Executive Director

Virtus Academy of South Carolina 

Executive Director 

Job Description

At the broadest level possible, the primary duty of Virtus Academy’s Executive Director is to make the school perform. This means that the Executive Director’s success will primarily be gauged on how well Virtus Academy1produces the student outcomes it was chartered to produce while operating within all applicable parameters (i.e., constitutional, statutory, regulatory, financial, contractual, operational, and ethical/prudential). 

The Virtus Academy Executive Director is accountable to the board of directors through its collective actions, policies, and directives. As the board’s single point of delegation where the operation of the school is concerned, except for those entities selected by the board (e.g., general counsel, external auditor, consultants), all other employees, vendors, and volunteers are accountable to the Executive Director and subject to his or her supervision, decisions and directives, provided that all such decisions and directives do not contravene the letter or spirit of the board’s actions, decisions or policies. 

The Executive Director’s primary responsibility to make Virtus Academy perform includes, but is not limited to, ongoing tasks generally associated with the following ten categories of charter school leadership. While the Executive Director may delegate various responsibilities within these categories to others, he or she remains accountable to the board for every aspect of school performance. 

1. Instructional leadership. The Executive Director shall make Virtus Academy to produce the student outcomes which it was chartered to produce. This includes the performance of all subgroups, to include students with IEPs or 504s. An effective MTSS or RTI program, sound classroom management, a suitable office referral management system, and well run co-curricular programs are also part of instructional leadership. 
2. Operations. The Executive Director shall cause the school to operate in a manner that is at all times safe, well-organized, orderly, and well-maintained. (These include facilities upkeep, security personnel, crossing guards, safety protocols, food service, transportation, student records and student information systems, IT, cybersecurity, etc.) A well-thought out annual emergency action plan and emergency drills are part of normal charter school operations. 
3. Financial management. The Executive Director shall make the school properly budget, track, record, and report its financial activities. This responsibility includes enrollment management and reporting (e.g., tracking why students withdraw). This includes everything associated with managing federal funds, GASB/GAAP compliance, and the state’s function and object codes.) NOTE: External auditor recommendation and selection is a board duty. 
4. Enterprise Risk Management/Fraud Risk Management. The Executive Director shall systematically and routinely evaluate potential internal and external risks to the school, including fraud risks, and manage them through best practices procedures & practices that appropriately mitigate, transfer, eliminate, or result in a reasonably acceptable residual risk. Above all else, the Executive Director shall also establish a proper tone at the top within management as part of maintaining proper internal controls.
5. Stakeholder relationships. The Executive Director shall cause the school to foster positive stakeholder relationships through timely communication, customer service, and school sponsored events. Unless otherwise directed in any particular matter, the board will consider the Executive Director to be the primary spokesperson for the school. 
6. Compliance. The Executive Director shall cause the school to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, the charter itself, and policies. This responsibility includes accurate, timely compliance reporting to the Charter Institute at Erskine and all other regulatory entities that are senior to the school. This includes routine reporting in compliance with bondholder covenants. 
7. Support to the board. The Executive Director shall provide any necessary administrative support to the board and its committees. Communication with the board and its members and committees shall be clear, transparent, thorough, and timely. 
8. Human Resources. The Executive Director shall cause all matters pertaining to personnel management to be fair, clear, and properly documented. The Executive Director shall consult with the school’s general counsel before taking any personnel action that could reasonably be considered adverse. 
9. Authorizer relationship. The Executive Director shall not cause or allow any conduct or communication from the school that could damage its relationship with the authorizer. 
10. Self-development. The Executive Director is expected to devote the same fervency to developing his or her own leadership skills as he or she devotes to developing the skills of Virtus Academy’s faculty and staff. The Executive Director may be required by the board to perform duties not specifically contemplated in this job description.