian School community including leading all DEIS employee training; serving on hiring committees; leading curricular discussions that increase DEIS practice in the classroom; identifying any gaps in alignment between the vision of equity and current policies and practices; facilitating opportunities for professional growth among staff and faculty; providing direction and vision for best practices for adults to follow when interacting with all students while continuously engaging with students to share their perceptions of DEIS; organizing, planning, and running all school-wide DEIS Events (E&I Nights, Focus Days, and Inclusion Week); and offering support to the Athenian Parent Association.
The Director will lead the DEIS Council composed of faculty, staff, and administrators who represent the broader community and serve as a collaborative set of partners to carry out the work of the DEIS Office. In addition, the Director will participate in the following standing committees: Teaching and Learning, Curriculum, and Professional Development; will staff the Board Committee on DEIS; as well as represent Athenian publicly through participation in the People of Color Conference (POCC), BAISTAC, and POCIS.
The Director will serve as a key partner and collaborator for the Athenian Connect Program (a two-week long summer bridge program for new incoming students); will lead and support a student DEIS Intern program to deepen student engagement and stewardship of DEIS initiatives; will direct a comprehensive DEIS plan for the year (complementing the ongoing vision and management of DEIS-focused school programs and events); and will supervise the advisors of all affinity and accountability groups with active support for students and adults.
CORE QUALIFICATIONS
Successful candidates will bring strong cultural competency and the capacity to work with students, families, colleagues, and alumni who represent a broad range of identities, experiences, and affiliations with the Athenian. The Director must demonstrate compassion, humility, and empathy through their interactions with all community members, and have the capacity to cultivate the same in others. We seek candidates with strategic thinking and planning experience who possess excellent communication skills along with flexibility, creativity, curiosity, and a commitment to continuous learning.
BENEFITS, COMPENSATION, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH, AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in California. Athenian provides excellent benefits and salaries that are competitive and commensurate with work experience and education. The salary range for this position is $140,000 – $180,000. Community members also enjoy meals on campus and use of athletics facilities, including a pool, gym, and fitness center.
All employees participate in school wide professional development, and have the opportunity to pursue a range of additional professional growth opportunities. These include, but are not limited to, funded participation in professional conferences and continuing education opportunities.
NON-DISCRIMINATION COMMITMENT
The Athenian School is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to basing judgments concerning the employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities. The School is firmly committed to equal employment and advancement opportunities for all employees and applicants in all areas of employment. The School does not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic characteristic or genetic information, physical or mental disability, or any other
characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
HOW TO APPLY
The search committee will begin accepting nominations and reviewing applications immediately. Requested application materials include a resume and a letter of interest. For best consideration, all candidates should submit materials – in confidence – to the following address: AthenianDirectorDEIS@storbecksearch.com.
The Athenian School is being assisted in this search by Storbeck Search. For additional information, please contact:
Staci Williams Seeley, Managing Director
Linda Chavers, Ph.D., Managing Associate
AthenianDirectorDEIS@storbecksearch.com
For more information, please visit The Athenian School’s home page at https://www.athenian.org/.
