Closed for Review
Overview
Position Overview
Catalyst:Ed is looking for an exceptional leader to join our programmatic team in the role of Director. In this role, you will bring your strategic acumen, operational excellence, and service orientation to advise and connect state agencies, school systems, and education nonprofits to expertise, resources, and each other. You will also assist in the delivery of other strategic initiatives and work with leaders across Catalyst:Ed to build a strong foundation for us to sustain and grow our impact.
Our programmatic teams work closely with education leaders to clarify their needs, connect them to expertise and resources using a scaffolded process, and synthesize lessons learned. In this role, you will specifically support one or more state education agencies and several school districts in leveraging fiscal stimulus funding to meet immediate needs emerging from the pandemic, while also investing in longer-term transformation. You will also work across both our Programs team and our Strategic Initiatives teams, with your “home base” depending on your profile and preferences.
About Us
Catalyst:Ed is a national nonprofit that mobilizes the collective expertise in education to catalyze equity, innovation, and continuous improvement. Schools, systems, and nonprofits connect with our diverse expert network of 750+ vetted education leaders and technical assistance providers to access critical knowledge and insights and power organizational learning and capacity building. Our framework, process, and technology allow our partners to connect with the right people and resources in a structured, streamlined, transparent, and effective way. We also capture, synthesize, and disseminate critical information to deepen sector knowledge, while fostering greater accountability and a focus on results.
Our team is purpose-driven, innovative and inclusive, with a supportive culture where all team members have the opportunity to grow and contribute. Founded and led by a woman of color, Catalyst:Ed is committed to being a space where diversity is valued and all team members are able to bring their full, authentic selves to work.
What You’ll Be Working On:
In this role, you will:
- Manage the day-to-day operations of one or more partnerships with state education agencies. This might involve the following:
- Conduct consultations with agency staff to understand their needs and then leverage our process and platform to connect them to knowledge resources and providers in our network for technical assistance and/or office hours.
- Provide as-needed guidance to agency staff and expert providers during the project.
- Capture results and facilitate learning through the post-project feedback and reflection process.
- Continuously connect the dots between agency staff, providers, leaders in other states, and knowledge resources to maximize learning and impact.
- Provide support to one or more cohorts of schools, districts, or nonprofits through our Exchanges. Our Exchanges involve partnerships with foundations (e.g. NewSchools Venture Fund, Kauffman Foundation, etc.) to help organizations, typically grantees, access capacity-building support. This might involve the following:
- Conduct consultations with school/district/nonprofit staff to understand their needs and then leverage our process and platform to connect them to knowledge resources and providers in our network for technical assistance and/or office hours.
- Provide as-needed guidance to agency staff and expert providers during the project.
- Support collaboration and shared capacity building among the cohorts, including facilitating working groups, webinars, or other content-related learning activities.
- Capture results and facilitate learning through the post-project feedback and reflection process.
- Be a strong and collaborative team member to help us continue to innovate and grow our organization
- Provide overall guidance, professional development, and support to any direct reports (initially you will not have direct reports but that could change as we grow)
- Work with the team to solve day-to-day concerns, innovate solutions and design improvements.
- Support the leadership team in creating a vibrant and inclusive team culture, and developing the systems and processes needed to support the work.
Who We’re Looking For:
We urge you to apply if this mostly describes you:
- Strategic thinking: You can quickly analyze complex and ambiguous situations and challenges and determine what needs to be done and how. You have deployed this skill across multiple contexts, either in a consulting role (internal or external) or through your leadership experiences in different organizations or teams.
- Operational excellence: You’re able to plan, execute to plan and get things done. You have experience leading complex projects with multiple work-streams and tight deadlines. You demonstrate attention to detail and consistent follow-through.
- Service orientation: You seek ways to be helpful and add value to others and know how to build strong relationships. You have experience working with external partners or clients and can quickly establish trust.
- Self-confident integrity: You are grounded in your values and are able to influence others without relying on hierarchy or positional authority.
- Strong communication skills: You communicate effectively and write with clarity.
- Ownership: You’re a highly motivated self-starter and have proven experience bringing projects from concept to completion, persevering in the face of challenges and doing everything possible to ensure project success.
- Education and experience: 7-11 years of professional experience with progressive levels of leadership responsibility, including at least 5 years of experience in K-12 educational contexts
- The ideal candidate will have some of these experiences:
- Experience with state agencies and/or school districts
- Experience with K-12 school-facing support organizations in a client-facing consulting role
- Experience in management consulting
- The ideal candidate will have some of these experiences:
Good to Know
- Location: Catalyst:Ed works nationally, with an office in New Orleans. This person can work from a location of their choosing. Occasional travel (~15%) will likely be required once Covid-related travel restrictions are lifted.
- Compensation: This is a full time, salaried position with benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience. Salary range: $88,000-$100,000.
- Start date: Ideally December 2021 (some flexibility for the right candidates)
How to apply
Applications are now closed for review.
Catalyst:Ed has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply, particularly folks who identify as people of color, first-generation, low income, or LGBTQ.