Operations / Administration Assistant Director, Implementation & Partnership
Job Description
Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) is seeking an Assistant Director, Implementation & 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 competence; embrace a broader understanding of school quality; and, fully maximize the policy and funding opportunities of recovery to enable breakthrough change, particularly as related to equitable access to opportunities that drive increased relevance and experiential learning.
The ideal candidate for this role has deep school and district-level experience designing and implementing work-based, career-connected learning opportunities for schools and is skilled at high-quality project design and project management. Additionally, this candidate must be competent at building and leveraging relationships with CEI school and district partners and in coaching for leadership development and project success. 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; partnership and service orientation. This person is drawn to working with teams of district, school, teacher, and student leaders to design and implement work-based, career-connected, innovative learning programs. In addition to the qualifications described throughout this description, the candidate will exhibit belief in and comfort with the CEI Design Commitments, including change management; diversity, equity, and inclusion; youth activation; family and community partnership; social emotional development; and leadership. This position will report to the Director, Implementation & 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 almost 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 nearly 50 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
Specialist in Work-Based/Career-Connected/Innovative Learning Opportunities
- Build and maintain expertise in current and emerging best practices for work-based/career- connected/innovative learning opportunities
- Train and support CEI staff and field implementation partners in current and emerging best practices for work- based/career-connected/innovative learning opportunities
- Lead project design and management on initiatives related to work-based/career-connected/innovative learning opportunities; organize and lead teams to do their best work
- Lead and coach school and district teams to successful outcomes
- Strategic coach to support systems seeking equity in work-based/career-connected learning for students furthest from opportunity
- Support a culture of positivity and customer service internally and externally
Instructional Designer
- Collaborate with national partners, businesses, students, internal teams, and school districts to design and implement programming for teachers and students, including industry-certification programming
- Create key learning objectives and deliver learning solutions that integrate best practices to promote equitable student outcomes
- Effectively communicate conceptual ideas and training/development expertise to both internal teams and external stakeholders
- Identify training needs through both systematic assessments and informal discussions with end users
- Assess the quality and effectiveness of training programs and ensure that programming accomplishes its intended goals through a continuous improvement process
Learner, Collaborator, and Thought Leader
- 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 and increase the capacity of the K12 ecosystem
- Contribute to the body of knowledge in areas related to, but not limited to, work-based/career-connected/ innovative learning opportunities and how these opportunities intersect with academic and social-emotional student outcomes
- Understand, promote, and inform policy and funding opportunities that drive increased relevance and experiential learning
Qualifications
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 work-based and/or career-connected learning opportunities in the K12 ecosystem. Understanding of concurrent enrollment systems in Colorado is an additional advantage. They will have skill and experience in working with diverse groups of people, coaching across lines of difference, and empowering local leaders to create change. They will be a strong facilitator in both in-person and virtual contexts and have a working knowledge of adult learning techniques. They know how to work across organizations to build relationships, develop collaborative work products, and be ultimately be responsible for the outcomes. They will have a record of working relentlessly and with humility to serve partners and teams they are accountable to. They will be organized, detail- oriented, an outstanding verbal and written communicator, and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously. The person in this role must be available and willing to travel as needed, approximately 25% of working days.
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
- Annual salary commensurate with experience in a range of $80,000-$90,000
- Competitive benefits package
- Hybrid work environment including some flexible scheduling and work-from-home options
- Role is based in Denver, but if you live elsewhere in Colorado, we’d love to talk with you
