ORGANIZATION

Leading Educators (LE) is a national nonprofit committed to ensuring that all students have access to excellent and equitable teaching every day. Educational equity starts with creating consistently excellent learning experiences from classroom to classroom so every student has the opportunity to reach college and career readiness. Alongside school system leaders, we create the conditions and structures for teachers to continuously and collaboratively build skill and knowledge in mathematics and ELA through the implementation of shifts- and standards-aligned curriculum. We reinforce system-wide progress with highly customized, direct support to teacher, school, and district leaders, focusing on building rigorous content knowledge as well as deep knowledge in learning systems, equity, and learning culture. When we lead educators, and empower them to lead other educators, we create exponential impact across entire school systems, ensuring every student in every classroom has what they need to thrive. Please visit leadingeducators.org to learn more.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: External applicants have until January 30th, 2023 to submit their application.

POSITION

At Leading Educators our work begins and ends with students: We begin our design focused on the academic, well-being and identity needs of our students, and we assess our programming on whether it ultimately yielded tangible improvements in students’ learning and experiences. To accomplish this, we seek to create a “nutrient-rich” environment where educators, including our own team, can flourish and grow their impact, by leveraging from the collective brilliance of our organization, leading researchers, and practitioners who are thinking ahead of the curve.

The Chief Innovation Officer is charged with unlocking the genius within students, teachers, and our team by fostering a culture of learning and building cross-team processes to codify and scale innovative programming. They catalyze future-focused solutions that are tied to our theory of action and evidence.

Finally, we seek to disrupt the narrative that innovation is created by a lone white knight and instead imagine innovation as the product of collaborative learning. This learning centers the outcomes valued by the communities we seek to serve, unlocks the creativity and brilliance of our team, and is guided by evidence and research.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Future Casting

• Continually scan the education sector in order to build our team’s understanding of possible scenarios three to five years in the future

• Build relationships with key researchers and future-focused thought leaders to ensure that Leading Educators’ strategy stays ahead of the curve

• Develop a technology strategy to improve program efficiency and scale in collaboration with organization leaders and an external design firm

• Partner with innovative system leaders to that ensure Leading Educators’ work is relevant both now and in the future

• Serve as a national thought leader that shapes the direction of future education innovations and priorities

• Leveraging Bright Spots to Create New Products and Services

• Collaborate with Network and Project leaders to ensure that Innovation strategy is linked to current and future needs of partners and lead disciplined inquiry to better understand what works under what conditions

• Based on evidence from the Network Team, create products for future years of programming by codifying bright spots

• Test new products and services with new clients

• Assess impact of products aligned to Leading Educators’ Theory of Action

• Develop plans for scaling and integrating products into existing services

• Incubating New Ideas

• Based on anticipated future school system needs, leverage innovation funds to incubate promising ideas for 3-5 years into the future

• Determine process for selecting, funding, evaluating, and scaling promising new ideas

• Invest and train program team colleagues to scale impactful new programming approaches

• With Chief External Relations Officer, identify and secure new funding opportunities to fund innovative work

• Nurturing a Strong Organizational Culture

• In collaboration with Leadership Team members, contribute to the stewardship of the organization’s culture

• Nurture a safe culture of evidenced-based learning, encouraging change that persists beyond initial challenges

• Model a learning stance with a bias towards action, unafraid of “failing faster” for the sake of learning and improvement

• Build, manage, and lead high-performing Program Strategy Team, ensuring a strong and inclusive culture and achievement of ambitious outcomes

REQUIREMENTS TO BE HIRED FOR THE ROLE:

• Leading Educators requires that all employees are fully vaccinated(includes a booster dose at least 5 months after the last dose in the primary series) against COVID-19, unless an accommodation has been approved. New hires must show proof of being fully vaccinated by the end of the first month of employment.

• Candidates must be able to travel (40% occasional, national travel for org-wide retreats, programming, and/or professional development), unless an accommodation has been approved.

• Candidates must:

• Have a track record of creating innovative programs or products that have improved outcomes and experiences for students

• Demonstrate alignment to Leading Educators core values: Disrupting Racial Inequity, Prioritize People, Build on Strengths, and Continuously Learn

• Have a track record of leading successful change initiatives with school system leaders at the cabinet level

• Possess expertise in facilitating evidence-based cross-organizational learning that yielded meaningful outcomes

• Possess expertise in human-centered design and program development

• Have content expertise aligned with Leading Educators Teaching for Equity Framework: Anti-Racist Curriculum and Standards, Radically Inclusive Relationships and Communities, Equitable Instructional Practices, Inner Resources, and School and System Conditions

• Have strategic experience leveraging instructional technology to improve student or adult learning (preferred)

LOCATION

When not traveling (40% for occasional, national travel for org wide meetings and/or professional development), the Chief Innovation Officer will work from a home office that can be located anywhere in the US.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements and Travel

Leading Educators lives our value of prioritizing people, and puts the safety of our partners, our students, and our staff first. We know that in order for students to receive excellent and equitable education every day, their health and wellbeing must be prioritized. As of January 31st, 2022, Leading Educators requires that all employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless an accommodation has been approved. We define fully vaccinated as a booster dose at least 5 months after the primary dose in the primary series. Business travel and in-person work is considered required for every role, although the frequency of business travel and in-person work will vary across teams and roles. Leading Educators will comply with applicable federal and state laws, as well as EEOC Guidance and will consider any requests for accommodations for medical, religious or as otherwise required by applicable law. New hires must show proof of being fully vaccinated by the end of the first month of employment.

COMPENSATION

If hired for this position, the compensation range for this position is between $131,852 and $224,148 annually. Compensation is competitive, commensurate with experience and in alignment with internal equity. Candidates, either newly hired or new to the role, can typically expect a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. In addition, Leading Educators offers a very generous benefits package including 100% paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for individual employees. Additional premium costs are covered 60% by Leading Educators for partners and dependents on medical, dental, and vision plans. We also offer a 4% matching 401k plan, Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare and commuter expenses, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Benefits are valued at or above $9,000 for employees.

Additionally, Leading Educators offers generous time off with pay in order to support a sustainable high performance work culture. During the first three years of employment, full time staff accrue 22 days a year. Five additional days are accrued after the third and sixth year of employment. Leading Educators also offers 16 additional paid days off for various holidays, including three floating holidays staff may use at their discretion.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

Leading Educators strongly values equity and challenges historical inequity with a persistent focus on dismantling systemic racism. We work towards a more just society and as such we are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood.

APPLY

Please apply through our online application at http://www.leadingeducators.org/careers/.