Research and Policy Manager, Career-Connected Learning
Job Description
Manager, Career-Connected Learning
Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) is seeking a Manager, Career-Connected Learning to join CEI’s implementation team. This role will support Colorado school districts through Career-Connected Learning projects to help equitably, predictably, and reliably produce graduates who have developed academic, personal, professional, entrepreneurial, and civic competencies.
The ideal candidate for this role has significant experience working in and with schools and/or districts to design and implement career-connected learning opportunities for students 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 project success. This person enjoys working with teams of district, school, teacher, and student leaders to design and implement career-connected learning.
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 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 Assistant Director, 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 80 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 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
Implementation of Career-Connected Learning Initiatives
- Build and maintain content knowledge in current and emerging best practices in career-connected learning.
- Support CEI staff and field implementation partners in building knowledge about and implementing current and emerging best practices for career-connected learning.
- Collaborate on project design and management of initiatives related to career-connected learning and organize teams to do their best work.
- Coach school and district teams to successful outcomes.
- Work with systems to promote equity in career-connected learning for students furthest from opportunity.
Content Development and Facilitation
- Design and facilitate professional learning networks for district- and school-based staff to deepen expertise of career-connected learning, integrate best practices that promote equitable student outcomes, and facilitate best practice sharing.
- Support design and implementation of convenings and events to support regional and district collaboration.
- Create templates, tools, and professional development opportunities to support districts in designing and implementing career-connected learning systems and structures.
- Identify technical assistance and professional development needs through both systematic assessments and informal discussions with district partners.
- Assess the quality and effectiveness of provided facilitation and/or technical assistance to ensure that programming accomplishes its intended goals through a continuous improvement process.
- Provide a culture of positivity and customer service internally and externally.
Learning, Collaboration, and Thought Leadership
- 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 internal and external colleagues to advance shared goals and increase the capacity of the K-12 ecosystem.
- Contribute to the body of knowledge in areas related to career-connected learning and how these opportunities intersect with academic and social-emotional student outcomes and innovative assessments.
- Understand, promote, and inform policy and funding opportunities that drive increased relevance and experiential learning.
Qualifications
A successful candidate will have at least five years of experience in education or a related field with a proven track record of designing and implementing career-connected learning in the K-12 ecosystem. Understanding concurrent enrollment systems and experience instructing or supporting Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in Colorado are additional advantages. 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 take responsibility for the outcomes. They will have a record of working with humility and persistence to serve partners and teams to which they are accountable. 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 across the state as needed, approximately 30 percent of working days.
Competencies
This position requires strong project design and management, 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 $65,000 – $80,000
Competitive benefits package - Hybrid work environment that includes some flexible scheduling and work-from-home options
- CEI’s headquarters are in Denver, but if you live elsewhere in Colorado, we would love to talk with you.
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.
