Managing Director of Student Experience Position Available In Kings, New York

Managing Director of Student Experience
Full time • Ascend Charter Schools
Description
Overview Ascend is seeking a visionary and seasoned senior leader to serve as our Managing Director of Student Experience, a critical role charged with ensuring that every student across our network receives a consistent, joyful, rigorous, and deeply enriching K-12 experience. This role holds the weight and responsibility of shaping the holistic student journey, from kindergarten through high school graduation, by aligning all stakeholders around Acend’s shared values and a unified vision for excellence.
The Managing Director will lead the strategy and execution of network-wide student experience initiatives that drive engagement, belonging, and well-being while cultivating school cultures rooted in inclusivity, high expectations, and joy. This leader will collaborate closely with school and network leadership to build cohesive systems, programs, and practices that ensure every child, regardless of background, is seen, supported, and challenged to grow.
The Managing Director of Student Experience will serve as the connective tissue between network priorities and school-based implementation, anchoring our commitment to educational equity and the flourishing of all students.
About Ascend
Ascend is the largest Brooklyn-based public charter school serving nearly 7,000 K-12 students in 17 schools. We exist to serve every student – to help them embody their inherent excellence by providing rich, joyful learning experiences that unlock a life of boundless choice.
Access to education is a social justice issue. As educators, we center justice and live out our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (DEIA) by ensuring that our students have the skills, tools, and confidence they need to thrive today and in the future. We are proud to have a workforce that mirrors the diversity seen in our students. Working at Ascend provides a community focused on developing an environment of support and belonging. Educators collaborate closely and encourage each other to achieve great outcomes. Our schools honor, nurture, and challenge the whole child. Ascend fosters critical thinking skills and a love of learning through an inquiry-based learning approach, Responsive Classroom model, and anti-racist education. We are deeply committed to advancing educational equity for all of our students. Students at Ascend benefit from a rich and rigorous liberal arts curriculum that nurtures natural curiosity about the world and guides them to think critically and independently.
Ascend invests in employees by providing ongoing professional development, coaching, and career pathways in our schools. We are proud to provide a generous benefits package, which includes flexibility in our healthcare plan, and 403(b) matching starting at year one. At Ascend, we care about our workforce’s mental health and offer services covered by insurance and additional time off for our staff to utilize for their personal care. For more information on Ascend Public Charter Schools’ model, approach, and core values, please visit our website.
Responsibilities
The Managing Director of Student Experience will lead a cross-functional team responsible for ensuring an excellent student experience across Ascend schools. They will set the strategic direction for key domains of work and manage senior- and mid-level leaders in executing that vision.

Core responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership
Set the overall vision and strategy for Ascend’s student experience work, ensuring it aligns with our mission, DEIA commitments, and broader school priorities
Monitor key performance indicators across domains to assess impact, identify gaps, and drive continuous improvement
Serve as a key thought partner to the Chief Schools Officer and collaborate with other network and school leaders to shape student-centered policies and practices
Team Leadership & Management
Lead and manage a diverse team that may include senior directors, directors, associate directors, and managers
Ensure all team members are aligned on vision, priorities, and goals, and are effectively managing their respective workstreams
Provide regular coaching, support, and development to direct reports to build leadership capacity across the team
Foster a strong team culture centered on collaboration, equity, and accountability
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner closely with leaders across Academics, Operations, Talent, and other teams to ensure student experience initiatives are integrated, sustainable, and equitable
Build systems for cross-school collaboration and knowledge sharing around culture, engagement, and holistic student support
Represent the student experience function in senior leadership spaces and ensure that student voice and experience inform decision-making
Staff and Reporting Relationships
The Managing Director of Student Experience reports directly to the Chief Schools Officer and provides strategic leadership to key teams within the Schools Team and across Ascend, including the Family Experience Team, the Culture Team, and staff supporting students from special populations, such as multilingual learners and students with disabilities. This leader will collaborate closely with school principals and cross-functional partners across academics, student support services, network operations, and family engagement, ensuring a fully aligned and integrated approach to delivering an exceptional student experience across all Ascend schools.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred
8+ years of experience in K-12 education with a focus on school culture, student support, or student programming
3+ years of experience running a school as a Principal, with experience managing principals and/or school functions at a network level preferred
Skills and Traits
Deep knowledge of school culture systems, SEL, restorative practices, and student programming
Strong strategic thinking, planning, and project management skills
Excellent written and verbal communication
Proven ability to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders
A deep commitment to equity and inclusion
High level of personal responsibility and initiative
Compensation
Initial salary offers for this position range from $135,000 – $180,000. Salaries are determined using an equitable compensation scale that accounts for years of experience and levels of attained education.
This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package including:
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
403(b) retirement plan with employer matching
Generous paid time off and additional employee benefits
Location & Work Arrangement
Based in our Brooklyn, NY office, we operate on a hybrid work schedule requiring in-office presence at least three days per week.
Ascend is committed to building a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist community through its hiring practices and focus on creating a culture and environment where diverse perspectives, ideas, and identities are valued and integrated into their approach to educating students. Ascend staff represent a wide diversity of racial, socio-economic, gender, religious, and national identities—opening a window to the entire Ascend community on the richness of humanity. Ascend Charter Schools welcomes all applicants who share their mission and vision. Attachments
Cover Letter
Optional
Job Details
Salary
$135,000.00 – $180,000.00 per year