Position Title: Senior Director for School Improvement Services

Reports to: Program Director

Program: Learning Innovations

Salary: Competitive Salary

Location: Flexible (WestEd offices in Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, or California preferred)

Time Base: 100%

Position No: 5711

WestEd — a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency — works with education and other communities throughout the United States and abroad to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has offices nationwide, from Massachusetts, Vermont, and Georgia, to Arizona and California, with headquarters in San Francisco.

As part of a comprehensive array of services, the Learning Innovations Program (LI) at WestEd provides technical assistance and research in the areas of education, health and prevention. The education technical assistance work focuses on transforming educational systems in partnership with state and local educators, families, and communities to strengthen teaching and learning and to ensure equity so all students thrive. LI’s projects include a wide range of services and supports including technical assistance and professional learning related to curriculum design and implementation, school transformation, equity, leadership development, and state and local policy development. WestEd’s work, while varied, is focused on impacting outcomes for students through the development and cultivation of educational systems, practices, policies, and cultures that result in learning for all students. The Learning Innovations Program team consists of approximately 65 staff with presence and projects in over fifteen states, including all those on the eastern seaboard.

Position Description
WestEd is seeking a senior education leader committed to dramatically improving outcomes for students in persistently low-performing schools and districts. Leading a team of high-quality and experienced school and district service providers, the Senior Director will oversee all aspects of WestEd’s improvement work in schools and districts. WestEd’s local improvement services are grounded in the nationally recognized Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement framework.

In partnership with an Agency-wide advisory team, the Senior Director will set the overall vision and strategy for WestEd’s approach to serving persistently low-performing schools and districts, and articulate and track quality and impact goals across all school improvement engagements. The Senior Director will be primarily responsible for all outreach and fundraising efforts, and serve as a national spokesperson representing WestEd’s school improvement services. To be successful, the Senior Director will need to draw on the significant talent and expertise across multiple WestEd programs, focused on specific content areas (e.g. literacy and math), as well as on supporting learning for specific student populations (e.g. English Language Learners and students with disabilities.) In doing so, the Senior Director will build and promote organizational structures, processes, and culture focused on effective collaboration, so that WestEd can successfully meet the needs of partner schools and districts committed to significant improvement.

Strong candidates will have deep knowledge of research, practice and policy related to school and district improvement and turnaround, combined with success in leading such efforts in the field. Qualities of nimble and strategic thinking and a collaborative approach to teaming across programs will be essential to success in this position.

Responsibilities

• Building on WestEd’s Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement framework, and drawing from WestEd’s large suite of professional development and technical assistance services, conceptualize WestEd’s approach to driving dramatic improvement for low-performing schools and districts.
   
• Identify opportunities for educational innovations that will lead to greater performance in schools serving economically disadvantaged students.
   
• Promote effective partnerships across WestEd teams in order to ensure the seamless delivery of high-quality services to low-performing schools and districts. Design and implement organizational structures, processes, and incentives to support teaming across staff with different areas of expertise and across multiple programs.
   
• Set goals addressing the quality and impact of WestEd’s school and district improvement projects and track progress against the goals with a focus on continuous improvement. Ensure that projects are managed to meet internal quality and impact goals, as well as external client expectations, in a timely and cost-effective manner.
   
• Lead business development efforts across multiple geographic regions to increase the reach and impact of WestEd services focused on improving outcomes for persistently low-performing schools and districts. Oversee the outreach and marketing strategy to increase WestEd’s visibility as an external partner for schools and districts committed to significant improvement.
   
• Develop and maintain trusting relationships with existing and prospective school and district clients.
   
• Design and facilitate professional learning experiences for WestEd staff that reflect model practices and develop competencies to effectively apply WestEd’s Four Domains framework.
   
• Serve on the Learning Innovations Senior Leadership Team and contribute to program and agency-wide strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

• An abiding commitment to equity, excellence, and having an impact on the lives of children.
   
• Demonstrated success in leading major school/district improvement initiatives.
   
• Deep knowledge of research, policy, and practice related to leadership development, curriculum, instruction, and school/district improvement.
   
• Evidence of effective organizational leadership of non-profit education-related organization including fiscal and personnel management, strategic planning and resource development; 7+ years of experience in this role preferred.
   
• Familiarity with and ability to collaborate with significant school/district improvement initiatives, partnerships, and projects around the country. Comfortable and effective working in academic, political, and K-12 education environments.
   
• Demonstrated ability to manage contracts and budgets; demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and effectively with diverse staff, colleagues, and clients across the nation.
   
• Proven track record and recent experience in fundraising from various sources, primarily SEAs, LEAs, and foundations; strong record of preparing proposals and developing new business in response to competitive and sole-source opportunities in the public and private sectors; ability to tap existing personal networks with decision makers.
   
• Superior communication skills, including excellent writing and powerful presentation skills; comfort with large and small groups and with diverse audiences.
   
• Ability to travel nationally (approximately 2-3 times/month).

Additional Qualifications:

• Experience in executive leadership position at a local, regional, and/or state education agency (e.g., Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent) with track record of developing organizational and human capacity.

The position will be housed in the Learning Innovations Program (LI) at WestEd which focuses on transforming educational systems in partnership with state and local educators, families, and communities to strengthen teaching and learning and to ensure equity so all students thrive. LI’s projects include a wide range of services and supports including technical assistance and professional learning related to curriculum design and implementation, school transformation, equity, leadership development, and state and local policy development.