Research and Policy Assistant Director, Implementation and Partnership
Job Description
Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) is seeking an Assistant Director, Implementation and Partnership to join CEI’s implementation team in our efforts to support school district partners and their communities to lead and execute strategic planning and implementation that drives toward significant school and district improvement; and equitably, predictably, and reliably produces graduates who have developed academic, personal, professional, entrepreneurial, and civic competencies.
The ideal candidate for this role has school and/or district-level experience designing and implementing strategic and innovative improvement efforts and is skilled at high-quality project design and project management. Additionally, this candidate must be competent at building and leveraging relationships with CEI’s partners in the field and in coaching for leadership development and project success. This person is drawn to working with teams of district, school, teacher, and student leaders to design and implement breakthrough strategies, plans, and initiatives to improve outcomes and experiences for all students.
The candidate is excited to join a team grounded in the CEI mindsets: dream big, act small, and pivot quickly; constant learning and adaptation; flexible, nimble, and purposeful; and partnership and service orientation. In addition to the qualifications included throughout this description, the candidate will exhibit belief in and comfort with the CEI Design Commitments, including diversity, equity, and inclusion; youth activation; relevant learning; social emotional development; family and community partnership; and leadership and change management. This position will report to the Director of Implementation and Partnership.
About Colorado Education Initiative
CEI is at the forefront of improvement, innovation, and change in Colorado’s public education system. CEI is a statewide nonprofit organization that invests time, expertise, and dollars in K-12 public education. For 15 years, CEI has worked with educators as an inspired and supportive partner on the ground in over 150 urban, suburban, and rural school districts. CEI works as an implementation expert, innovation thought leader, and statewide convener in public education. Our mission is to accelerate improvement and innovation in Colorado schools. Our vision is a future in which every student in Colorado is prepared and unafraid to succeed in school, work, and life, and ready to take on the challenges of today, tomorrow, and beyond. We currently partner deeply in over 98 Colorado school districts and have limited work in other states in the region. In addition to our field implementation work, we engage in important policy and innovation agendas in Colorado. Our success is driven by a passionate team of diverse individuals who truly enjoy working together.
We are committed to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work we support across Colorado. We seek to identify and embed equity-seeking practices in our culture and talent systems and have made a focused set of investments in the related professional development of our team. We believe our work demands this because of the historic and current experiences in the school systems in which we operate and because we believe the outcomes that we seek for students require the prioritization of equity. In all roles, we welcome candidates who are eager to participate in and contribute to this work and whose lived experiences deepen our perspectives on the education system.
Responsibilities:
Strategic School Improvement Specialist
- Design, implement, and refine community-driven processes to support school and district partners that are engaging in turnaround or priority improvement efforts.
- Partner with school and district systems that are seeking equity in high-quality and effective learning experiences and outcomes for students furthest from opportunity in areas aligned with the Colorado Department of Education’s Framework for Rapid School improvement (EASI).
- Provide high-quality and responsive coaching to school and district leaders who are engaged in turnaround or priority improvement efforts.
- Provide effective and efficient project management to help school and district teams achieve desired outcomes.
- Ensure that CEI is grounded in the most current research and strategies for school and district improvement.
Outcomes Oriented Designer and Facilitator
- Work with district and school teams to elevate and establish key focus areas that are grounded in a holistic set of data to drive improvement and/or strategic planning efforts.
- Deliver learning solutions that integrate best practices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Effectively communicate conceptual ideas and expertise to both internal teams and external stakeholders.
- Identify training, coaching, and system improvement needs aligned to focus areas by analyzing school and district data in collaboration with the CEI team and district partners.
- Assess the quality and effectiveness of improvement efforts and ensure that programming accomplishes its intended goals through a continuous improvement process.
- Support school and district partners in developing and designing public plans and communications to advance partnership and improvement in school districts.
Learner, Collaborator, and Thought Partner
- Learn new approaches and processes and apply them within and outside of personal areas of expertise to advance the work of CEI and its partners.
- Proactively partner with colleagues inside and outside of CEI to advance shared goals.
- Embody CEI’s culture of positivity and customer service both internally and externally.
- Contribute to the learning, practices, and approaches developed and implemented by CEI and its partners
- Build new relationships and maintain existing ones with individual district and school partners across Colorado.
Qualifications
A successful candidate will have:
- A proven track record as a successful school and/or district leader with at least three years of experience designing and implementing school or district-based initiatives.
- An understanding of school and district outcomes, measures, and instructional strategies that lead to positive outcomes for students.
- Competence and confidence as a facilitator, coach, and continuous improvement designer.
- Willingness to travel up to 25 percent of their time to work with school and district partners across the state based on project and partner needs.
Competencies
This position requires strong project design and management skills, facilitation, coaching, interpersonal communication, collaboration, relationship building and multi-tasking skills, and the ability to anticipate and take initiative to predict and solve problems.
Compensation
- Full-time position
- Salary commensurate with experience in a range of $80,000-$90,000
- Hybrid work environment that includes some flexible scheduling and work-from-home options (with regular need to attend in-person meetings in Denver and across the state).
- CEI’s headquarters are in Denver, but if you live elsewhere in Colorado, we would love to talk to you.
