San Francisco University High School welcomes students of demonstrated motivation and ability to engage in an education that fosters responsibility and the spirited pursuit of knowledge. We are a school where adults believe in the promise of every student, and together we work to build and sustain a community of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. UHS challenges each individual to live a life of integrity, inquiry, and purpose larger than the self.

UHS seeks a Dean of Faculty to begin in the Summer of 2024. In recent history, the Assistant Head of School also held the title and responsibilities of the Dean of Faculty. As UHS anticipates beginning a new strategic design cycle, an increase in enrollment, and opening the doors of a new building (3150 California), school leadership decided to separate the two roles to ensure the sustainability of both positions, and, in the case of the Dean of Faculty role, to continue to provide significant care, attention, and support to a talented and diverse faculty. The Dean of Faculty reports to the Head of School, serves on the administrative team, and partners very closely with the Deans team (Dean of Equity and Community, Dean of Student Life, and Dean of Teaching and Learning) and the Assistant Head. Key responsibilities for the Dean of Faculty include: leading the Faculty Affairs Committee (department chairs); overseeing and managing the faculty hiring and onboarding processes; guiding and supporting professional growth, development, and feedback; and building staffing plans and reviewing employment agreements annually.

Faculty and staff choose to work at UHS because of the school’s dynamic, bright, diverse, and energetic students and their curious, dedicated, and collaborative colleagues. They appreciate the community’s commitment to growth and improvement. UHS’s physical and enrollment growth coupled with its developing strategic priorities is exciting, and will allow the next Dean of Faculty to make meaningful contributions. This is a compelling opportunity for a relational, systems-oriented, student-centered educational leader. The near-future priorities, opportunities, and challenges include:

Developing collaborative and trusting relationships with the faculty. The Assistant Head has served UHS for 30 years, and members of the faculty consistently shared their appreciation for his care, support, and thought partnership. The next Dean of Faculty has the opportunity to learn from and partner with the Assistant Head as the faculty community transitions to this new structure. The new Dean of Faculty will need to invest time and attention to get to know their colleagues and, with authenticity and their own style, develop relationships, cultivate trust, and establish collaborative partnerships, especially important given the strong culture of shared leadership around academic governance. As a voice and advocate for the faculty on the administrative team, the Dean’s success will also depend on their appreciation for and knowledge of the perspective of teachers.

Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding diverse and talented faculty. The Dean of Faculty works closely with department chairs to determine hiring needs and leads the processes to recruit, hire, and onboard new faculty members. UHS has worked to develop thoughtful and equitable hiring practices and has succeeded in diversifying its faculty across generations, Bay Area geography, race, class, gender, and socioeconomic difference. The Dean of Faculty has the opportunity to partner with colleagues to continually examine and refine practices to attract strong and mission-aligned teachers. They will benefit from and build upon the school’s strong reputation in the region.

Retaining and developing a diverse, experienced, and talented faculty. The Dean of Faculty leads and organizes systems to support the ongoing growth and development of their colleagues. The average tenure for teachers at UHS is 19 years, and most faculty members come to UHS with previous experience. The Dean needs to respect, appreciate, support and lead a deeply experienced faculty and to understand how to effectively gain their support as the school seeks to cultivate an agile and nimble culture to support meaningful institutional change. UHS utilizes Folio to support its coaching oriented growth, goal setting, and feedback program. The Dean also oversees a substantial internal and external professional development budget and programs that help to facilitate the development and growth of the UHS faculty.

Cultivating connection and community across an urban campus. UHS is currently comprised of four campuses: Upper Campus, Middle Campus, Lower Campus, and South Campus. In 2025, UHS anticipates the opening of 3150 California Street. With faculty members working in and navigating five city blocks on one of San Francisco’s notable hills, it can be challenging for colleagues to stay connected. Especially as the school begins to consider a new schedule to support students as they traverse the expansive campus, the Dean of Faculty has the opportunity to ensure that there is time, opportunity, and space to build community and connection among students and adults.

Balancing the relational and the functional. The Dean of Faculty needs to be a highly relational leader who listens for understanding and who provides pastoral care for their colleagues. The Dean also needs to be a highly organized and efficient builder of systems that can facilitate complex processes (such as hiring and staffing plans) and support the work of others. A successful Dean will be able to balance and attend to immediate needs as well as long-term priorities.

Qualifications and Personal Attributes:

• Humble and authentic leader with a relational leadership style built on approachability, transparency, and responsiveness.
• Experience recruiting, hiring, supporting, retaining, and leading talented, diverse, and mission aligned faculty.
• An experienced teacher who loves working with teenagers and relishes teaching and learning.
• A team builder and leader who can step up and back as needed and who recognizes, celebrates, and learns from their teammates.
• A steady demeanor and the ability to maintain professional equilibrium.
• Highly organized with the ability to develop systems and processes to support school operations.
• The flexibility and collaborative spirit necessary to partner with other members of the senior administrative team, department heads, deans, and faculty members.
• Experience with supporting and developing teaching faculty, including providing feedback.
• A spirit of curiosity that fuels pursuit of evolving best practices and current research on curriculum
  and pedagogy.
• Personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and the requisite skills to support critical conversations in the design of ever more inclusive culture, curriculum, pedagogy, practices, and programs.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate orally and in writing.
• The ability to articulate vision and strategy, the tactical skills necessary to deftly manage the systems and processes necessary to implement strategy, the organizational fluency to manage multiple streams of information and respond to situations as they emerge.

To Apply:

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to contact the consultants in confidence. Candidates will ultimately need to submit the following materials as separate PDF documents:

• A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position;
• A current résumé;
• Responses to writing prompts, click HERE;
• A list of five professional references with name, relationship, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission) to: