Davis Chicago is hiring a brilliant, warm Humanities Chair to build and then teach in one interdisciplinary program where students read, write, and argue across literature and history at a college level. As a founding leader, the Chair is a member of the team opening a school from scratch. Therefore, the person needs to be a builder-leader: someone who can take a bold founding vision and turn it into a living school, then run a department in that school at a level of excellence every student, parent, and teacher can feel.
Davis School Chicago has also posted part-time English and History Teacher roles. If you want to teach your subject without leading the department, apply for the part-time role that fits; if you are open to either, apply to both.
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Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.
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A Teacher First – Leads from the classroom and teaches every day.
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A Reader, Writer, and Debater – Builds a program where students read whole books, write persuasively, and argue real questions.
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An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up.
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A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate.
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Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI.
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Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life.
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A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them.
The Humanities Department Chair is the academic and instructional leader of the Humanities Department and serves as a key member of the school’s academic leadership team. Reporting to the Principal, the Chair provides vision, leadership, supervision, and support for faculty and curriculum across the humanities disciplines, including English, History, Social Sciences, Philosophy, and related fields.
This is a founding seat. Build a humanities program defined by rigor, creativity, curiosity, and purpose, and make Davis Chicago a destination for exceptional humanities education. The Humanities Chair will establish a cohesive departmental vision, cultivate a culture of professional excellence, and develop an innovative, college-preparatory curriculum that reflects Davis School Chicago’s mission and values. The Chair will champion interdisciplinary learning, evidence-based instructional practices, student-centered pedagogy, and authentic assessment while helping to build a signature humanities program recognized for intellectual rigor and academic distinction.
This is a teaching chair, and the balance evolves by design. In the launch years, the Chair carries a substantial teaching load while building the department from scratch. As the school grows, the role carries increasing dedicated time for curriculum development, classroom observation and coaching, and professional development planning — the steady state Davis Chicago is building toward.