Research and Policy Senior Director of Impact
Job Description
OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION
The Senior Director of Impact monitors, assesses, and conveys the impact of the organization’s work to drive success for Tennessee students. This individual plays a leading role in ensuring that all of SCORE’s programs, initiatives, and grant commitments are aligned with and building toward SCORE’s mission and strategic goals. The Senior Director of Impact also develops new, innovative concepts and initiatives that reflect emerging national trends and hold promise for catalyzing sustained change for students. Additionally, this team member plays a strategic role in funder communication and in overseeing a portfolio of subgrants to mission-aligned partner organizations across the state of Tennessee.
The Senior Director of Impact reports to and works closely with SCORE’s Vice President of Strategy to advance evidence-based policy reforms and drive innovation in Tennessee education. An important part of this role is engaging with various SCORE team members and external partners to advance strategic alignment and innovation. The Senior Director of Impact engages regularly with SCORE’s leadership team to inform, monitor, and reflect on the organization’s strategy. This team member also works closely with SCORE’s grants management team to foster alignment between SCORE’s grant commitments and the organization’s strategic goals.
ABOUT SCORE
“The progress that our students have made in recent years is inspiring – there is no doubt that they are capable of achieving at high levels and leading Tennessee into a bright future. While education stakeholders are already working together in exciting ways in Tennessee, it is our responsibility to redouble our innovative efforts to ensure that we are supporting our students to truly excel and thrive. The future of our state depends on it.”
– Senator Bill Frist, Chairman and Founder, SCORE
Tennessee has been making significant progress in advancing a bold education reform plan over the last decade and is now a leader in the nation in dramatically improving student achievement. Tennessee is among the fastest improving states for student achievement according to the Nation’s Report Card.
While Tennessee has made significant gains, there is much still to do — in public K-12 education, in college and career readiness, and in postsecondary completion. The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) plays a critical role in advancing student achievement, aligning K-12 and postsecondary, and ensuring that all students can achieve career and life success. We work to monitor statewide progress in support of a prioritized agenda that drives collaboration across the state on policy while generating proof points and providing targeted support for implementation across the state.
SCORE is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization founded by former US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and is dedicated to the goal that that all students can achieve success in college, career, and life. SCORE supports student success in public schools across Tennessee by ensuring all schools and systems meet high expectations; preparing, recruiting, supporting, and retaining excellent teachers and leaders; and aligning K-12 and college with career and life success.
SCORE is based at Vanderbilt University’s John Seigenthaler Center. This role is eligible for hybrid work with the expectation of 15-20 hours per week in the office and the balance remote. For more information on SCORE, please visit www.tnscore.org.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Impact
- Lead SCORE’s process to develop and refine an annual impact model, a logic model that outlines outcomes, outputs, and activities aligned to SCORE’s mission and long-term goals and serves as a guiding framework for the full team
- Develop, monitor, and refine key performance indicators (KPIs) across SCORE’s programmatic strategy
- Lead efforts to monitor progress against SCORE’s impact model and KPIs, including facilitating quarterly leadership team and full team reflections
- Provide thought partnership to leaders across the organization to ensure SCORE’s work is connected across K-12 and postsecondary and across workstreams
- Coordinate across the SCORE team to align grant deliverables with the organization’s strategy, monitor progress on deliverables, and elevate areas of needed focus
- Identify, document, and draft communications about evidence of SCORE’s impact for students that can be elevated in reports and shared with SCORE’s Board, funders, and other key partners
- Support team members in the early stages of program conceptualization and development with a focus on a) shaping program objectives and outcomes to align with SCORE’s overall impact agenda, b) maximizing discrete opportunities for impact during the full life of the program, and c) ensuring integration with other initiatives underway across the team
- Play a leading role in setting the vision for SCORE’s annual impact report for Board and funders and providing content and feedback for the report
Innovation
- Identify, conceptualize, and help design new strategic initiatives aligned to SCORE’s impact model, across workstreams. Particular areas of focus could include K-12 to postsecondary pathways, COVID-19 recovery and reinvention, community college transformation, and innovative school models, among other issues
- Develop relationships with leading public education policymakers, practitioners, funders, and advocates within Tennessee and across the country in order to identify and understand emerging impact trends and models
- Identify and track new trends in public education across the US, with an eye toward innovative approaches that could benefit the state of Tennessee and how they might be adapted to the Tennessee context
Strategic Philanthropy
- Lead SCORE’s work to formulate concepts and draft compelling narratives for funders, aligned with SCORE’s strategy as well as funder interests and priorities
- Partner with leadership team and grants management team to plan for new funder requests and grant renewals
- In close collaboration with the grants management team, review and provide feedback on grant proposals and grant reports as they are developed by SCORE’s grants management team to support thoughtful communication of strategy and impact
- Provide strategic oversight of SCORE’s subgrant portfolio:
- Lead SCORE’s process for identifying and evaluating potential subgrants, including through facilitating quarterly stepbacks with SCORE’s leadership team
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- Provide strategic guidance and thought partnership to SCORE’s subgrantees, including partnering with potential subgrantees as they develop proposals for SCORE to ensure alignment to SCORE’s strategic investment strategy
- Develop the programmatic scope of work for MOUs and contracts with subgrantees
- Make connections between the work of subgrantees and SCORE’s programmatic work
- Identify proof points in the subgrant portfolio that could inform SCORE’s policy advocacy strategies
- Work closely with SCORE’s grants management team to manage the subgrant lifecycle, including applications, progress monitoring, and reporting
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to think strategically, analytically, and innovatively with a high tolerance for ambiguity
- Substantial energy and stamina as an idea generator with the confidence and vulnerability to push the envelope and ask probing questions
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with expertise in impact writing and the ability to synthesize information and convey complex concepts in compelling ways across mediums to a range of internal and external audiences
- Demonstrated ability to foster strong, collaborative relationships with a variety of stakeholder groups and draw insights from multiple sources to shape vision and strategy and ensure execution against work
- An orientation toward solving problems and identifying solutions
- Ability to make connections across a range of initiatives and consider how various initiatives work as a system to create change
- Willingness to be proactive and flexible and to work autonomously
- A high bar for excellence with a proven track record of being organized, detail-oriented, thorough, and following through in a timely manner
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritize well in a fast-paced, rapid-growth, and high-intensity environment
- A learning mindset and the ability to seek out and synthesize new information
- Trustworthiness, discernment, and commitment to confidentiality
- Experience managing teams and providing thoughtful feedback is preferred
- At least seven years of relevant experience, with preferred three to five years or more of management consulting experience in relevant domain (e.g., K-12 education, postsecondary education, nonprofit sector, etc.)
- Passion for SCORE’s mission and deep alignment with SCORE’s core values of student focus, collaboration, optimism, excellence, and innovation
SCORE is committed to providing opportunities for professional growth by providing team members with feedback and opportunities to grow in their work.
COMPENSATION
SCORE offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience.
BENEFITS
SCORE deeply values team members and their well-being and is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits plan. All full-time SCORE employees are eligible for benefits, including:
- Medical insurance, including access to a high-quality network with SCORE paying for most medical coverage costs; dental insurance options; vision insurance options; employer-paid disability, life insurance, and EAP benefits; access to Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) benefits
- Eligibility for participation in a 401K program with employer match after one year of service
- Paid parental leave time, including paternity, maternity, and adoption leave, available after six months of service
- Paid time off, holiday office closures, and paid floating holidays
- Free on-site parking
COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
At SCORE, we are committed to creating a workplace where all team members bring their whole selves to work and thrive both personally and professionally. We deeply value collaboration, optimism, excellence, and innovation in our student-centered work and in how we work together and support each other as a team. We also believe that it is important for our team to reflect the rich diversity of students in Tennessee, and that we intentionally create space for diverse viewpoints to meaningfully contribute to our work.
SCORE is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic or status.
