Director, School Choice

About WestEd

As a community of over 1000 researchers, practitioners, consultants, and administrative professionals from all backgrounds and life experiences, we are committed to making a qualitative difference in the lives of youth, children, and adults. We conduct and apply research, develop evidence-based solutions, and provide consulting services across the country in both rural and urban communities to improve equitable outcomes for individuals from infancy through adulthood. Serving as trusted partners in the areas of education, health, and justice, our teams enhance capacity within communities and school districts to prioritize impact — asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, developing relevant tools, and implementing best practices specific to a diverse range of client needs.

Furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion is core to who we are and how we work. We are committed to working with our clients to illuminate and address disparities, value and elevate diverse voices, and ensure equitable access to our resources and services. Please review our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion on our Careers page at wested.org. Come and join us!

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION—Although WestEd provides the option of working at one of its facilities for employees, many roles allow employees to choose to work remotely for their own convenience. The decision to allow remote work at the employee's convenience is based on the requirements of the position or project in question.

The Career Opportunity:

The Content Area Team Director is a member of the Division Leadership Team with primary responsibilities for business development and setting the strategic direction for the School Choice portfolio of projects at WestEd. As part of these efforts, the School Choice Director will facilitate new business opportunities across WestEd’s other Content Areas and Divisions to advance coherent, intersectional, and equity-focused client solutions.

Recognizing that high-quality charter and magnet schools are uniquely positioned to deliver positive learning outcomes, particularly for underserved students, the School Choice Content Area Team focuses on supporting school and systems leaders to create the conditions needed to improve school quality and provide increased access to school choice options; which includes establishing strong, equitable partnerships with families and communities to ensure school choice options are responsive to community needs, and accessible and accountable to all students. To accomplish these goals, this position will lead efforts to support partnership development with a wide range of organizations for both research and evaluation as well as technical assistance to enhance capacity to develop and implement policies, systems, and strategies that catalyze academic growth and support the health of charter and magnet school programs.

This opportunity offers the chance to:

As part of WestEd’s distributed leadership approach, Content Area Team Directors – like all of the leadership roles across Divisions – divide their time between organizational leadership responsibilities at the Division level as well as ongoing leadership for client-facing project work and talent management for direct reports.

CATD Primary Responsibilities

Business Development

• Provide strategic and tactical leadership for Content Area Team business development (e.g., proposal development, networking), growing WestEd’s portfolio of work focused on all areas of the school choice spectrum (e.g., evaluating the success of state and LEA funded school choice programs; partnering with the U.S. Department of Education to support the quality growth of charters schools through the federal Charter Schools Program via grant monitoring, technical assistance, and national dissemination support; informing policy improvements for charter authorizers, and research effects of school voucher programs on student achievement, etc. )
• Create, communicate, and lead the execution of a clear, market-informed strategy that is responsive to short-term needs, while also considering longer-term opportunities, needs, and trends in the field.
• In consultation with the Senior Managing Director, lead School Choice’s annual business planning efforts to establish and support the attainment of revenue targets (~$8m) and new contract value targets. Particular attention should be paid to growth and new business development.
• Foster the advancement and scaling of service lines focused on systems development and improvement to create opportunities for innovative educational options that are first and foremost, difference-making for students
• Seek opportunities to partner across Content Area Teams and Divisions to deepen the impact of WestEd’s field engagements.

External Leadership & Vision

• Partner with the Senior Managing Director on ensuring national visibility of WestEd’s School Choice Content Area.
• Represent WestEd before federal, state, and local government agencies and other education groups as needed.
• Identify internal/external partnership opportunities consistent with School Choice’s strengths and aspirations, including partnerships with Institutions of Higher Education, small businesses (in particular with minority- and/or women-owned small businesses), research and policy organizations, and other local community-based organizations.

Secondary responsibilities of the position include:

Internal Leadership & Management

• Lead medium to large-sized projects, including those funded at the federal, state, and local level.
• Actively engage with the Division Leadership Team for strategic thinking, Division problem solving, and alignment of leadership practices.
• Participate as a member of WestEd’s Program Development Council, a cross-agency leadership group that advises and leads implementation related to business development, quality assurance, visibility and eminence, fiduciary responsibility, and talent development.
• Develop working relationships and partnerships with other WestEd leaders to spark new ideas and deepen existing successes for creating meaningful impact in the field.

Culture and Climate

• Support an organizational culture that reinforces the driving Division mindset that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
• Incent and develop staff behaviors to ensure alignment with WestEd’s vision, mission, values, including our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion action plan.

Talent Development and Support

• In collaboration with internal colleagues and professional networks, support the recruitment and retention of a highly talented and diverse team of professionals and support staff.
• Support mid- to senior-level staff who are direct reports to develop and achieve goals within their individual work plans that foster career success and create impact for WestEd’s target populations.
• Promote professional development for all staff members to support Division goals and WestEd’s mission.

Quality Assurance

• In partnership with the Senior Managing Director, serve as the interface with key constituents and ensure that School Choice’s offerings and deliverables align with client needs.
• Lead and execute on projects that are high quality, on time, within scope/budget, and that advance impact in alignment with WestEd’ mission.

Qualifications:

• Deep knowledge of and demonstrated leadership in fostering and sustaining high-quality school choice options at a systems level
• Regional and/or national credibility to speak to state and national audiences and advise high-stakes clients on these issues.
• Demonstrated success in leading resource development efforts and writing successful proposals to government agencies, foundations, and/or other funding sources that yielded contracts of significant size and resulted in positive impacts
• Demonstrated ability to manage contracts and budgets and to work collaboratively and effectively with diverse colleagues from across an organization
• Demonstrated capacity in talent development and management, with a particular focus on motivating teams around business development opportunities and strategic thinking on innovative school models
• Excellent organizational, communication, managerial, and interpersonal skills
• Experience working in educational settings and/or political environments that address the needs of students in grades PreK-12.
• An advanced degree or equivalent education and professional experience is highly desired
• Willingness to routinely travel, often monthly or more for 2-5 days at a time
• An abiding commitment to measurably strengthening and enhancing the level of coherence and equity within PreK-12 systems such that improved student access, opportunity, and outcomes result.

• Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The full salary range for this position, WestEd level J, is $163,760 to $245,600, but WestEd does not typically hire at or near the top of the salary range. The typical hiring range for this role is $163,760 to $204,700. The actual offer takes into account multiple factors including but not limited to education; experience; internal equity, and other organizational needs.

In addition to the base salary, benefits include:

• 15% contribution toward retirement effective day 1 of employment
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts
• All health/welfare benefits are effective first of the month following hire date
• PTO: 3 weeks vacation (increases to 4 weeks beginning the 4th year of employment), paid holidays, and 12 days paid sick leave per year
• Life Insurance: value of 3x gross salary
• Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases + annual incentives
• Professional development opportunities & mentorship program

For more detail about our benefits, go to:

https://www.wested.org/work-at-wested/benefits/

Committed to the diversity of race, ethnicities, perspectives, and opportunities, WestEd offers a variety of social and professional learning communities, such as Employee Resource groups based on race, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation, the Data Intelligence, Insights, and Innovation PLC, and the WestEd Parent Community, just to name a few. We hope you’ll consider joining us to build better schools, communities, learning pathways, and more!

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)