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 Colorado school districts to equitably, predictably, and reliably produce graduates who have developed academic, personal, professional, entrepreneurial, and civic competencies. The Assistant Director will support CEI’s district partners and their communities to lead and execute strategic planning and implementation to drive towards significant school and district improvement.

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 our 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, Implementation and Partnership. There is flexibility in the start date for this position – starting as early as April or as late as June to align with school year calendars as needed.

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 60 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.

Of note, 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 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
• Build expertise in current and emerging best practices for school and district improvement.
• Implement and iterate on school improvement processes designed by CEI in partnership with school and district partners.
• Lead projects related to school and district improvement and innovation; project manage teams to do their best work.
• Support and coach school and district teams to successful outcomes.
• Provide support to school and district systems seeking equity in high-quality and effective learning experiences and outcomes for students furthest from opportunity.

Outcomes Oriented Designer and Facilitator
• Collaborate with schools, districts, students, and internal teams to design and implement school and district innovation and improvement efforts.
• Create key learning objectives and 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 by analyzing school and district data in collaboration with the CEI team and district partners.
• Assess the quality and effectiveness of training programs 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 our partners.
• Actively and eagerly partner with colleagues inside and outside of CEI to advance shared goals.
• Embody CEI’s culture of positivity and customer service internally and externally.
• Contribute to the learning, practices, and approaches developed and implemented by CEI and its partners.
• Build new and maintain existing relationships with individual district and school partners across Colorado.

Qualifications and 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. A successful candidate will have:
• A proven track record as a successful school and/or district leader with at least five 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 approximately 30% of their time to work with school and district partners across the state based on project and partner needs

Compensation

• Full-time position
• Annual salary commensurate with experience in a range of $80,000-$90,000
• Competitive benefits package
• Hybrid work environment including flexible scheduling and work-from-home options (with regular need to attend in-person meetings in Denver and across the state)

How to Apply

Please send a resume and cover letter to jobs@coloradoedinitiative.org. Applicants should indicate the position in the subject line of the email. Note: applications submitted directly through a job listing site will not be considered. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; the position will remain open until filled. No phone calls, please. CEI is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. CEI strives to be an inclusive organization, and as such takes affirmative action to ensure that discrimination does not occur against an employee or applicant on the basis of race, creed, color, age, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliation, disability or any other classification considered discriminatory under applicable law.

Bureaus: Colorado. Job Categories: Full-Time. Job Types: Instructional Support. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.